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Allison Macfarlane speaks out on USA’s nuclear waste problem

New U.S. Nuclear Regulator Says Spent Fuel a Top Priority Bloomberg News, By Kasia Klimasinska   August 14, 2012  The new chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said she plans to concentrate on the disposal of spent atomic fuel, an issue that is holding up decisions on power-plant licenses.

Allison Macfarlane, in her first news conference since taking over at the NRC on July 9, today also called on Congress and the White House to identify a permanent disposal site for spent fuel from the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors. Continue reading →

August 15, 2012 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

VIDEO: Norway cops radioactive water waste from UK’s Sellafield nuclear site

Norway’s Nuclear Problem  http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/thalassa/ Radioactive material from the Sellafield nuclear plant in the UK has been detected in Norwegian waters.In the early 1990s in Norway, scientists discovered the presence of radioactive material in the seawater, seaweed and lobster.  But Norway has no nuclear facilities, and no nuclear weapons, so it had to be coming from another country.

Russia was a prime suspect, but it is in fact in southern Scotland on the edge of the Irish Sea that the problem originated.  Over fifty years ago the British government built the Sellafield plant to produce electricity and plutonium for the making of atomic bombs. Now it has reconverted into a nuclear waste processing plant, but security is still not guaranteed and fires, leakage and accidental toxic discharge have occurred over the years.
Some speak of negligence. Environmental activists around the world are on the case, demanding the closure of the site once and for all. In 1997, a huge rock concert was organised by U2 to raise the alarm.

August 13, 2012 Posted by | oceans, politics international, Resources -audiovicual, wastes | Leave a comment

Poisonous legacy of rare earths mining in China

Rare-earth mining in China comes at a heavy cost for local villages Guardian UK  Pollution is poisoning the farms and villages of the region that processes the precious minerals ,   7 August 2012 From the air it looks like a huge lake, fed by many tributaries, but on the ground it turns out to be a murky expanse of water, in which no fish or algae can survive. The shore is coated with a black crust, so thick you can walk on it. Into this huge, 10 sq km tailings pond nearby factories discharge water loaded with chemicals used to process the 17 most sought after minerals in the world, collectively known as rare earths.

The town of Baotou, in Inner Mongolia, is the largest Chinese source of these strategic elements, essential to advanced technology, from smartphones to GPS receivers, but also to wind farms and, above all, electric cars. The minerals are mined at Bayan Obo, 120km farther north, then brought to Baotou for processing.

The concentration of rare earths in the ore is very low, so they must be separated and purified, using hydro-metallurgical techniques and acid baths. China accounts for 97% of global output of these precious substances, with two-thirds produced in Baotou.

The foul waters of the tailings pond contain all sorts of toxic chemicals, but also radioactive elements such as thorium which, if ingested, cause cancers of the pancreas and lungs, and leukaemia. “Before the factories were built, there were just fields here as far as the eye can see. In the place of this radioactive sludge, there were watermelons, aubergines and tomatoes,” says Li Guirong with a sigh.

It was in 1958 – when he was 10 – that a state-owned concern, the Baotou Iron and Steel company (Baogang), started producing rare-earth minerals. The lake appeared at that time. “To begin with we didn’t notice the pollution it was causing. How could we have known?” As secretary general of the local branch of the Communist party, he is one of the few residents who dares to speak out.

Towards the end of the 1980s, Li explains, crops in nearby villages started to fail: “Plants grew badly. They would flower all right, but sometimes there was no fruit or they were small or smelt awful.” Ten years later the villagers had to accept that vegetables simply would not grow any longer. In the village of Xinguang Sancun – much as in all those near the Baotou factories – farmers let some fields run wild and stopped planting anything but wheat and corn.

A study by the municipal environmental protection agency showed that rare-earth minerals were the source of their problems. The minerals themselves caused pollution, but also the dozens of new factories that had sprung up around the processing facilities and a fossil-fuel power station feeding Baotou’s new industrial fabric. Residents of what was now known as the “rare-earth capital of the world” were inhaling solvent vapour, particularly sulphuric acid, as well as coal dust, clearly visible in the air between houses.

Now the soil and groundwater are saturated with toxic substances. Five years ago Li had to get rid of his sick pigs, the last survivors of a collection of cows, horses, chickens and goats, killed off by the toxins.

The farmers have moved away. Most of the small brick houses in Xinguang Sancun, huddling close to one another, are going to rack and ruin. In just 10 years the population has dropped from 2,000 to 300 people…… http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/07/china-rare-earth-village-pollution

August 13, 2012 Posted by | China, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

No nuclear waste solution in sight, as USA suspends new and renewing nuclear power licences

The suspension is likely to lower confidence in the nuclear industry, both on the part of the public and lawmakers. At least one congressman called for the end of new nuclear power in response to the order.

A century after a reactor shuts down, “the entity that operates reactors might not exist; the NRC might not exist. How do you say with a straight face that’s going to be safe?”

US nuke plant delay fails to solve storage conundrum  http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22165-us-nuke-plant-delay-fails-to-solve-storage-conundrum.html  10 August 2012 by Sara Reardon The gauntlet has been thrown: until the US figures out what to do with its nuclear waste, new nuclear plants can’t be licensed and existing licences can’t be renewed.

The dramatic decision, taken by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on 8 August, is a sign of mounting pressure over the issue of nuclear waste storage, and is likely to rekindle doubts over the future of the nuclear industry. But whether it will result in a solution anytime soon is still unclear.

In taking the decision, the NRC was responding to a complaint from 24 organisations, demanding that it set more specific guidelines for its plans regarding nuclear waste.

The current modus operandi is for US nuclear plants to store spent fuel in pools onsite in the hope that a permanent geological repository, such as Nevada’s Yucca Mountain – or even better, somewhere else – becomes available within the coming decades. Continue reading →

August 11, 2012 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Secret shipment of radioactive spent nuclear fuel to South Carolina

This shipment of research reactor fuel to SRS in no way means that the public is open to receipt of highly radioactive commercial spent fuel from U.S. nuclear reactors for consolidated storage at SRS, which some narrow special interests are eyeing

Radioactive Spent Fuel Containing Bomb-Grade Uranium Arriving at SRS  http://aikenleader.villagesoup.com/blog/blogpost/radioactive-spent-fuel-containing-bomb-grade-uranium-arriving-at-srs/881381
By Thomas Clements | Aug 09, 2012  A secretive shipment of radioactive spent research reactor fuel containing highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Germany is soon to arrive at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina, where it will be indefinitely stored.  The shipment is likely to be transiting the Naval Weapons Station in Charleston, South Carolina. Continue reading →

August 10, 2012 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

USA’s mounting nuclear wastes influenced NRC decision to halt reactor licensing

More than 65,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel is stored at operating and shuttered reactor sites across the country. But those 72 sites in 34 states are filling up. Some 2,000 additional tons of waste are produced each year, according to a report released this year by the president’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. …..

As Nuclear Waste Problem Persists, Federal Regulators Freeze Licensing for Reactors Aug. 8, 2012 Jim Malewitz, Stateline.org The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) won’t sign off on licenses for news and existing nuclear power plants until the commission addresses a decades-old problem plaguing states: what to do with spent fuel rods and other hazardous waste piling up at storage sites across the country.

In a unanimous decision on Tuesday (August 7), the commission said it
will hold off licensing plants that are new or up for renewal. That’s
until it responds to a court’s ruling that the NRC failed to consider
the environmental impacts of continuing to store waste at sites meant
to be temporary.

Licensing reviews will continue, the commission said, but no final
decisions will be made.

More than 65,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel is stored at operating and shuttered reactor sites across the country. But those 72 sites in 34 states are filling up. Some 2,000 additional tons of waste are produced each year, according to a report released this year by the
president’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. …..
In June, a federal appeals court threw out the commission’s “waste
confidence rule” and “temporary storage rule,” decisions that
collectively approved the status quo for onsite storage. Siding with
environmentalists and four states led by New York, the court said the
commission’s rulemaking process was flawed in that it did not
calculate the environmental effects of failing to secure a permanent
disposal site _ “a possibility that cannot be ignored,” the court
ruled. The NRC also, according to the court, “failed to examine future
dangers and key consequences,” in its determination that spent nuclear
fuel could be safely stored at nuclear sites for up to 60 years after
their license expires. ….
Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, hailed the NRC’s
decision to halt the licensing of reactors.

“The storage of nuclear waste at nuclear power facilities poses
long-term health and environmental risks, including the risk of leaks
from spent fuel pools and fires, he said in a statement yesterday.
“The NRC’s commitment is a welcome step toward ensuring a full, fair
and open examination of the numerous critical questions about the
safety and environmental impact of Indian Point before any decisions
are made about extending its operating licenses for another 20 years.”

August 10, 2012 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Bingaman Proposes Overhaul Of Nuclear Waste Disposal, By Erica Teichert Law360, Washington (August 02, 2012,) –– Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced a bill Wednesday that could alter the country’s approach to nuclear waste management policy based on recommendations of a presidential panel, saying he hoped the bill
would foster more constructive bipartisan negotiations on the issue.

The bill — S. 3469, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2012 — pushes for a new oversight body separate from the U.S. Department of Energy to oversee nuclear waste management and recommends a content-based approach to determine the sites for waste
repositories….. Subscriber only
http://www.law360.com/energy/articles/366065/bingaman-proposes-overhaul-of-nuclear-waste-disposal

August 4, 2012 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Los Alamos National Laboratory – plutonium facility not safe

The plutonium facility was designed and built in the 1970s and lacks the earthquake resistance required by modern building codes

Safety Board Calls Nuclear Lab’s Earthquake Resistance Analysis ‘Technically Inadequate’ HUFFINGTON POST, Mia SteinleInvestigator, Project On Government Oversight, 30 july 12,  An ongoing government analysis of an important nuclear weapons laboratory’s ability to withstand earthquakes may be flawed, according to a federal oversight panel. Continue reading →

July 31, 2012 Posted by | - plutonium, USA | Leave a comment

UK hastening plan to bury radioactive waste

Govt fast-tracks nuclear dumps despite warnings, The Independent/London, 29 July 12 The burial of radioactive nuclear waste is to be fast-tracked by the government despite warnings about the risks.
Ministers have revealed an “enduring ambition” for Britain’s first burial of waste from nuclear power stations to happen as early as 2029, instead of 2040 as originally planned, The Independent on Sunday revealed. Continue reading →

July 30, 2012 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

Veil of secrecy over France’s unaffordable nuclear power decommissioning

“What is not tolerable is that the funds are managed by the operators” 

Over the past six years there has been a veritable veil pulled over this subject.”

French Nuclear Dismantling Funds May Fall Short, Report Says http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-24/french-nuclear-dismantling-funds-may-fall-short-report-says.html By Tara Patel – Jul 24, 2012 Electricite de France SA and Areva SA (AREVA), along with other French nuclear operators, may not be setting aside enough funds to pay for future dismantling of reactors and treatment and storage of atomic waste, according to a parliamentary report. Continue reading →

July 25, 2012 Posted by | decommission reactor, France, Reference | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste travelling from Italy to La Hague, France

“In both Italy and France, nuclear energy is at an impasse: they don’t know what to do with nuclear waste”

Italians voted overwhelmingly against a return to nuclear energy in a
June 2011 referendum

Convoy taking Italian spent nuclear fuel to France: reports
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/convoy-taking-italian-spent-nuclear-fuel-to-france-reports_238702.html 24/07/2012 A rail convoy  highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel from Italy to France set off from the northern Italian town of Saluggia overnight, Italian media reported Tuesday. Continue reading →

July 25, 2012 Posted by | France, Italy, wastes | Leave a comment

There’s money to be made in nuclear decommissioning

Olympic Park builder eyes nuclear wind-down deal http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/olympic-park-builder-eyes-nuclear-winddown-deal-7965171.html MARK LEFTLY   MONDAY 23 JULY 2012 The US group that led construction of the Olympic Park and a New York-listed rival are the latest companies considering bids to oversee the UK’s £5bn nuclear decommissioning programme. Continue reading →

July 23, 2012 Posted by | decommission reactor, UK | Leave a comment

Dispute over UK plan for underground nuclear waste bunker

Kent and Shepway councils in Romney Marsh nuclear waste row, BBC News 19 July 12 The facility would have nuclear waste underground with research facilities at ground level Two council leaders have clashed over a report opposing plans for a nuclear waste facility on the Romney Marsh. The report, co-authored by Kent County Council leader Paul Carter, has been criticised by Shepway council leader Robert Bliss as emotive and inaccurate.


Mr Carter said he believed the report, which said the facility would blight the area, was factually correct but Mr Bliss said it was a knee-jerk reaction.

Earlier, Kent County Council voted to “totally oppose” the facility. The area is already the site of Dungeness nuclear power station, where Dungeness A is being commissioned and Dungeness B is due to stop generating power in 2018 or 2023…….

Public consultation On Thursday, Kent County Council voted to oppose the establishment ofa nuclear research and development facility in the county. It also agreed that if Shepway council decided to progress the proposal further, Kent council should review whether or not to hold acounty-wide referendum…

The facility would place nuclear waste in secure containers underground in vaults and tunnels, and at ground level, buildings would house research, office, transport and other facilities. The Shepway consultation is asking people whether it should find out more information about a possible facility on the Marsh. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18917732

July 20, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK, wastes | Leave a comment

TEPCO covering seafloor with enormous amounts of concrete. Why?

Tepco completes covering seafloor with layers of cement mix — More coating used at Reactors 5 & 6 than for Reactors 1, 2, 3 & 4 combined (PHOTOS & VIDEOS)  July 19th, 2012   By ENENews   http://enenews.com/tepco-completes-covering-seafloor-with-layers-of-cement-mix-more-coating-used-outside-reactors-5-6-than-for-reactors-1-2-3-4-combined-photos-videos

And all those funny looking black containers which were placed/dropped into the water..just COVER those things up with LAYERS of CONCRETE. Next generation can worry about it. Sadly, Mr. TEPCOman, one has to ask WHAT next generation will be healthy enough to work the problem?

One question to ask..what happened at Reactors 5 and 6 to require as much concrete or MORE than Reactors 1-4? Were more containers dumped into the ocean? More meltdown corium heading for the ocean..or is the ground so unstable..I hope its not the last. Subsidence(loss of ground HEIGHT) could be raising its ugly head. That is bad– almost as bad as Reactor 1-4 “payloads.”

Also note the non-concern of “radiation” going out into the OCEAN. What do they think the ocean is? An endless pit? Its not.

July 20, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, Japan, oceans, Resources -audiovicual, wastes | Leave a comment

“Waste Confidence Rule” allows nuclear waste keep growing, with no solution!

the NRC also stated that it ‘retains confidence that spent fuel can be safely stored with no significant environmental impact until a repository can reasonably be expected to be available and that the Commission has a target date for the availability of the repository in that circumstance’” 

As a result of its confidence in the safety of spent fuel storage, NRC rules note that “no discussion of any environmental impact of spent fuel storage in reactor facility storage pools or independent spent fuel storage installations for the period following the term of the reactor operating license . . . is required in any environmental report, environmental impact statement, environmental assessment or other analysis prepared in connection with the issuance or amendment of an operating license for a nuclear reactor,” 

Group seeks to have spent fuel a factor in re-licensing Limerick plant The Mercury By Evan Brandt  07/17/12  LIMERICK “…….Spent fuel rods are what remains after the uranium pellets inside the fuel rods in a reactor no longer generate enough heat to create the steam that turns the turbines and generates electricity at a nuclear power plant.

Although cooler, this spent fuel remains radioactive to some extent for hundreds of years. For years, spent fuel was kept in concrete “spent fuel pools” located inside a nuclear plant and filled with water to keep it from overheating.

According to the NRDC filing, in 2008 NRC proposed “‘remov(ing) its expectation that a repository (for spent fuel) will be available by 2025’ and acknowledged that its previous finding that sufficient disposal capacity would be available within 30 years after any
reactor’s licensed life ‘is not supportable.’”  Continue reading →

July 19, 2012 Posted by | decommission reactor, Reference, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

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