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Fort Calhoun nuclear station scaling back emergency procedures

Nuclear plant emergency procedure scaled back at FCS, http://www.wowt.com/content/news/Nuclear-plant-emergency-procedure-scaled-back-at-FCS-479198163.html FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (WOWT)–  By Josh Spreiter |  Apr 09, 2018  |

Some changes are effective today at the Fort Calhoun Station. This is a part of the de-commissioning process at the old nuclear power plant which was shut down in 2016. People living within the “Emergency Planning Zone should have received a letter in the mail explaining this step.

Right now, FCS employees are working to safely de-commission the plant, a process that can take up to 60 years. Over the next year, OPPD will be removing the 101 sirens across the EPZ, simply because they are no longer needed.

An FCS manager says the used nuclear fuel has cooled to a point where the likelihood of a leak is “extremely low.” All the fuel will be removed from the pool and placed into dry cask storage on site.

Residents living with this zone will also no longer receive the annual emergency planning information brochure.

Over the years, the old nuclear power plant had some close calls. During the 2011 Missouri River Flood, FCS became an island itself. The plant remained safe and dry inside, but the flooding continued for several months as water was pumped out from behind a series of barriers that were installed around the plant. One of the barriers collapsed but the plant remained safe.

Even before the floodwater reached the plant, there was a fire in the cooling system used for fuel. It concerned federal regulators because the fire could have happened at any time, as workers didn’t fully investigate an unusual smell three days earlier.

Now, as FCS opens the page to a new chapter, people we spoke to say they have full confidence officials will keep them safe.

OPPD says it continue to have staff onsite 24/7. Technical experts will also be available if any concerns arise.

April 11, 2018 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

California producing a surplus of renewable energy

California Has Too Much Green Energy, Daily Caller , TIM PEARCE,  Energy Reporter
03/10/2018 

California has frozen development on any more renewable energy sources as it wrestles with what to do with all the extra electricity it’s currently producing, Quartz reported.

Solar energy production has risen from less than one percent of California’s energy mix in 2010 to around 10 percent in 2017. On certain days when conditions are favorable, solar has supplied as much as half the energy used by Californians, according to Quartz.

The California Public Utilities Commission has proposed the state hold off on any further investment into renewable energy as individuals and businesses throughout the state continue to buy their own private sources of energy, such as solar panels secured to the tops of buildings. As more individuals invest in private energy, demand on the state’s grid lessens, Greentech Media reported.

California also has trouble predicting how much renewable energy will be needed at a certain time and controlling the power supplied. On several occasions, California paid Arizona utilities and others to take excess solar energy to avoid overloading its own grid, according to the Los Angeles Times.


“It’s really disappointing,” Independent Energy Producers Association CEO Jan Smutny-Jones told Greentech Media about California’s decision to halt renewable energy investment. “They’re basically saying, ‘There’s too much going on; we don’t know what to do, so we’re not going to do anything for a while.’” ……….http://dailycaller.com/2018/03/10/california-green-energy/?platform=hootsuite

April 11, 2018 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Demolition of plutonium processing plant stalled due to radiation risks to workers

Danger from radiation shuts down nuclear plant demolition in Washington state, WLWT5,  
NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, 8 Apr 18, SPOKANE, Wash. —  Seven decades after making key portions of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are being exposed to radiation as they tear down buildings that helped create the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

Dozens of workers demolishing a plutonium processing plant from the 1940s have inhaled or ingested radioactive particles in the past year, and even carried some of that radiation into their vehicles, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The incidents have prompted the federal government, along with state regulators, to halt the demolition of the sprawling Plutonium Finishing Plant until a safe plan can be developed.

The contamination has also shaken confidence in a massive cleanup of Hanford, the nation’s most polluted nuclear weapons production site. The work costs the federal Treasury around $2 billion a year. Hanford is near the city of Richland, about 200 miles southeast of Seattle.

“This is a very disturbing set of incidents,” said Tom Carpenter, head of the Seattle-based watchdog group Hanford Challenge.

The Energy Department, which owns Hanford, has launched an independent investigation into the spread of radiation at the plant. The investigation will be conducted by an agency office that is not connected to work at Hanford.

Radioactive particles are known to have contaminated 42 workers, which led to the shutdown of demolition, the agency has said.

Carpenter said widespread worker contamination has been rare at Hanford in recent decades. Plutonium production ended in the 1980s and the site in 1989 switched its focus to cleanup of nuclear wastes.

“It’s one of the more serious events to happen in the age of cleanup at Hanford,” Carpenter said. “There have been other incidents, but none rose to the level of plutonium contamination of this many people and private vehicles and being found miles and miles away.”

A union representing some Hanford workers said it was closely monitoring the situation…..http://www.wlwt.com/article/danger-from-radiation-shuts-down-nuclear-plant-demolition-in-washington-state/19712632

 

April 9, 2018 Posted by | - plutonium, USA | Leave a comment

Through “back channels”, secret talks go on between USA and North Korea

Secret, direct talks underway between US and North Korea, By Elise Labott, Kevin Liptak and Jenna McLaughlin, CNN, April 7, 2018  Washington  The United States and North Korea have been holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing, several administration officials familiar with the discussions tell CNN.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo and a team at the CIA have been working through intelligence back-channels to make preparations for the summit, the officials said. American and North Korean intelligence officials have spoken several times and have even met in a third country, with a focus on nailing down a location for the talks.
Although the North Korean regime has not publicly declared its invitation by Kim Jong Un to meet with Trump, which was conveyed last month by a South Korean envoy, several officials say North Korea has since acknowledged Trump’s acceptance, and Pyongyang has reaffirmed Kim is willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula……..https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/07/politics/north-korea-us-talks/index.html

April 9, 2018 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Could new U.S. tactical missile projects trigger a new nuclear arms race?

Are the U.S. Army and DARPA Trying to Start a Nuclear Arms Race? National Interest,  Michael Peck, 6 Apr 18,   Could new U.S. tactical missile projects trigger a new nuclear arms race?

Recent comments by U.S. Army leaders, and a new project from Pentagon research agency DARPA, point to the United States developing new long-range battlefield missiles.

 The Pentagon believes that it needs the missiles because its field artillery is inferior to Russian guns that have a longer range than their American counterparts. “We need cannons that fire as far as rockets today, we need rockets that fire as far as missiles, and we need missiles that push out to 499 kilometers and beyond,” Gen. Robert Brown, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, told an Association of the U.S. Army audience in Huntsville, Alabama last month.

“499 kilometers and beyond” is a very significant phrase, because the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Force Treaty (INF), signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, banned nuclear and conventional missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (or about 300 to 3,400 miles). The agreement came in the midst of an arms race after the Soviets deployed SS-20 intermediate-range nuclear missiles which threatened Western Europe, to which the United States responded by deploying Pershing II and ground-launched cruise missiles.

The conventional weapons provision pointed to an uncomfortable fact: there is no way to peek inside a nose cone to be sure the missile isn’t carrying a nuclear warhead. So while conventional intermediate-range missiles could have many uses (attacking airfields, command centers, etc.), a missile launched from, say, Germany could hit Moscow with a nuclear weapon.

Indeed, the INF treaty obligated both sides to dismantle a lot of expensive hardware: 2,692 weapons, from short-range tactical missiles to long-range cruise missiles. It also established mechanisms for both sides to verify compliance. The treaty has been assailed in recent years, with the United States accusing Russia ofviolating the agreement by deploying a new ground-launched cruise missile. Putin’s recent speech, in which he boasted of Russia developing a nuclear-powered cruise missile, isn’t likely to reduce tensions.

However, General Brown suggested that the U.S. Army wouldn’t mind breaching the INF treaty. “‘I know there’s the INF treaty…but we need to push beyond that,’” Brown said, according to Politico.

At the same time, DARPA is pursuing its OpFires missile program. “The United States ground-based forces are currently limited in effective range of surface-to-surface precision fires,” according to DARPA. “The OpFires program seeks to provide operational/theater level commanders with flexible capabilities to strike time sensitive targets while providing persistent standoff from unpredictable land launch positions.”

DARPA says “the overarching goal of the OpFires program is to develop and demonstrate a novel ground-launched system enabling advanced tactical weapons to penetrate modern enemy air defenses and rapidly and precisely engage critical time sensitive targets.”……….http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/are-the-us-army-darpa-trying-start-nuclear-arms-race-25231

 

April 6, 2018 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Massive subsidy plan for New York’ s nuclear power could be stymied by new evidence

New Evidence Might Bolster Case Against Massive NY Bailout of Nuclear Power Plants http://waer.org/post/new-evidence-might-bolster-case-against-massive-ny-bailout-nuclear-power-plants, By SCOTT WILLIS & ALLEGRA CRAVER , 6 Apr 18

Opponents of the massive subsidy plan for New York’s struggling nuclear power plants say there’s new evidence that supports their case to repeal the 2016 bailout.  Two Oswego County plants owned by Exelon were among those granted $7.5 billion in taxpayer money over 12 years by the New York Public Service Commission. Executive Director of Nuclear Information and Resource Service Tim Judson expressed his disappointment in the PSC not serving the public’s interest.

“The Public Service Commission was supposed to be making a rational decision for the benefit of New Yorkers across the state.  It appears based on what actually happened,  this was a decision to benefit the owners of nuclear power plants.  The PSC didn’t consider more cost-effective alternatives for meeting the state’s energy goals.”

Opponents  say their evidence includes a presentation made by a former lobbyist from Exelon in which he bragged about the $7.5 billion subsidy.  Judson says the presentation is a prime example of the huge profits companies can make via lobbying and political spending. However, he acknowledges its legality.

“It’s not clear that there’s anything illegal in terms of Exelon lobbying state government for financial assistance.  Companies have the right to do that.  But the PSC doesn’t need to be swayed by companies trying to protect their private interests.”

Judson says the PSC violated the rights of the public by not giving them enough notice or time to understand how their money would be spent.  He also notes how the closing of the nuclear plants would not have mattered much in the long run.

“Before the whole proceeding that resulted in the subsidy was undertaken, the agency that runs the state’s electricity system had done an evaluation and determined the two reactors scheduled to close, plus several other power plants scheduled to close around the same time, could turn off and there wouldn’t be any need for additional power plants or energy sources to be developed.  There was plenty of power on the grid.”

Judson says the PSC should have looked into clean energy options that would have helped the state meet its Clean Energy Standard goals. A hearing for this case is expected this summer.

April 6, 2018 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

New Jersey’s Nuclear Subsidy Bill heads for uneasy passage in Houses

AMID ARGUMENTS AND WARNINGS, NUCLEAR SUBSIDY BILL CLEARS COMMITTEE New Jersey Spotlight, TOM JOHNSON | APRIL 6, 2018

Clean-energy measures also voted out, but nuclear bill looms large — particularly when it comes to costs to ratepayers.

After months of contentious debate and false starts, a package of bills increasing the state’s reliance on renewable energy, as well as subsidizing nuclear power plants, won approval yesterday from a pair of legislative committees.

The passage sets the stage for final approval by both houses on Thursday to legislation that likely will impose billions of dollars in new costs on utility customers to support those programs.

If signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy as expected, the measures will begin implementing key parts of the new administration’s clean-energy agenda, while averting the threatened closing of nuclear power plants, operated by Public Service Enterprise Group.

……..The mounting public demand to address climate change and the difficult choices facing an unregulated energy sector have thrust those decisions before a Legislature largely oblivious of the implications of its actions, according to some. A key provision of the deal calls for subsidizing PSEG’s three nuclear power plants for as long as 10 years at a cost of $300 million annually.

“The proposed nuclear bailout will make it difficult to ramp up a clean-energy future,’’ argued Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, who backed a clean-energy bill.

The nuclear bill (S-2313) has proven very controversial due to its cost. Critics, including many business groups, consumer advocates, and environmentalists, argue the company has never demonstrated the plants are in financial jeopardy.

No room for rate counsel

Under the bill, the plants would only be awarded the subsidies in certain circumstances. The state Board of Public Utilities would have to initiate a proceeding and find the plants are in financial distress. But the bill may leave the state’s Division of Rate Counsel, the agency representing consumers, out of the review process.

Rate Counsel director Stefanie Brand said the subsidies could end up costing consumers more than $3 billion over a decade, even though the company has not proved they are losing money. “They are making money, but not as much as the company wants,’’ Brand told the Senate Budget Committee.

……. “It is abundantly clear by now that ratepayers cannot afford a multibillion dollar tax hike, paid to bail out demonstrably profitable nuclear plants, just so PSEG shareholders can make some money,’’ said Matt Fossen, of the New Jersey Coalition for Fair Energy…….http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/04/06/amid-arguments-and-warnings-nuclear-subsidy-bill-clears-committee/

April 6, 2018 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Donald Trump does not know what he’s doing, in lead-up to North Korea summit

Does Trump Even Know What He Wants From Kim Jong-un?
The president has shown no indication that he has any plan for next month’s all-important North Korea summit. Slate, By FRED KAPLAN  , 3 April 18. 

The biggest, riskiest diplomatic trip of his presidency—the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un—is set to take place next month, and Donald Trump shows no signs of comprehending the issues or interests at stake.

Two statements from last week should have set off alarm bells that the president is not remotely ready for prime time.

The first came on Thursday, during a rambling, campaign rally–like speech in Ohio. At one point, Trump mentioned his recently reached trade deal with South Korea, saying, “I may hold it up until after a deal is made with North Korea. You know why? Because it’s a very strong card. And I want to make sure everyone is treated fairly.”

Within a few hours, aides to South Korean President Moon Jae-in were seeking clarification on the statement, working through various channels to understand Trump’s “true intentions.”Good luck on that.

I’ve sought some clarification myself, to no avail. The remark was either utterly incoherent or a terrible blunder. The former—yet another instance of Trump’s incoherence—is the likelier explanation. It’s not at all clear why Trump should hold up a trade deal with South Korea, pending the results of nuclear talks with North Korea. The two have little or nothing to do with each other.

But impolitic incompetence should never be dismissed as a source of confusion. Moon will be meeting with Kim—another historic first—on April 27 at Peace House, near the North-South border. It is expected that their meeting will tee up the issues, and to some degree set the agenda, for Kim’s meeting with Trump a few weeks later. Trump’s relations with Moon are rife with tensions. Trump has harshly criticized Seoul for fair-trade violations (and is said to see the new trade deal as an imperfect solution); he often grumbles that the South Koreans should pay more for their own defense and has threatened to withdraw U.S. forces from the region if they don’t—thus arousing fears, in South Korea and Japan, that Trump might do just that in exchange for a promise by North Korea to freeze or cut back its nuclear arsenal.

Trump’s remark in Ohio could be read as a threat to Moon: Push Kim hard on his nuclear weapons, maybe even get him to agree to dismantle them in advance of the U.S. summit—do the heavy lifting for us—or forget about the new trade deal. ……….

Does Trump have any idea what sorts of “phased, synchronized measures” he would like North Korea to take—and what sorts of measures he would permit the United States to take at the same time? For example, as a first step, North Korea could extend its freeze on nuclear testing and open up its production and test sites to international inspection—with the United States simultaneously removing some sanctions. What would be the second, third, and fourth synchronized measures, and what would be the ultimate goal—the finishing line of these steps? These are issues to be discussed by experts, debated in National Security Council meetings, and decided very carefully by the president and his top advisers. If officials at the State Department, the Pentagon, and the NSC aren’t already well into this project, they’re starting way too late.

It’s also worth noting that Trump’s incoming national security adviser, John Bolton, has spoken out against the whole concept of phased, synchronized measures, demanding that Kim dismantle his nuclear arsenal, all at once, and urging the United States to launch a first strike if he refuses. Will he offer Trump the same advice, now that he’s off Fox News and inside the White House? Will Trump listen? And who’s still around to offer countervailing advice?

Kim Jong-un will come to both negotiations—the one with Moon near the DMZ and the one with Trump at a location not yet determined—with a goal, an agenda, and a bag of bargaining tactics. He may also have sought and won consent for his approach (though there’s no way of knowing this) during his meeting in Beijing with Xi. Unless something dramatic happens in the next few weeks, Trump will arrive at the summit with no firm grip on a strategy or tactics—and wavering support from, and for, his allies. He may come instead with the cloak of an unearned self-confidence that he can prevail with a deal through his charisma and instincts. For this kind of deal, that won’t be enough. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/does-trump-even-know-what-he-wants-from-kim-jong-un.html

April 4, 2018 Posted by | politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Iran nuclear deal under threat, with Donald Trump’s new national security team

Trump’s new national security team likely spells disaster for the Iran nuclear deal, What happens next? Brookings, 
Suzanne Maloney, Monday, April 2, 2018  “…….. Tehran now faces powerful resistance to its expanded regional posture—from Israel, which has launched attacks on Iranian positions in Syria, and from its traditional rival Saudi Arabia, whose brash young crown prince appears determined to contest Iran’s reach at any price. Across a tense and unsettled region, Iran remains the 800-pound gorilla, but Iranian commanders are wary about the prospect of new pushback, promising that “we won’t be blindsided by the enemies.”

DARK CLOUDS IN DC

The most imminent threat, however, emanates from Washington, where the Trump administration is poised to upend the 2015 nuclear deal, a move that would reinstate harsh economic sanctions on Iran and intensify frictions between the two old adversaries.

Last week’s announcement that former Bush administration official John Bolton will join the White House on April 9 as Trump’s third national security advisor casts an even more ominous pall over the start of the new year for Tehran. Bolton has consistently and vociferously campaigned against the nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), insisting that “Trump can and should free America from this execrable deal at the earliest opportunity” and outlining a step-by-step plan for doing so. He proposes to replace diplomacy with military strikes to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, coupled with “vigorous support for Iran’s opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran.” Even more unfortunately, Bolton has depicted a deranged, discredited cult of Iranian expatriates as a legitimate opposition movement—a ludicrous embrace that defies explanation, except perhaps the group’s lavish kickbacks.

With Bolton managing the interagency decisionmaking process—and another opponent of the agreement, Mike Pompeo, taking the helm at the State Department—Iranians and the world are already beginning to brace for America’s retreat from the Iran nuclear deal.    The appointments added a note of fatalism to an already fitful dialogue between Washington and Europe, aimed at heading off President Trump’s ultimatum to address the agreement’s perceived shortcomings before the May 12 deadline for extending U.S. sanctions waivers on Iran. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/04/02/trumps-new-national-security-team-likely-spells-disaster-for-the-iran-nuclear-deal/

April 4, 2018 Posted by | USA | Leave a comment

FirstEnergy files for bankruptcy for its uneconomic coal and nuclear subsidiaries

FirstEnergy Seeks Bankruptcy Protection for Ailing Coal and Nuclear Subsidiaries, The move follows FirstEnergy’s request for a federal bailout.  Greentech Media, JEFF ST. JOHN APRIL 02, 2018 

Utility FirstEnergy has taken the long-threatened step of filing for bankruptcy protection for its competitive power generation subsidiaries. It’s the latest development for a coal and nuclear power fleet that has become a focus of the Trump administration’s efforts to shift energy policies to favor fossil-fired electricity.

Saturday’s filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio seeks Chapter 11 protection for FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), as well as for subsidiaries FirstEnergy Generation and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company. The companies, which operate power plants in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic, hold about $3.8 billion in collective debt, as compared to 2017 revenues of $3.1 billion.

FirstEnergy’s fleet has been losing money for years, unable to compete against cheap natural-gas-fired power, as well as a rising share of low-cost renewable energy. The company warned of possible bankruptcy in its nuclear business in early 2017, and in February of this year, CEO Chuck Jones warned that its power plant subsidiary faced insolvency as early as the next month.

………FirstEnergy’s woes have also become the focus of a concerted effort by Trump administration officials to rewrite federal energy regulations in ways that would provide extra payments to its struggling power plants, largely at the cost of increased energy prices and reduced competitiveness for renewables.

That includes Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s Federal notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) which sought out-of-market payments for power plants with 90 days of fuel supply — something only coal and nuclear power plants have — on the grounds that the grid could fail without them.

The NOPR, which was denied by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in January, appears to have been influenced by Perry’s association with coal company CEO and owner Robert Murray, an outspoken financial supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Murray Energy, which counts FirstEnergy as its largest customer, has long argued that the coal industry deserves regulatory relief from market forces, environmental laws and other constraints. Last year, the company sought federal emergency relief for its own operations, claiming that it faced bankruptcy if FirstEnergy’s plants closed. While the request was denied, Perry’s NOPR was seen by some industry-watchers as a backdoor attempt to fulfill the company’s request for financial relief for its biggest customer.

On Friday, FirstEnergy followed Murray Energy in asking DOE to provide financial relief to its power plants under its rarely-used authority under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to intervene in energy markets and respond to power grid reliability emergencies. The petition was widely criticized by energy industry groups, consumer and environmental advocates, and competitors such as NRG Energy, as a last-ditch attempt to save the company from insolvency.

FirstEnergy also warned the FERC last week that it plans to close three nuclear power plants in the next three years. FirstEnergy will retain a handful of competitive generators under its bankruptcy plan, but expects to close or sell most in the next 18 months. …….https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/firstenergy-seeks-bankruptcy-protection-coal-and-nuclear-subsidiaries#gs.NfAEvIw

April 4, 2018 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

USA showdowns over nuclear costs and taxpayer bailouts

Minnesota Is the Latest Frontier in a Showdown Over Nuclear Costs, Xcel Energy seeks upfront approval for nuclear repairs and maintenance. Greentech Media,  EMMA FOEHRINGER MERCHANT APRIL 02, 2018 

Bills working through both chambers of the Minnesota legislature would grant the state’s largest utility, Xcel Energy, approval for nuclear facility cost recovery before the money is spent. Currently, the utility commission uses rate cases to analyze returns after the utility shells out.

Last week, the Senate version passed out of committee.

The divisions the bills have created within the state — with the utility commission, some lawmakers, clean energy advocates and the executive branch on one side, and Xcel and other members of the legislature on the other — echo wider debates about large nuclear power plants in the U.S., and who should pay for them.

South Carolina is still negotiating the fallout from the cancellation of two new reactors at its VC Summer Plant. Ratepayers there have already paid billions of dollars for a project that will never be completed. In March, Georgia regulators approved a merger of Scana Corporation and Dominion Energy, which may provide some relief for ratepayers. But the deal still needs federal approval as well as the OK of South Carolina regulators and Scana shareholders. Lawmakers in the state are also still mulling how much more ratepayers should pay for the failed project.

Meanwhile, progress at the controversial Vogtle Nuclear Plant in Georgia continues trudging along.

…….Another nuclear battle is playing out in New York, with competitive power producers such as NRG Energy and Dynegy challenging the state’s use of zero energy credits, footed by ratepayers, for nuclear power plants. The plaintiffs say the credit’s use interrupts competition. Lower courts have ruled in favor of the state in both New York and in a similar case in Illinois.While varied in their policy implications, all of these state cases have spurred debates about whether large-scale nuclear — which has proven itself to be very costly — should receive monetary support or subsidies, and in what form. In the first days of 2018 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission killed a proposal from Energy Secretary Rick Perry to buoy nuclear (and coal) power plants. Another resilience proceeding is now underway at FERC to assess what benefit, if any, these plants should receive.

A bankruptcy declaration from FirstEnergy days after the company requested a bailout for its coal and nuclear plants from the Department of Energy indicates the economics are not getting better for these plants.

While the New York and Illinois cases wend their way through the courts and FERC considers its next move, the debate over nuclear support in Minnesota may end more quickly: at Governor Mark Dayton’s desk. He has said he won’t sign the bill because it undermines the authority of the PUC.

“These end runs to the legislature to try to give special interests what they want violates the whole purpose of the Public Utilities Commission,” the governor said. https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/minnesota-emerges-as-latest-frontier-in-showdown-over-nuclear-costs#gs.GR2S2DU

April 4, 2018 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Citizens of the St. Louis suburbs concerned over toxic landfill leak

Toxic Townships: Landfill Leak Raises Concerns, http://unewsonline.com/2018/03/28/toxic-townships-landfill-leak-raises-concerns/ Riley Mack, Staff Writer, 28 Mar 18,  The world’s oldest nuclear weapons’ waste could be in the air, the soil or even within homes. What seemed like a wonderful place to raise children has turned into a nightmare for the citizens of the St. Louis suburbs. These families are living just miles from the West Lake Landfill, which was given the Superfund status in the 90s: A title received only by the most contaminated areas in the country. With little help from the government, residents are dying due to rare cancers that come from exposure to what appears to be toxic elements. Their homes were unknowingly a part of the birth of the atomic age. It all began in 1942, when St. Louis was selected as a center for holding uranium in order to assemble the first atomic bomb.

Following recent media attention toward groups like Just Moms STL, a documentary called “Atomic Homefront” that was released in 2017, publicized the issue and ultimately gained attention for the community by showcasing personal stories. One community member within the documentary named Anna Vasilenok states in a public meeting that she moved from Chernobyl in order to relieve her family of this type of tragedy, then went on to tearfully recall all the family members she lost from cancer due to the nuclear disaster. She asked the government officials within the meeting “Do you want that for your children? Who will pay for all the expenses of cancer?”

 Staring into the sympathizing audience surrounding her, Vasilenok said “the government has to be held responsible,” and that the government officials they had elected only had interests in their own money. The community “can’t be quiet anymore,” she vehemently declared.

Like Vasilenok, the Just Moms STL group speaks volumes for this issue and surpasses their namesake with their important mission. The early days of this society was a Facebook page where worried community members posted their grievances and advice on the situation. When the conditions of the environment escalated, so did the responsibilities of the group. Dawn Chapman, a forthright activist and co-founder of the group states that cleaning up the St. Louis area is their task bebeen a pivotal role in the intervention of media (and therefore, policymakers) to create real change for their community. They even extended their activism to marching in Washington when Gina McCarthy, a former administrator for the EPA, wouldn’t answer their emails.

Unfortunately, the Just Moms STL organization’s suspicions were correct. In August 2015, soil was found to be contaminated with Thorium 230 at St. Cin Park, a popular playground for children and high schoolers in the Hazelwood area. 

The community arranged an emergency meeting with local officials, where they learned that the parks are still open for families and children to visit; enraged, community members stepped forward to challenge these representatives. One man announces that “the original point where [the waste] had come from took [his] father” and now, “this park has taken [his] son” — all of this taking place in the parks where the gates are still wide open.

Hazelwood Parks City Manager Matthew Zimmerman disconcertedly stated back to the distraught families, “If we didn’t have parks there, then where would the children go?” As of January 2018, it has been declared that all companies liable for the dumping owe an expected cost of $236 million, which is a large increase from the project fund of $24.5 million in previous years. Although not enough to form a buy-out option for those who need the funds to move out of their contaminated homes, it is physical and monetary action that is heavily needed for these residents. It will partially excavate tons of radioactive waste from the Republic Landfill in St. Louis over the next five years.

Ironically, a large sign posted in front of Republic Landfill’s site brightly states that “Customer satisfaction is the key to our success!” Whether this is the satisfaction of the community members, or of their own greedy agenda is up to the lawmakers to decide.

April 4, 2018 Posted by | environment, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear lobby no longer touts Peaceful Nuclear Power – now it’s Essential for Nuclear Weapons

Should Nuclear Energy Be a U.S. National Security Concern? Inside Sources  March 29, 2018 by Erin Mundahl    Sixty years ago, nuclear power was the energy of the future, promising a nearly limitless supply of clean, cheaper power. That future has yet to arrive. In fact, today, utilities are increasingly transitioning out of nuclear generation, shuttering aging reactors and shelving plans to reinvest in new technology. This is more than just a shift from one fuel to another, says David Gattie, an associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia. The decline in interest in nuclear energy has significant impacts on America’s national security.

“Nuclear energy is a unique resource because of its unmatched energy density and dual-purpose utility for electric power generation and nuclear weaponry,” Gattie writes in a recently published paper………. Although American scientists began the atomic age, more recently, research and development in nuclear technology, including civilian nuclear, has decreased to a level that threatens American primacy and, by extension, national security….

The U.S. is running the risk of falling behind the rest of the world in terms of nuclear technology, rather than maintaining its position of global leader.

To combat this trend, Gattie advocates specific legislative action to provide fixed support for nuclear research and development. For the purposes of longevity, this would optimally be a legislative, rather than executive action. This space to resurrect research in technologies like molten salt and breeder reactors would signal that the U.S. is committed to the future of nuclear energy. http://www.insidesources.com/nuclear-energy-should-be-a-us-national-security-concern/

April 2, 2018 Posted by | spinbuster, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Isle de Jean Charles – America’s first climate refugees to evacuate

America’s first climate change refugees are preparing to leave an island that will disappear under the sea in the next few years, Business Insider David Usborne, The Independent, 1 April 18 

  • In March, Louisiana state officials announced that everyone living on Isle de Jean Charles will have to leave.
  • Where there were 22,000 acres in 1955 there are only 320 acres today.
  • They are one hurricane away from obliteration.
  • The evacuation is a test-run for countless coastal communities in Louisiana, who must all move as the seas take over the land.
  • ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES, Louisiana — America comes to an end here. Connected to the marshes and moss-laced bayous of southern Louisiana by two miles of narrow causeway, waters lapping high on each side, Isle de Jean Charles takes you as far into the Gulf of Mexico as you can go without falling in. But the dolour in the salt air is not just about loneliness and separation. It’s about impending demise.

    Don’t call it a death sentence – the intention is the opposite – but state officials in late March made the announcement that had been a long time coming. Some on the island, nearly all members of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indian tribe, met it with relief; others with hostility.

    Marking the kick-off of what will be the first climate resettlement of its kind in the entire United States, land had been chosen an hour’s drive to the north for a whole new town to be thrown up. No one will force them exactly, but the intention is clear: to evacuate those still living on the island to the new site, where at present nothing but sugar cane stands, before it is too late.

    When that will be depends on whom you ask. But no one disputes that the island is sinking, thanks to a combination of subsidence and rising sea levels.

    …… The vanishing of Isle de Jean Charles into the waves of the gulf might take another decade or even five. On the other hand, one more big storm could finally end its viability for human occupation for good, flooding homes beyond repair or cutting through the connecting road.

  • …….“It’s really a test run,” Mr Forbes,  executive director of the Louisiana Office of Community Development,concedes in an interview from his Baton Rouge office. While Americans may have been displaced by environmental change before, notably in Alaska, no single community has been relocated lock, stock and barrel like this. “We are trying to keep the community intact and ensure that it’s economically and socially vibrant and viable. To our knowledge, it’s unique. There are places around the world who are looking at a similar type of thing but nobody in the US has done this.”Which makes residents on Isle de Jean Charles canaries in the mineshaft……..http://www.businessinsider.com/isle-de-jean-charles-climate-change-refugees-2018-4/?r=AU&IR=T

April 2, 2018 Posted by | climate change, USA | Leave a comment

USA still has an awful lot of nuclear weapons – Enough Firepower to Kill Billions

The U.S. Military Has 3,822 Nuclear Weapons. (Enough Firepower to Kill Billions), http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-us-military-has-3822-nuclear-weapons-enough-firepower-25142  Michael Peck, 31 Mar 18, 

In a more peaceful universe, the fact that the United States possesses almost 4,000 weapons that can destroy entire cities would be horrifying.

But in our universe, it is actually an encouraging sign of how much America’s nuclear arsenal has declined since the Cold War.

 As of 2017, the U.S. had 3,822 nuclear weapons, according to data just declassified by the Department of Energy. That’s down from 4,018 in 2016. That number does not include weapons that have been retired but have yet to be dismantled by the Department of Energy.

The figures show just how deep America’s nuclear arsenal has been cut since the height of the Cold War. In 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States had 25,540 nuclear weapons. That number grew to a peak of 31,255 nuclear weapons in 1967.

From 1967 on, that number gradually declines. In the 1970s, the stockpile ranged from 24,000 to 28,000 weapons. In the 1980s, it hovered around 23,000.

It wasn’t until the fall of the Soviet Union that the nuclear arsenal noticeably shrank. From 19,008 weapons in 1991, the number dropped to 13,708 in 1992 and 10,685 by 1999.

The Federation of American Scientists put the total number of U.S. nuclear weapons as of January 2017 at about 6,800, of which about 4,000 are active. The active stockpile included 1,367 deployed strategic warheads, 2,471 nondeployed warheads and around 200 deployed tactical warheads.

The Department of Energy also reported dismantling 10,972 nuclear weapons from 1994 to 2017, with the largest numbers occurring in the 1990s. From 648 weapons dismantled in 2008, the number plummeted to 109 in 2015, before rising to 354 in 2017.

As a footnote, there are an estimated 14,200 nuclear weapons in the world, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Russia has the largest number at 6,600 active and retired warheads, just slightly larger than the American total. The rest of the world (France, China, Britain, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea) have a little over a thousand.

As Winston Churchill said, “If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is make the rubble bounce.

Michael Peck is a contributing writer for the National Interest. He can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

April 2, 2018 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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