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Destruction of Hanford Towers

the structures being demolished “weren’t radiologically contaminated so they weren’t previously an item that we were rushing to take down.” But, because they don’t have that type of contamination, they can be demolished relatively quickly, making the project eligible for federal stimulus funding

Explosives to bring down Hanford towers,  Seattle Times Newspaper, 3 March 11, A number of tall industrial structures at the former Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Eastern Washington will come down in a spectacular fashion Friday, courtesy of federal stimulus funding.By LYNN PORTER Continue reading →

March 4, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Don’t let Entergy off the hook on nuclear waste cleanup

SAFSTOR “would let Entergy off the hook” for cleanup and waste disposal for years or even decades, wrote the delegation.

“While Entergy may prefer leaving the plant to sit like an abandoned factory because it has not saved the necessary funds to fully decommission the plant, this is not the safest option for Vermonters,” Leahy, Sanders and Welch wrote..

Leahy, Sanders, Welch say no to SAFSTOR, Brattleboro Reformer By BOB AUDETTE / Reformer Staff March 2, 2011 BRATTLEBORO — Vermont’s congressional delegation is urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure it will force Entergy to clean up the site of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant as soon as it closes down. Continue reading →

March 3, 2011 Posted by | decommission reactor, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Natural Resources Council challenges NRC’s WASTE CONFIDENCE RULE

In absurdist fashion, the new Waste Confidence Rule contains a “predictive” safety “finding” that simply stipulates spent reactor fuel can be disposed of safely at some unspecified time in the future, whenever it becomes “necessary” to dispose of it. The Rule also concludes that for at least sixty years after the cessation of reactor operations, spent fuel can be safely stored at reactor sites or in “special” facilities.

Sixty Thousand Tons of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Stored at U.S. Reactors for 60 Years? Natural Resources Defence Council, Matthew McKinzie  February 23, 2011 Why NRDC has Challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Waste Confidence Rule Last week my colleague and NRDC Senior Attorney Geoffrey Fettus filed a legal challenge to two final rulemakings by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission: the “Waste Confidence Decision Update” and the “Consideration of Environmental Impacts of Temporary Storage of Spent Fuel After Cessation of Reactor Operation.” What does the Federal Government want to do with these new Rules, and why is NRDC opposing them?…….. Continue reading →

February 24, 2011 Posted by | Legal, spinbuster, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

New Mexico to get Hanford nuclear wastes

Workers entered in groups of three or four wearing three layers of protective clothing and breathing through air hoses,.. [wastes] will be shipped in a waste box to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for disposal.

Complex cleanup work at Hanford plutonium plant, Seattle Times , Annette Cary, 21 Feb 2011, Hanford workers have begun the complex task of removing 196 “pencil tanks” contaminated with plutonium from inside an enclosed, canyon like room at the nuclear reservation’s Plutonium Finishing Plant…… Continue reading →

February 22, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Reprocessing nuclear waste – not a solution to the intractable waste problem

Nuclear waste- no place to go? Environment Reseach by Dave Elliott on February 19, 2011 Reprocessing nuclear waste provides little short-term benefit because the process costs too much and uranium supplies remain plentiful, according to a new study of US nuclear waste management options by MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Continue reading →

February 22, 2011 Posted by | reprocessing, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Yucca nuclear waste dump project to close soon

Obama budget confirms end of Yucca Mountain project –Las Vegas  ReviewJournal.com By Steve Tetreault Feb. 14, 2011  Continue reading →

February 15, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Battle in USA over nuclear wastes costs

It marks only the latest chapter, however, in the fiery battle over nuclear-waste storage. While a storage facility would be a boon to the nuclear-power industry, it’s considered a pariah to people who live near proposed site locations.

Nuclear-Power Firms Push Back Against Fees – WSJ.com, FEBRUARY 11, 2011,   By TENNILLE TRACY

WASHINGTON—Buried in the details of President Barack Obama’s budget release Monday will be more than $770 million that nuclear-power companies pay each year for a waste-storage site that’s years behind schedule.But this might be the last year the White House can count on that income. Continue reading →

February 12, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Canada’s massive nuclear waste problem threatens Saskatchewan

the amount of nuclear waste currently awaiting disposal is massive. “Two million spent fuel bundles now exist in Canada,” said Harding, “and if the reactors that are in operation today complete their projected cycle, that’ll double.”

Ontario to transfer nuclear waste to Saskatchewan | The Sheaf, ANDREW GLUM  10 Feb 2011, Saskatchewan may become the future home of a high-level nuclear waste dump, but Jim Harding and the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan intend to prevent that Continue reading →

February 11, 2011 Posted by | Canada, wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) closing work on Yucca waste depository

NRC moving forward with plan to close out review of Yucca nuclear waste site, chairman says, Canadian Business Online, By Frederic J. Frommer   3 Feb 2011,WASHINGTON (AP) – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is closing out its work on Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a nuclear waste repository, Continue reading →

February 2, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

UK’s plan for new nuclear plants add to danger of Sellafield radioactive waste problem

Experts in the field say the ongoing problems at Sellafield are worrying, especially in light of the possibility of waste that will be created from new-build nuclear…The consultation process on how to deal with nuclear waste and new nuclear plants across the country has been clearly lacking,

Sellafield is where we house the toxic legacy of our failed nuclear industry’ Industry experts say the government must deal with legacy waste before committing to new nuclear in the UK Nidhi Prakash,   27 January 2011,   guardian.co.uk There are many uncertainties about the renaissance of nuclear power in the UK, particularly surrounding the level of public subsidy, but one thing remains constant: the industry’s waste problem hasn’t gone away. Continue reading →

January 28, 2011 Posted by | decommission reactor, UK, wastes | Leave a comment

What to do with old unused nuclear bombs?

at least 650 of the bombs were built, each with a 1.2 megaton explosive capability, which is about 80 times more powerful than the 1945 Hiroshima bomb………

Nuclear bombs: a legacy of leftovers | The Augusta Chronicle  Rob Pavey | Thu, Jan. 27 Ever wonder what happens to old nuclear bombs when no one needs them anymore? It’s way more complicated than parting out a ’67 Chevy. In the case of the B83, one of America’s most potent thermonuclear weapons, some of those parts are coming to Savannah River Site. We’re just not sure how many. Or when. That’s a tightly guarded secret. Continue reading →

January 28, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Blue Ribbon nuclear waste commission has the power to not make things worse

Not making things worse would be a reasonable, responsible accomplishment for the “Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future”,…A nuclear “time out” -until technical problems are solved- is far preferable to an unaffordable, unsustainable and irrational “try it all over again” recommendation – one blind to the history of the proven negative consequences.

A blue-ribbon, “nuclear” bus ride Mountain Xpress,Ned Ryan Doyle, 21 Jan 2011 “….The members of the President’s Commission are talented, intelligent people handed a lofty mandate to address these problems. It’s unreasonable, however, to think they could really solve these intractable problems with policy recommendations, due in draft form July of 2011, especially when most of the proposals are from the industry and interests that profit from these ongoing problems. Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Financial and safety threats in expanding production of plutonium

Some of the intractable challenges facing the President’s Commission -and the public- include some 67,000 metric tons of highly radioactive waste in temporary storage today, the prospect of expanded production of plutonium as both a health and a national security threat, nationwide transportation of highly radioactive waste, to and from, the Savanna River Site over road, rail and waterways and the unresolved problem of finding a secure repository for the long term storage of nuclear waste.

A blue-ribbon, “nuclear” bus ride Mountain Xpress,Ned Ryan Doyle, 21 Jan 2011, How could a nuclear-energy park in South Carolina impact the people of WNC? On January 7th, a “WNC Citizen’s Delegation” chartered a bus to Augusta, GA, for the only public hearing in the Southeast held by President Obama’s appointed “Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future”… Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority says all of UK’s high level radioactive waste is at Sellafield

NDA: ‘No plans to send high-level nuke waste to Sellafield’ , Whitehaven News by Alan Irving, 13 January 2011 THE Nuclear Decommissioning Authority says it has no plans whatsoever to send high-level radioactive materials to Sellafield. Copeland’s MP Jamie Reed has raised Parliamentary questions over claims that high-level waste might come to Sellafield from other UK nuclear sites. Continue reading →

January 14, 2011 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

France leaves radioactive legacy in uranium mine tailings

When the mines are shut down, the radioactive waste remains, and it seems that the costs for managing this radioactive legacy will have to be largely supported by the society, not the companies.

Radiological hazards from uranium mining: Problems posed by the disposal of tailings, League of Individuals for the Environment, Inc, Bruno Chareyron, 5 Jan 2011, The disposal of radioactive tailings and their control on the long term, has not receivedyet satisfying solutions, taking into consideration their activity, radiotoxicityand long half-lives. Some examples from France (where about 50 million tonsof tailings are stored) and Niger are given below. Continue reading →

January 12, 2011 Posted by | France, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

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