Comparison of radiation levels before and after Fukushima nuclear catastrophe
when the accident struck, Konayashi and his colleagues were in a good position to measure exactly how things changed.
Japanese Physicist Publishes Fukushima Radiation Records, Technology Review, 14 Nov 11 The readings at the Fukushima Medical University, close to the damaged nuclear power plant, make for grim reading.
Today, an insight into the conditions in the region surrounding the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant soon after the magnitude 9 earthquake and resultant tsunami which caused the reactors to explode. Continue reading
Rare Earths: non China projects difficult, costly, unlikely to make a profit
The rare earth market is in a correction cycle after China’s export cuts, mining reforms and stockpiling pushed prices of most REM to an unsustainably high level, Lifton said, adding prices at this lower level would make it even harder for non-Chinese ventures to make a profit.
Most Non-Chinese Rare Earth Projects Doomed: Consultant, Planet Ark 02-Nov-11, BRITAIN Alessandra Prentice The vast majority of non-Chinese rare earth metal (REM) ventures will fail due to a lack of expertise and high ore processing costs, says Jack Lifton, founder of the industry consultancy Technology Metals Research. Continue reading
A dubious claim about nuclear fusion
Cold Fusion Experiment: Major Success or Complex Hoax?, Fox news, By John Brandon, November 02, 2011 A physicist in Italy claims to have demonstrated a new type of power plant that provides safe, cheap and virtually unlimited nuclear power to the world, without fossil fuels or radiation concerns.
The only hitch: Scientists say the method — cold fusion — is patently impossible. They say it defies the laws of physics…… Jonathan Koomey, an energy consultant who has advised the EPA, said any extraordinary discovery requires extraordinary proof. He said the E-Cat must be verified by an independent study conducted by scientists who are allowed access to the machine’s inner-workings.
“[The E-Cat experiment] should be treated as a hoax until independent scientists are able to replicate these results,” Koomey told FoxNews.com — as one would treat claims that someone had defied the laws of gravity or found a major flaw in the theory of relativity.
Koomey explained that cold fusion defies the laws of thermodynamics. Energy requires an initial, consumable power source that erodes and breaks down — it simply isn’t self-sustaining……
Rossi claims his company, Leonardo Corp., will produce the E-Cat machine, which he first demonstrated earlier this year at the University of Bologna. Proof of the experiment’s success is that the customer will pay for the technology and start using it, he said…
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/02/andrea-rossi-italian-cold-fusion-plant/#ixzz1cgMMbKLB
Duqu – a new computer worm hacking into classified nuclear information
The Duqu worm was designed primarily to steal technical documents, especially to those relating to nuclear power plants and industrial controls systems by masquerading as an image file. Security experts have warned of a similar “Stuxnet 2” attack since Duqu was discovered.
Japanese military contractor hacked, Foreign Policy, By Kedar Pavgi , October 24, 2011 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a Japanese military contractor, confirmed today that a hacking incident from this past August released confidential information regarding classified warplanes and nuclear power plants. Continue reading
USA’s MOX plutonium nuclear fuel plant a costly, dangerous, flop
“The government would be crazy to consider building another MOX plant. MOX cannot be recycled.”….
The Bomb Plant: A MOX White Elephant?, DC Bureau By Joseph Trento, on October 20th, 2011 The National Nuclear Security Administration may have a $10 billion taxpayer-financed white elephant on its hands based on Britain’s experience with a similar plant that has been shuttered after a decade of failed operations. Continue reading
Plutonium nuclear plant project stopped, – Japan
Japan utility to freeze nuclear power project, Monsters and Critics, Oct 17, 2011, Tokyo – Hokkaido Electric Power Co said Monday it would postpone a plutonium-thermal power generation project at its nuclear power plant on Japan’s northern island, after the company was accused of manipulating public opinion.
A report filed by an independent panel said the utility had asked employees and residents supporting the project to express opinion in favour of the nuclear energy at symposiums and other events organized by the central and local governments.
Hokkaido Electric was planning to implement its so-called pluthermal power generation in spring of 2012 at reactor 3 at the Tomari Nuclear Power Plant on the island.
Hokkaido Electric president Yoshitaka Sato told a news conference that the utility would accept the findings by the panel set up by the company to investigate the scandal…..
The scandal reinforced public mistrust in the nuclear power industry and apparently made it difficult for the restart of idled nuclear reactors….. Plutonium-thermal generation uses fuel made from a mixed oxide of plutonium and uranium (MOX fuel)… http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/news/article_1669319.php/Japan-utility-to-freeze-nuclear-power-project
Through Google Earth, researcher tracks India’s nuclear program
Researcher Uses Google Earth to Track India’s Nuclear Program, PC World, By John Ribeiro, IDG News Oct 13, 2011 The Institute for Science and International Security in Washington has used imagery from Google Earth to arrive at the conclusion that India may be constructing a gas centrifuge plant for uranium enrichment for military purposes, reinforcing Indian fears that Google Earth can be misused to compromise national security. Continue reading
Concern over India’s Kalpakkam nuclear reprocessing facility
Indian peace activists have expressed suspicions that the plutonium separated at Indian civilian reprocessing facilities will be diverted and used to increase the country’s stock of atomic weapons.
Technological preparations towards the building of a full-scale fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam are reportedly in an advanced stage.
Anti-Nuclear Struggle Has Large Fallout, International News Magazine, 05 October 2011 Peter Custers “……..The Kalpakkam complex does not just harbour a nuclear power plant, but also a reprocessing facility- a plant where nuclear fuel rods, after they have outlived their use in reactors, are chemically treated so as to extract raw materials for re-use as energy source.
Storage of such high-level waste in tanks has resulted in catastrophic accidents, Continue reading
Problems of Finland’s Olkiluoto nuclear plant and waste storage plans
the companies are planning to make Onkalo only large enough for waste from their own potential seven reactors
the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) has identified safety concerns at operating Finnish power plants as part of stress tests conducted after last spring’s Fukushima crisis in Japan. These include the lack of backup cooling systems that are independent of electrical supply at the Olkiluoto1 and 2 reactors.
a honeycomb of storage sites extending over an area of several square kilometres will weaken the bedrock, making it vulnerable to earthquakes,
includes VIDEO TVO: No room for Fennovoima waste in nuclear cave, YLE FI 4 oct 11, Onkalo on Finland’s west coast will be the world’s first permanent nuclear waste repository. The project director of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant, TVO Senior Vice President Jouni Silvennoinen, insists there is no space for waste from utilities other than TVO or Fortum in the Onkalo underground disposal site on Finland’s west coast. Continue reading
Nuclear Reprocessing not looking good, following France’s nuclear accident
French Nuke Accident Leads India To Reexamine Its Nuclear Ambitions, Forbes, Erica Giles, 20 Sept 11, “……..reprocessing is no silver bullet; in fact, it has created a bitter divide among nuclear experts – and not just because it can be a gateway to proliferation, as India itself so aptly demonstrated in 1974. “At this point, it’s like creationism versus evolution,” said Edwin Lyman, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, indicating that in his view, the anti-reprocessing camp has science on its side.
Reprocessing via the current commercial-scale process used in France, called PUREX, recovers only a small amount of additional energy and is more expensive than using virgin uranium, he said. And instead of reducing waste, it merely changes its form. “There’s no feasible, practical way to take material from the waste and use it in a nuclear power system so you could get rid of it over any kind of reasonable time frame,” he said.
Many Indians are protesting their country’s rapid nuclear expansion, most recently exemplified by a mass fast in Tamil Nadu state against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project. But neither their concerns nor nuclear accidents are likely to alter India’s plans…. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericagies/2011/09/19/french-nuclear-explosion-causes-india-to-think-hard-about-its-nuclear-ambitions/
Stuxnet computer worm could target nuclear warheads
Nuclear warheads could be next Stuxnet target: Check Point, Code in Stuxnet worm can be modified with right skills, says security expert, CIO Hamish Barwick (Computerworld), 09 September, 2011, Due to the complexity and sophistication of the code contained within the Stuxnet worm, the possibility of it being used to take control of a nuclear warhead is high, according to a security expert.
At Check Point’s Sydney conference this week, Check Point Israel security evangelist, Tomer Teller, said he analysed the code of the Stuxnet worm, which was used to take control of a nuclear facility in Iran in June, 2009. “This is a huge file, it’s 1 megabyte [MB] of code and I respect the skill required to engineer that code as it is very complex,” he said.
Teller confirmed the code in Stuxnet could be modified to launch new SCADA attacks. “Nuclear warheads are controlled by computers so if someone managed to slip a worm inside a facility that will reach the warhead component, they could launch it and than aim it back at the country’s facility,” he said.
“Stuxnet is the first cyber weapon that could cause major disruption.”…..According to Teller, Stuxnet is a blueprint for future SCADA attacks, and he is aware that people have downloaded and modified the worm. “Stuxnet may have been deployed already but we don’t know about it because some companies won’t disclose breaches,” he said. https://mail.google.com/mail/?hl=en&tab=wm#compose
NASA hoping to overcome ionising radiation so people can live in space
My question is, who in their right mind would want to live in space, rather than on this beautiful, and less irradiated Earth? – Christina Macpherson
NASA Awards Space Radiobiology Research Grants,The Sacramento Bee, By NASA WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2011 — NASA is funding nine proposals from eight states to investigate space radiation’s effect on human explorers. The proposals from researchers in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Texas have a total value of approximately $12 million.
The ground-based studies will work to better understand and mitigate risk of damage to the heart and central nervous system from cosmic rays. The studies also will assess cancer risks and how genetics affect space radiation risks.
“These studies will pave the way for new approaches to better prepare astronauts for living in space,” http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/09/3897143/nasa-awards-space-radiobiology.html
Something rather unsafe about nuclear powered cars
Forgive me for playing the devil’s advocate here, but aren’t suitcase nukes a huge terrorist threat? Just asking. By the way, I have a hazy memory of visiting that same Idaho National Lab some years ago and seeing the huge carcass of what was described as an experimental nuclear car from the 1950s.
Nuclear cars: They’re not science fiction anymore | MNN – Mother Nature Network, 1 Sept 11, In the nuke-crazed 1950s, Ford wanted to put mini reactors in cars. That didn’t fly, but now we’re hearing of radioactive thorium lasers that could power a car 300,000 miles without recharging. But what if two of them have an accident? Continue reading
Silex laser uranium enrichment process classified secret under Atomic Energy Act
Some New Wrinkles in Nuclear Weapons Secrecy, Secrecy News, August 22nd, 2011 by Steven Aftergood “………At this late date in the nuclear era, there are still other “innovations” in nuclear technology and nuclear secrecy. The New York Times reported last weekend on an apparent breakthrough in the use of lasers to enrich uranium. This laser enrichment process, known as SILEX (Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation), also poses new proliferation issues. See “Laser Advances in Nuclear Fuel Stir Terror Fear” by William J. Broad, August 21.
Though the Times story did not mention it, the SILEX process is also a unique case in which information that was privately generated was nevertheless classified by the government. …..
As far as could be determined, the decision to classify this non-governmental information under the Atomic Energy Act is the first and only time that such authority has been exercised. See this 2001 “Record of Decision to Classify Certain Elements of the SILEX Process as Privately Generated Restricted Data.” (See also “A Glimpse of the SILEX Uranium Enrichment Process,” Secrecy News, August 22, 2007.) Some New Wrinkles in Nuclear Weapons Secrecy | Secrecy News
Silex laser uranium enrichment opening opportunities for nuclear terrorism
Dr. Slakey of the American Physical Society noted that the State Department a dozen years ago warned that the success of Silex could “renew interest” in laser enrichment for good or ill — to light cities or destroy them.
Laser Advances in Nuclear Fuel Stir Terror Fear, NYT, By WILLIAM J. BROAD,August 20, 2011 Twenty miles southwest of Sydney, in a wooded region, Horst Struve and Michael Goldsworthy kept tinkering with the idea at a government institute. Finally, around 1994, the two men judged that they had a major advance.
The inventors called their idea Silex, for separation of isotopes by laser excitation. “Our approach is completely different,” Dr. Goldsworthy, a physicist, told a Parliamentary hearing… Continue reading
1 This Month
26 September – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- September 2026 (305)
- August 2026 (330)
- July 2026 (355)
- June 2026 (287)
- May 2026 (306)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (267)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (375)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
