nuclear-news

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

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant – building of ventilation shaft is halted, due to Covid-19 and planning problems

WIPP: New Mexico regulators halt utility shaft project, cite COVID-19, planning problems, Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current-Argus, 25 Nov 20,  Construction of a $100 million utility shaft at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could be halted after the New Mexico Environment Department denied a request to extend state authorization to build the shaft, citing missed deadlines in the planning of the project and the continued spread in COVID-19 cases at the facility.

The shaft, part of an almost $300 million rebuild of WIPP’s ventilation system, along with a series of fans and filter buildings known as the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS), was intended to improve airflow in the WIPP underground and allow for waste emplacement and mining to occur simultaneously along with future expansions of the nuclear waste repository……….

Spike in COVID-19 at WIPP could put workers in danger

NMED also cited a recent rise in COVID-19 cases at WIPP, as the pandemic continued to spread in record-breaking numbers across New Mexico, and the agency’s responsibility to ensure human health is not put at risk by activities under the TA, requesting a plan for COVID-19 mitigation at the facility. https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/local/2020/11/24/wipp-utility-shaft-halted-new-mexico-cites-covid-planning-problems/6397790002/

November 26, 2020 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Security concerns delay Czech nuclear expansion

Czech nuclear expansion faces delay amid concerns of opposition, secret services,   EURACTIV.com with Reuters     25 Nov 20, A tender to decide who builds a new unit at a Czech nuclear power plant may face delays after security services and opposition parties raised concerns about the possible participation of bidders from China and Russia, officials said.

According to a document seen by Reuters, a working group of intelligence and foreign policy officials under the Interior Ministry wants conditions imposed to ensure bidders from countries that pose a security risk are disqualified.

The main Czech power utility ČEZ, which is 70% state-owned, has been planning to launch a tender before the end of the year for a 1,200 MW unit at its Dukovany power plant and to pick a winner in 2022.

The project is worth at least $7.24 billion at current prices, making it the country’s biggest investment deal so far, and includes a state commitment to buy power from the plant at profitable terms for ČEZ.

President Milos Zeman has sought closer ties with China and Russia. He has favoured their participation, and the government

and ČEZ have said no bidders should be excluded.

But Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Monday the tender was not yet ready, and suggested it should not be decided just 10 months before an election……… https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/czech-nuclear-expansion-faces-delay-amid-concerns-of-opposition-secret-services/

November 26, 2020 Posted by | politics, safety | Leave a comment

Concern in France over lack of expert inspection of nuclear sites

Montel News 24th Nov 2020, The lack of inspections at nuclear sites by safety experts, due to the
coronavirus pandemic, raises fears for the safety of the facilities, union
officials in the energy sector told Montel.

The Nuclear Safety Authority
(ASN) canceled all its physical inspections of nuclear power plants, except
the inspections considered essential, during the first containment in the
spring. Since then, some inspections have resumed in the field but many are
still carried out remotely.

This reduction in on-site checks is
exacerbating a situation where the workforce is already limited and
communication with workers is lacking, say some union officials.

https://www.montelnews.com/fr/story/contrles-%C3%A0-distance-font-craindre-pour-la-sret-nuclaire/1170500

November 26, 2020 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

30 more years for Wisconson’s old nuclear power station? Is this a good idea?

Wisconsin’s nuclear power plant operator seeks 30 more years, By CHRIS HUBBUCH Wisconsin State Journal, Nov 21, 2020, MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The operator of Wisconsin’s only remaining nuclear power plant wants to keep the 50-year-old plant running through 2050.

NextEra Energy has submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking to add 20 years to the licenses for the Point Beach Nuclear plant in Two Rivers, according to a document filed with state regulators…….

Hundreds of casks of nuclear waste are being stored at sites across Wisconsin and neighboring states, costing taxpayers millions of dollars as the federal government struggles to open a permanent storage facility.

Built by Wisconsin Electric Power Company, Point Beach’s reactors began commercial operation in 1970 and 1972. We Energies sold the plant in 2007 for $924 million and entered into a contract to purchase most of its output.

Under the agreement, the utility is paying $52.66 per megawatt-hour this year, about 1.8 times the average wholesale price for electricity in the Midwest, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. By 2023, the cost rises to $122.45 per megawatt hour……

Point Beach is the only one of Wisconsin’s three nuclear power plants still in operation.

Decommissioning is nearly complete at the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor, a 50-megawatt demonstrator plant built by the federal government in 1967 and shut down in 1987. The 1,772-megawatt Kewaunee Power Station was shut down in 2013. Decommissioning is scheduled to begin in 2069, according to the NRC.

As of April, there were 50 dry casks of radioactive waste being stored at Point Beach until the federal government can develop a permanent storage plan. https://journaltimes.com/news/state-and-regional/wisconsins-nuclear-power-plant-operator-seeks-30-more-years/article_da04bd52-ca1b-5401-92a7-d860ab058602.html

November 23, 2020 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Lack of safety documents in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s handling of radioactive wastes.

November 21, 2020 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Hazardous plan for Peel Ports to take over the decommissioning of Britain’s dead nuclear submarines

November 19, 2020 Posted by | decommission reactor, safety, UK | Leave a comment

Bangladesh draws up a nuclear disaster response plan

Bangladesh approves nuclear disaster response plan, Senior Correspondent,  bdnews24.com, 16 Nov 2020  

The government has given the green light to a draft guideline on emergency responses to any nuclear or radioactive disaster.

The National Nuclear and Radioactive Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan was approved at a virtual cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday.

The guideline was authorised to put safety measures in place for the Rooppur nuclear power plant, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said during a press briefing at the Secretariat.

“The International Atomic Energy Commission stipulates the availability of safety guidelines and response plans for such power plants, or else they will not allow us to run it. We have drafted it following the guideline structure from IAEA,” he said.

“The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief plays the key role in all sorts of disaster management in the country. The National Nuclear and Radioactive Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan was created in keeping with Bangladesh’s disaster management and such other plans.

The cabinet secretary pointed out that authorities actually have little idea about dealing with nuclear power mishaps and emergency responses and the guideline would provide a way forward if such situations occur. …….

https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/11/16/bangladesh-approves-nuclear-disaster-response-plan

November 17, 2020 Posted by | ASIA, safety | Leave a comment

Federal utility fined $900K for nuclear violations, coverup

Federal utility fined $900K for nuclear violations, coverup, Star Tribune, By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press, NOVEMBER 13, 2020
Federal regulators have fined the nation’s largest public utility more than $900,000 for violating procedures during the startup of a Tennessee nuclear reactor and subsequently misleading investigators. Two managers and a plant operator who worked at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Barr Nuclear Plant in Spring City were also issued violations by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Howard Hall, director of the University of Tennessee’s Institute for Nuclear Security, said the notice of violation to TVA points to “a systemic problem in management.”

“As someone who has worked in this field essentially my entire life, I would have been appalled to receive such a letter,” Hall said.

In a notice dated Nov. 6, regulators noted a “substantial safety culture issue” at Watts Bar at the time of the incident. They also found that “TVA senior management and staff failed to communicate with candor, clarity, and integrity during several interactions with the NRC during the course of the inspection and investigation.”

According to NRC documents, on Nov. 11, 2015, a shift manager at Watts Bar directed the control room to begin heating up a reactor even though the plant’s usual pressurizer system, which keeps the reactor water from turning to steam, was out of service. When trying to heat up with an alternate system, the pressurizer rapidly began to fill with water. Staff then had to “take actions outside of proper operating procedures” to bring the water level down.

The incident wasn’t recorded in the plant’s logbook and managers later misled NRC investigators about what had happened. ……… https://www.startribune.com/federal-utility-fined-900k-for-nuclear-violations-coverup/573069392/

November 16, 2020 Posted by | incidents, Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Hunterston nuclear reactor allowed to restart, despite increasing cracks in the graphite core.

No to Nuclear Power, November 2020, On 27th August, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) announced it was giving EDF permission to restart Reactor 3 at Hunterston B for a limited period – generating up to a total of 16.425 Terawatt days, approximately six months’ operation. (1) Then on 24 September ONR gave EDF permission for Reactor 4 to return to service for a similar limited period. By the end of September both reactors were operating. (2)
 Following the Reactor 3 announcement, EDF said it is hoping to run both reactors at the site for two last six-month periods each and then begin decommissioning them “no later than 7 January 2022”. The reactors were previously scheduled to be shut down in March 2023.
  ONR has yet to give permission for either reactor to operate for a second six months, and this will require new safety cases.
The NFLA and campaigners have condemned the moves to restart Hunterston, warning that public health is being put at risk. They are calling for the plant to be permanently closed down now. “The safest thing to do is to close Hunterston B and start accelerated decommissioning of its reactors,” said the group’s Scottish convener, Glasgow SNP councillor Feargal Dalton. “We totally disagree with EDF that decommissioning should start in 2022. It should happen now for the sake of public safety.” He added: “The fact it has taken two years and much resource from EDF to provide sufficient information to the ONR to allow a restart to take place is indicative of the level of risk over the structural integrity of these reactors.” (3)
  Reactor three has an estimated 377 cracks in its graphite core and has been shut down since 9 March 2018. It will only be allowed to operate for six months before it will have to close down again so that its core can be checked for new cracks. Then EDF will need new permission to operate it for a further, final six months. Reactor four at Hunterston has an estimated 209 cracks in its core, and was shut down on 2 October 2018. It was allowed to restart for four months in 2019.
According to the Daily Business website, EDF employs approximately 580 workers (and around 200 contractors). About 125 will lose their jobs in January 2022 with others retained until 2025 for the    de-fuelling process. (4) After that, there will be the massive task on dismantling the two reactors safely.
Dr Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland said “Whether it was clever press strategy or fluke, EDF managed to use the closure announcement to bury the news that their damaged reactor is starting up again. They must be laughing all the way to the bank.” (5)
  West Kilbride Tory councillor Todd Ferguson called for Hunterston to be shut immediately. He said Hunterston should not be a ‘guinea pig’ for the UK nuclear industry testing how long power stations can last. “There comes a time when the reactors should remain offline for good. The North Ayrshire Conservative Group believe the time to look at this is now.” (6)
The NFLA Scotland Forum have joined with Friends of the Earth Scotland, WWF Scotland, CND Scotland and the Nuclear Consulting Group to raise serious concerns over the decision of the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to allow these reactors to restart. It is important to note that the majority of the Scottish population live downwind of Hunterston B and the consequences of an accident will be catastrophic. In terms of the energy generation issues by closing Hunterston B, it needs to be noted that EDF Energy has recently been asked by the National Grid to reduce output at Sizewell B in Suffolk due to a lack of energy demand, providing it with £50 million in order to do this. With the reducing cost and increasing levels of renewable energy coming on stream there is absolutely no need to restart Hunterston B. Restarting for 6 or 12 months is creating an unnecessary risk to the people of Scotland. If accelerated decommissioning of the site was to take place, many jobs can be diverted into such activity for some time to come. In addition, whilst there is fuel in the reactor, it is a criticality risk and has to be almost fully staffed until it is defueled in 2025. (7 )
The latest technical documents (8) put online by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) show:
1. EDF has predicted that the number of cracks in reactor three’s graphite core will increase from the current 570 to 781 after six months operation, and to 943 after 12 months operation. 943 cracks would bring the reactor close to EDF’s new “damage tolerance level” of 1,331 cracks, and exceeds its “intermediate damage tolerance assessment” of 905 cracks.
2. EDR has scrapped its “operational allowance” for cracks, which in 2018 was 350. It now says that the safety limit is its “Currently Established Damage Tolerance Level” of 1,331. So, the acceptable number of cracks has nearly quadrupled in two years.
3. EDF has done new analysis of “in-event cracking” to assess the damage that a one-in tenthousand-year earthquake could do if it occurred in the next six months. This predicts that “overloads” would cause an additional 500 cracks.

  The ONR report also contains some interesting remarks on EDF assessments. It says for example that the company’s estimates of the likelihood of fragments of debris broken off graphite blocks “migrating to safety significant locations” are “inherently subjective”. It also suggests that EDF’s safety case methodology is “approaching its limit of viability”.   The ONR report also contains some interesting remarks on EDF assessments. It says for example that the company’s estimates of the likelihood of fragments of debris broken off graphite blocks “migrating to safety significant locations” are “inherently subjective”. It also suggests that EDF’s safety case methodology is “approaching its limit of viability”.

 Despite all this of course, ONR bought EDF’s argument that it should be allowed to operate for another six months. But maybe getting ONR’s permission for a second six months’ operation – as EDF want – is not certain.
Jobs Nicola Sturgeon has promised to look into job fears surrounding Hunterston’s closure. Calls have been made for the Scottish Government and North Ayrshire Council to create a plan for the workforce. Nicola Sturgeon said the government is committed to creating new employment locally. Conservative MSP Jamie Greene says the impact of the decommissioning will be huge and insists local people will need extra support. Kenneth Gibson, the SNP MSP for the area, says work needs to be done quickly to support jobs and that officials must look towards a green future. He said: “The decision should encourage the Scottish and UK Governments to work in partnership with the council to deliver the economic transition of the area with a greater sense of urgency. Whilst defuelling will mean no immediate job losses, investment locally in green, clean energy is now the priority.” (9)
• EDF Energy has announced that it intends to submit new safety cases to ONR to re-open Reactors 3 and 4 at Hinkley Point B – Hunterston’s sister reactors. It currently expects reactor 4 to return to service on 26 February 2021 and reactor 3 on 12 March 2021. The Stop Hinkley Campaign is calling for both reactors to remain closed. Stop Hinkley spokesperson Roy Pumfrey said: “Nuclear engineer, the late John Large said more than a decade ago that it was gambling with public safety to allow reactors with cracks in their core to keep operating. Every minute these reactors operate that gamble become riskier. We call upon the UK Government to intervene and request the ONR to re-consider their unwise decisions at Hunterston B and to refuse to accept EDF’s safety cases for Hinkley Point B. It is EDF in Paris, France which will benefit from the restart of these reactors, but it is those of us who live in Somerset and middle England who are being exposed to these involuntary risks” (10)  http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SafeEnergy_No88.pdf

November 12, 2020 Posted by | safety, UK | 1 Comment

.U.S. nuclear security administrator resigns – lost the confidence of Donald Trump?

November 12, 2020 Posted by | politics, safety, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Belarus shuts down its newly inaugurated nuclear power plant to replace equipment

November 10, 2020 Posted by | Belarus, politics, safety | Leave a comment

Sudden resignation of head of USA’s National Nuclear Security Administration

Head of nuclear weapons agency unexpectedly resigns, Yahoo News, Aafron Mehta,Deense News•November 7, 2020  WASHINGTON — Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, has resigned her position effectively immediately, Defense News has learned.

Gordon-Hagerty, who became the first woman to lead the NNSA in February 2018, sent her letter of resignation to the White House Friday, according to a pair of senior NNSA officials, speaking to Defense News on background.

The NNSA is a semi-autonomous office located within the Department of Energy. While the Defense Department manages the delivery systems of the nuclear force — ships, planes and missiles — NNSA has oversight over the development, maintenance and disposal of nuclear warheads. While the agency falls under the purview of DoE, much of its budget is set by the Nuclear Weapons Council, which is largely controlled by Defense Department officials.

Per the sources, the resignation was driven by almost a year of clashes between Gordon-Hagerty’s office and Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. That fight first seeped into public earlier this year, when Brouillette sought to cut NNSA’s budget request. Defense officials, backed by supporters from Congress, went to the White House and forced the issue in NNSA’s favor.

Tensions never truly receded and continued to play out in Congress during the fiscal 2021 budget season. Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., led pro-defense lawmakers in an effort to give the Pentagon more official control over NNSA; House lawmakers created several pieces of legislation that would give the Energy department more control.

The issue seemed to come to a head when the Department of Energy Organization and Management Improvement Act, passed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Sept. 9, changed language that made the NNSA a quasi-independent entity, in essence folding the agency more fully under DOE’s control. The move was seen by NNSA officials as an attempt by Brouillette to outright destroy the agency……….  https://news.yahoo.com/head-nuclear-weapons-agency-unexpectedly-184158751.html

November 7, 2020 Posted by | safety, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Japanese nuclear regulator’s website hit by possible cyberattack

Japanese nuclear regulator’s website hit by possible cyberattack, Japan Times, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/11/04/national/nuclear-regulator-website-cyberattack,  KYODO, Nov 4, 2020

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Tuesday its official website became inaccessible possibly due to cyberattacks.

The incident comes a week after the regulatory body’s intranet had an unauthorized access from outside.

According to the NRA, the government’s cybersecurity institute notified it of the website disruption on Tuesday afternoon. There was no abnormality when the NRA updated the website Monday evening, it said.

The website remained inaccessible for hours, but the problem was resolved by around 8:30 p.m., the NRA said.

In August, a fake website resembling that of the NRA was discovered by an official of the regulator.

November 5, 2020 Posted by | incidents, Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties, technology | Leave a comment

Due to shutdowns, Japan has only one nuclear reactor working

Japan left with only one nuclear reactor working due to shutdown, Asahi Shimbun, By HIROKI HASHIMOTO/ Staff Writer, November 4, 2020

  ”……….. This is the first time since May 2017 that all nuclear reactors operated by Kansai Electric remain suspended.

Electric power companies are required to construct an anti-terrorism facility at their nuclear power plants under stringent new safety regulations imposed after the triple meltdown at the Fukushima plant.

But Kansai Electric failed to meet the deadline at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, forcing it to take its No. 3 and No. 4 reactors offline.

In addition, pipes need to be replaced at its Oi nuclear power plant’s No. 3 reactor.

Kansai Electric submitted repair plans to the government and expects to finish the work in January so it can restart the reactor in February at the earliest.

In January this year, the Hiroshima High Court granted a provisional disposition order to stop Shikoku Electric’s Ikata nuclear power plant’s No. 3 reactor in Ikata, Ehime Prefecture, which means it is unlikely to come back online until next March at the earliest.

Kyushu Electric’s Sendai nuclear power plant’s No. 1 and No. 2 reactors in Satsuma-Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, were also suspended after construction of an anti-terrorism facility fell behind schedule.

The Genkai nuclear power plant’s No. 3 reactor is undergoing regular inspections, so only the No. 4 reactor is still operating.

This situation is expected to continue until Dec. 22 when Kansai Electric plans to restart the No. 3 reactor at its Takahama nuclear power plant.  http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13900336

November 5, 2020 Posted by | business and costs, Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Anxieties, memories of Chernobyl, as Belarus launches new nuclear power station

November 5, 2020 Posted by | Belarus, safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »