nuclear-news

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

The devil, as usual, is in the details. For instance, the cost of a nuclear reactor per unit of electrical generating capacity declines with increasing size……There are economies of scale associated with security, too ….Nuclear power advocates have long promised far more than they can deliver, ignoring essential hurdles such as cost, safety, and performance. Decades of experience, however, have proven those promises to be hollow and hazardous. The notion that “small is beautiful” for nuclear reactors is not just fanciful; it is whistling past the graveyard of the “nuclear renaissance” that never was

The problems with small nuclear reactors, THE HILL, By Dr. Arjun Makhijani – 06/15/11  “…… the enthusiasts of small reactors are back, promoting “small modular reactors” (SMRs) which, they say, can solve the central economic problem of large reactors that each cost so much and take so long to build that it becomes a “bet the farm” risk. But this is hype and hope more than substance. Unfortunately, Congress and the administration are buying into it. Continue reading →

June 16, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, technology, USA | Leave a comment

GPS stations could detect underground nuclear explosions

GPS stations trace nuclear explosions, summon end to underground mushroom clouds? Engadget, By Christopher Trout  Jun 8th 2011 A team of researchers recently revealed findings that could turn GPS stations into tools for detecting illegal nuclear explosions. According to a report, being presented to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) this week, the group found that nearby GPS stations showed a change in ionospheric electron density, following a 2009 nuclear test performed by North Korea. That discovery led to the realization that the same technology we use to track everything from dogs tochildren can more accurately detect nuclear explosions — even when they take place underground. By measuring the time it takes for a resulting shockwave to reach and affect surrounding stations, researchers can accurately determine the origin of the blast. The team is currently seeking funding to further its explosive (sorry, we had to) research. http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/08/gps-stations-trace-nuclear-explosions-summon-end-to-underground/

 

June 9, 2011 Posted by | technology | Leave a comment

AREVA pushing for nuclear reprocessing in USA

Areva sees nuclear waste recycling planning by 2015 (Reuters) By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON | Mon Jun 6, 2011– Areva hopes that by 2015, it can start planning construction of a facility for recycling nuclear waste in the United States, an executive for the French nuclear power company said on Monday.

Jacques Besnainou, head of Areva’s North American unit, said the company was in discussions with several utilities about forming an alliance to advocate for a recycling center……Areva has said it would cost about $25 billion to build a recycling center in the United States. Besnainou suggested part of the funding for the project could come from the federal government’s Nuclear Waste Fund, which brings in about $750 million in fees annually from U.S. ratepayers….

June 7, 2011 Posted by | reprocessing, USA | Leave a comment

Backscatter Airport Radiation Tests Were Faked

Even physics professors question the TSA’s obvious cover-up

The evidence of the TSA’s fakery is now obvious thanks to the revelations of a letter signed by five professors from the University of California, San Francisco and Arizona State University.

TSA Backscatter Radiation Safety Tests Were Rigged, Lew Rockwell.com, by Mike Adams , 18 May 11 It can now be revealed by NaturalNews that the TSA faked its safety data on its X-ray airport scanners in order to deceive the public about the safety of such devices. Continue reading →

May 19, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, technology, USA | Leave a comment

Japan radiation monitoring – new comprehensive open source

Radiation monitoring in Japan goes crowd, open source,  CNET, by Eric Mack, May 6, 2011 A new open and crowdsourced initiative to deploy more geiger counters all over Japan looks to be a go. Safecast, formerly RDTN.org, recently met and exceeded its $33,000 fund-raising goal on Kickstarter, which should help Safecast send between 100 and 600 geiger counters to the catastrophe-struck country.

The data captured from the geiger counters will be fed into Safecast.org, which aggregates radiation readings from government, nonprofit, and other sources, as well as into Pachube, a global open-source network of sensors. Safecast is one of the larger crowdsourced monitoring efforts, not unlike a similar effort in the United States that predated the Japanese disaster.

For the last month, the Safecast crew and volunteers have been collaborating with universities in Japan and driving their geiger counters around the country and taking measurements. Safecast’s early monitoring trips north of Tokyo returned some disturbing findings, including elevated radiation levels in a kindergarten classroom….Radiation monitoring in Japan goes crowd, open source | Crave – CNET

May 8, 2011 Posted by | Japan, technology | 1 Comment

Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant the world’s most dangerous complex

Making Hamaoka a special concern to its opponents is the presence of plutonium. Chubu is the only utility in Japan to have signed a contract to process mixed oxide fuel containing plutonium and uranium with the Sellafield plant in the UK.

The industry’s clout, its collusion with government watchdogs and a largely compliant media have helped smother concerns about this potentially explosive collision of state-of-the-art atomic power with primordial seismic instability

‘We all said disaster would strike here, not Fukushima’, The Independent, 3 May 11, After a 40-year campaign, warnings about the vast nuclear power station on Japan’s earthquake faultline are finally being heard. By David McNeill in Omaezeki and Nanako Otani, Norihiko Watanabe is pointing to his home, 600m from what he calls the most dangerous nuclear power complex on the planet. “There’s nothing like it anywhere in the world,” he says, eyes widening. “If it blows up, we’re all finished.” Continue reading →

May 3, 2011 Posted by | Japan, reprocessing, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Radioactive for ONLY 300 YEARS, boast Thorium promoters

the waste would have to be stored for around 300 years or so, compared to tens of thousands of years for current reactors.

Only in the world of nuclear technology could a requirement for 300 years of dangerous waste storage be seen as an advantage.

No one talks about safe nuclear power because it doesn’t exist, Canberra Times, Dr Sue Wareham 28 Apr, 2011 , The heading on Julian Cribb’s glowing recommendation of thorium reactor research (April 26, p11) poses the question ”Why is no one talking about safe nuclear power?” The answer is that it doesn’t exist.

Cribb states that thorium reactors do not produce weapons grade material. This is misleading. Continue reading →

April 29, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, technology, Uranium | Leave a comment

Plutonium danger in Los Alamos nuclear plan

In the event of an earthquake and inadequate safety features, highly carcinogenic plutonium smoke could escape the building, rendering the land beneath the plume too contaminated for use.

“It would be like a dirty bomb,” Mello said. 

Nuclear watchdog groups slam New Mexico plan, By Zelie Pollon, Santa Fe, New Mexico | Wed Apr 27, 2011 (Reuters) – The U.S. government should rethink plans for a multi-billion dollar plutonium complex at Los Alamos after the recent nuclear catastrophe in Japan and the discovery of increased seismic risk in New Mexico, nuclear watchdog groups said. Continue reading →

April 28, 2011 Posted by | safety, technology, USA | Leave a comment

Stuxnet computer worm paralysing Iran’s nuclear program

Russian experts and officials have been warning for several months that the Bushehr power plant has become too dangerous to operate because of the Stuxnet infection

…..Iran was forced to shut down its uranium enrichment plant at Natanz last November and removed nearly 1,000 centrifuges because of malfunctions caused by Stuxnet. 

Computer Worm Wreaking Havoc on Iran’s Nuclear Capabilities, NewsMax.com,  27 Apr 2011 , By Ken Timmerman, An internal report by a special intelligence unit in Iran has concluded that the Stuxnet malware computer virus that has infected Iran’s nuclear facilities is so dangerous it could shut down the entire national power grid. Continue reading →

April 28, 2011 Posted by | Iran, technology | Leave a comment

“Rare Earths” are radioactive, not so innocuous as they sound

why can’t the nuclear countries produce their own nuclear fuels in their own countries?  Unconfirmed reports have noted that some countries are dumping their nuclear wastes (rare earth included) in some third world countries under the guise of economic and scientific corporation!

(Malaysia) THE RARE EARTH CONTROVERSY, The Star,  by: cheaman, 25 April 11 What is ‘rare earth’? They are ‘actinide’ substances. So what are ‘actinides’, pray tell? Continue reading →

April 25, 2011 Posted by | ASIA, technology, Uranium | Leave a comment

Facts on plutonium and Mox nuclear fuel

some reactors do use Mox, but only as a small percentage (less than 30 per cent) of the total fuel. The rest of the fuel is conventional uranium oxide…Mox, which in any case remains far more expensive than conventional uranium fuel…

(UK) Government’s doomed  £6bn plan to dispose of nuclear waste,  The Independent, 11 April 11“……Q & A: Why has it come to this?

Q: What is Britain’s “plutonium mountain”?

A: It is the nation’s stockpile of radioactive plutonium, kept as plutonium dioxide powder, packed into special drums stored at Sellafield in Cumbria. A further, smaller amount is stored at the Dounreay nuclear facility in Scotland, the site of the doomed nuclear fast-breeder reactor programme. Continue reading →

April 11, 2011 Posted by | - plutonium, reprocessing, UK | Leave a comment

Facts on radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods

How urgent is the situation?
Fairly urgent. The NRC predicts that at the rate we’re discarding rods—about 2,000 tons a year—we’ll run out of existing storage space by 2015…..

Radioactive fuel rods: The silent threat – The Week, 9 April 11, Japan’s nuclear crisis has highlighted the danger of the spent fuel rods piling up outside America’s nuclear plants Continue reading →

April 9, 2011 Posted by | technology, wastes | 3 Comments

No one knows how to deal with Fukushima’s radioactive water

international law forbids Japan from dumping contaminated water into the ocean if there are viable technical solutions available down the road….So Tepco is considering bringing in barges and tanks, including a “megafloat” that can hold about 2.5 million gallons….Yet even using barges and tanks to temporarily handle the water creates a future problem of how to dispose of the contaminated vessels.

Cleaning up Japan’s radioactive water could take decades, latimes.com, 7 April 11, No one is sure how to safely dispose of millions of gallons of highly radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. ‘There is nothing like this, on this scale, that we have ever attempted to do before,’ a U.S. expert says. Continue reading →

April 7, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, environment, Japan, technology | 1 Comment

What lovely optimism – nuclear powered spacecraft for USA, Russia

Russia, U.S. to cooperate on nuclear-powered spacecrafts MOSCOW, April 4 (Xinhua) –– The Russian Federal Space Agency ( Roscosmos) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have agreed to cooperate in developing nuclear engines for spacecrafts, local media reported on Monday.Citing Roscosmos’ head Anatoly Perminov in Kazakh Baikonur space center, reports said Russia has initiated to jointly build nuclear-powered engines with NASA by 2019 and use these engines for flights to Mars.

Such an engine will make the flight to Mars 20 times faster, Perminov said, adding that the meeting between he and his NASA counterpart Charles Bolden was scheduled on April 1

Russia, U.S. to cooperate on nuclear-powered spacecrafts

April 5, 2011 Posted by | Russia, technology, USA | Leave a comment

Only AREVA to benefit from dangerous plutonium reprocessing plant?

A mixed-oxide, or MOX, plutonium reprocessing plant that is being built in South Carolina has become “an expensive effort that enriches contractors, led by the French government-owned company Areva,”

US anti-nuclear activists slam reprocessing plan, Google news, (AFP) –  5 April 11, WASHINGTON — US anti-nuclear groups Monday condemned a project to build a plant where plutonium from weapons would be reprocessed into fuel for nuclear power plants, saying the plan was costly, dangerous and would benefit mainly the French group, Areva.

A mixed-oxide, or MOX, plutonium reprocessing plant that is being built in South Carolina has become “an expensive effort that enriches contractors, led by the French government-owned company Areva,” Tom Clements of Friends of the Earth said at the launch of a report by an anti-nuclear alliance.”In my opinion, it is primarily because of Areva’s influence inside the Department of Energy that the US is pursuing a plutonium fuel program and it’s because of Areva’s influence that there’s a push for the US to also reprocess commercial spent fuel to remove plutonium, like France does,” he said…….

The plant, on the Department of Energy’s Savannah River site, is roughly one-third finished and three times over budget, with a price tag so far of $4.9 billion dollars, Clements maintained.

But even as the nuclear disaster in Japan highlights the dangers of MOX fuel — which the ANA report says was used in one of the reactors at Japan’s crippled Fukushima power plant — the US government is failing to rethink construction of the South Carolina facility, Clements told reporters.

“As plutonium leaks from the damaged reactors in Japan, the US Department of Energy (DoE) continues planning for the use of dangerous mixed-oxide fuel in US nuclear reactors of the same design as the Fukushima reactors in Japan,” Clements said.

MOX fuel pellets “make reactors harder to control and, in the case of a severe accident, the radiation plutonium releases will be worse than uranium fuel,” said Clements……

Anti-nuclear activists would prefer encasing the plutonium left over from dismantled US nuclear weapons in glass, and then storing it as high-level waste.

That method, called vitrification, is “cheaper, quicker and safer” than converting plutonium into MOX fuel, says the report released Monday by ANA, a network of three dozen organizations…..
AFP: US anti-nuclear activists slam reprocessing plan

April 5, 2011 Posted by | reprocessing, USA | Leave a comment

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