Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives slaps on the wrist for safety violations
Hurricane Sandy blew through, spinning houses off foundations,
blowing holes in barrier islands and wrecking lives. In the midst of
this mayhem, Oyster Creek sounded a modest alarm.
there is the impression, built up year after empirical year, that
the N.R.C. is a tiger denuded of claws. Even the agency’s internal
monitors found it was notoriously cautious about actions that might
cost plants time and money.
“I get the feeling we’re
regulating with our fingers crossed.”
At a Nuclear Plant, Hurricane Brings More Worry, NYT By MICHAEL POWELL
January 7, 2013“……Rising waters in Barnegat Bay threatened to
submerge the pumps the plant uses to pull in water to cool its reactor
and spent-fuel pools. Had workers with Exelon Corporation, which owns
Oyster Creek, been forced to turn off the water-intake pumps, they
might have had to dip fire hoses into the floodwaters to refill the
ever-hot pool. The plant issued an alert, the second lowest on the
four-stage scale established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
At the same time, 39 of 42 warning sirens, which are perched on poles
for miles around the plant and intended to warn local residents in
event of a nuclear emergency, lost power. Continue reading
Mainstream media has gone quiet about Fukushima radioactive sea flows to USA
Media Silent on Fukushima Radiation Impact in US http://www.opednews.com/articles/Media-Silent-on-Fukushima-by-Brian-Lynch-130108-588.html
By Brian Lynch OpEdNews Op Eds 1/8/2013 Sometimes big news stories can only be seen by the shadows they cast. You would think that it should be easy to find detailed updates on the Fukushima disaster’s impact on our fishing industry, milk production, global radiation distribution patterns, etc. You would be mistaken. The massive media coverage following the initial disaster has fallen nearly silent. Some frustrated environmental advocates have suggested that there is a media blackout. Probably not, but media follow-up stories are few and far between these days.
In July of last year there were major stories about Fukushima and the plume of radiation reaching across the Pacific Ocean towards North America. On July 16, 2012, Deborah Dupre of the Examiner reported the following:
“As hair falls out of a Fukushima victim’s head, a new German study reports that North America’s West Coast will be the area most contaminated by Fukushima cesium of all regions in Pacific in 10 years, an “order-of-magnitude higher” than waters off Japan, according to a new German study followed by a former New York Times journalist going inside the no-entry zone and reporting radiation levels over 10 times higher than Tepco’s data.”
The article was accompanied by this scary graphic:
Radioactive Seawater Impact Map by Radioactive Seawater Impact Map Credits: US Department of State Geographer, TerraMetrics, Google
http://www.examiner.com/article/fukushima-west-coast-cesium-slam-ahead-hair-falling-out-tepco-data-flaw?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next
Continue reading
Federal Appeals judge sides with NRC against environment groups
AUDIO Anti-Nuclear Groups Won’t Have Role In Seabrook Re-Licensing
http://www.nhpr.org/post/anti-nuclear-groups-wont-have-role-seabrook-re-licensing
By ROGER WOOD, 8 Jan 13
Anti-Nuclear groups are disappointed by a recent Federal Court
decision regarding their role in the Seabrook Nuclear Plant
re-licensing process. On Friday, the Federal Appeals Court in Boston
rejected the petition from three anti-nuclear groups to re-instate
their intervenor status in the plant’s re-licensing application. The
petition sought to overturn a Nuclear Regulatory Commission ruling
excluding them from public hearings on the issue. A Three judge panel
decided that the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing board erred in
granting opponents of the plant intervenor status. Doug Bogen, of the
Seacoast Anti-Pollution League says that the groups sought to make the
point that wind power could replace nuclear energy.
“It seemed pretty clear that the judges were taking the side of the
industry and the NRC. At least, they didn’t seem inclined to go
against their decision.”
NextEra Energy seeks a 20 year extension of its current license, which
expires in 2030. Bogen says he now believes that the Seabrook Plant
will ultimately receive its operating extension.
Judge rules that Bradley Manning was illegally treated
Military judge rules Bradley Manning was illegally treated, awards 112
days credit By Nathan Fuller, Bradley Manning Support Network. January
8, 2013. After more than two weeks of intense litigation by
Bradley Manning’s defense, and hearing how Quantico brig staff
blatantly disregarded Navy Rules, military Judge Denise Lind has
confirmed that Bradley was punished unlawfully before trial by
awarding 112 days credit. Instead of awarding 10-for-1 credit (or
dismissing the charges altogether), which would severely reprimand the
military and significantly impact Bradley’s potential sentence, Judge
Lind gave 1-to-1 credit for selected portions of his Quantico
confinement.
Judge Lind has granted credit for the 7 days Bradley was kept on
suicide risk watch against Navy Rules, 75 days from November 1 to
January 18 when he was kept needlessly on Prevention of Injury watch,
and 20 days from April 1-20 when he was forced to remove his underwear
at night. Lind said Bradley’s confinement was “more rigorous than
necessary,” and that it “became excessive in relation to legitimate
government interests.”……
http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/military-judge-rules-bradley-manning-was-illegally-treated-awards-112-days-credit
Los Alamos nuclear weapons lab security risk with Chinese technology
Opposing Views on Congress’ Claims Huawei Technologies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKYmL4JwNsY
The report said that based on classified and unclassified information,
Huawei and ZTE ‘cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state
influence’ and pose ‘a security threat to the United States and to our
systems.’.
(includes video) National security concerns at Los Alamos? U.S.
nuclear weapons hub discovers Chinese-made telecom gizmos embedded in
its network
So-called network switches are used to manage data traffic on computer networks
Los Alamos National Laboratory manages America’s arsenal of nuclear weapons
Exact number of the switches within the labor’s network infrastructure
is unknown
At least two Chinese-made ‘components’ removed from the network
Chinese manufacturer insists its products pose no security threat to the U.S.
Chinese company barred from buying U.S. corporation with officials
citing national security risks
House Intelligence Committee report says Chinese manufacturer ‘cannot
be trusted’
Mail Online, By REUTERS REPORTER, 7 Jan 13, “….. The discovery
raises concerns about procurement practices by U.S. departments
responsible for national security. The U.S. government and Congress
have raised concerns about Huawei and its alleged ties to the Chinese
military and government. Continue reading
America’s Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) computers attacked by China?
Chinese Hackers Suspected in Cyber Attack on Council on Foreign
Relations, Washington Free Beacon, Advanced cyberespionage attack
employed ‘drive-by’ method on CFR website BY: Bill Gertz December 27,
2012
Computer hackers traced to China carried out an advanced
cyberespionage attack against one of America’s most elite foreign
policy web groups – the website of the Council on Foreign Relations
(CFR).
According to private computer-security forensic specialists, the
hacking incident involved a relatively new type of ploy called a
“drive-by” website cyber attack that was detected around 2:00 p.m. on
Wednesday.
The specialists, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attack
involved penetrating the computer server that operates the New York
City-based CFR’s website and then using the pirated computer system to
attack CFR members and others who visited or “drove by” the site…… Continue reading
Chrystal River nuclear plant’s financial mess
No decision yet on Crystal River nuclear plant
http://www2.tbo.com/news/business/2013/jan/07/no-decision-yet-on-crystal-river-nuclear-plant-ar-600253/
By The Associated Press January 07, 2013 TALLAHASSEE —
Progress Energy is still undecided on whether to repair or shut down
its crippled nuclear power plant in Crystal River.
That means that the state’s second-largest power company could have to
refund customers $100 million under a prior settlement between the
utility and consumer advocates. That settlement calls for the refund
if repairs had not begun by the end of 2012.
A lawyer for the utility company told state regulators Monday that
Progress expects to have a decision about the plant by this summer –
although he didn’t rule out an announcement before then.
The reactor has been down since late 2009, when its concrete
containment building cracked during a maintenance and upgrade project.
Officials say fixing the plant would likely take several years and
cost billions.
Hampton Roads lawmakers NOT in favour of Virginia uranium mining
Uranium debate coming http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2013/01/07/uranium-debate-coming/ All Politics is local
The debate on uranium mining in Virginia is destined to be a part of the General Assembly session, which opens Wednesday. The Virginian-Pilot had a front page story today about it. Included with the story is a list of the Hampton Roads lawmakers and their stances on lifting the ban, as follows:
| Against mining | Undecided | No response |
| Sen. Kenny Alexander, D-Norfolk | Sen. Harry Blevins, R-Chesapeake | Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton |
| Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth | Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach | Sen. John Miller, D-Newport News |
| Sen. Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach | Del. Lionell Spruill, D-Chesapeake | Del. Algie Howell, D-Norfolk |
| Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk | Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach | Del. Bob Purkey, R-Virginia Beach |
| Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake | Sen. Tommy Norment, R-James City County | Del. Bob Tata, R-Virginia Beach |
| Del. Daun Hester, D-Norfolk | Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk | |
| Del. Sal Iaquinto, R-Virginia Beach | ||
| Del. Matthew James, D-Portsmouth | ||
| Del. Lynwood Lewis, D-Accomack County | ||
| Del. Chris Stolle, R-Virginia Beach | ||
| Del. Ron Villanueva, R-Virginia Beach | ||
| Del. Johnny Joannou, D-Portsmouth |
This is not, as you can see, a partisan issue. Perhaps the most interesting part of this is that none are willing – yet – to admit support of lifting the ban.
USA – look out for radioactive young bluefin tuna
Bluefin Tuna Off California Coast Tainted With Fukushima Radiation (But Scientists Say It’s Okay To Eat) laist.com, 5 Jan 13, Scientists ran tests on bluefin tuna off the coast of California and found traces of radiation from last year’s Fukushima nuclear meltdown.
Scientists examined the muscle tissue of 15 Bluefin tuna who were swimming off the shores of San Diego in August 2011 and were stunned to find traces of caesium-134, according to BBC News. That radioactive element can be directly tied to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster a few months earlier.
Scientists say these fish were likely spawned in Japanese waters and picked up the pollution before heading to feeding grounds in the eastern Pacific ocean. “It’s a lesson to us in how interconnected eco-regions can be, even when they may be separated by thousands of miles,” Nicholas Fisher, a professor of marine sciences at Stony Brook University told BBC News. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences….. tuna caught in coming months will be monitored for radiation levels, since younger fish might have spent more time in Japanese waters and received higher levels of contamination. http://laist.com/2013/01/05/bluefin_tuna_off_california_tainted.php
Radiation violations by California’ s Caltrans’ Transportation Laboratory
The Public Eye: Caltrans cited for radiation violations with test
meters, Sacramento Bee, By Charles Piller, Jan. 6, 2013 Caltrans’
Transportation Laboratory, which houses the agency’s radiation-based
testing equipment, was cited by the California Department of Public
Health in October for numerous radiation handling and training
violations. Many of the transgressions, according to documents
released to The Bee late last month, had gone on for years and
involved devices used to test concrete in the foundations of some
freeway structures. The test meters, called gamma-gamma loggers, also
were implicated in problems reported by The Bee last year in which a
former state technician falsified data. Continue reading
Radioactive fallout from Fukushima travelled in the atmosphere to USA
Gov’t Map: Fukushima fallout transported directly to U.S. — Canada, Mexico avoided much of contamination after 3/11 (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/map-fukushima-fallout-transported-directly-canada-mexico-avoided-contamination-video
January 3rd, 2013
Title: Measurement of Radioactive Fallout from the March 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Incident
Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program
h/t Anonymous tip
Atmospheric back trajectories from sites where radioactive fallout was measured in NADP wet deposition samples. NOAA’s HYSPLIT model was used for this analysis
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborated with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program in an effort to monitor North American precipitation samples for the presence of nuclear fallout in response to the Japan Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station incident that occurred on March 11, 2011. […] Continue reading
Nuclear regulators uphold secrecy about San Onofre nuclear plant agreement
“I would like to have them at least list the documents that are being
kept in confidentiality and say why,”
Damon Moglen of Friends of the Earth said the group’s ultimate goal is
to require a more detailed, public review of Edison’s restart plan for
San Onofre. “We may not like this process very much,” he said. “But
we’re committed to that as our goal and our objective.”
NUCLEAR REGULATORS DISMISS PROTESTS TO PRIVATE REPORTS
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/04/tp-nuclear-regulators-dismiss-protests-to-private/
Watchdog group, Edison agreed to restrict information by Morgan Lee
4 Jan 13, Nuclear safety regulators have dismissed objections to a
nondisclosure agreement that seals from public view some documents
related to faulty steam generators at the San Onofre nuclear plant and
an application to restart the facility.
Open-government activist Ray Lutz of El Cajon filed the objections to
an agreement made in early December between plant operator Southern
California Edison and Friends of the Earth, an international
environmental and nuclear watchdog group. Continue reading
Halliburton, GE and Conoco quietly traded with Iran
the subsidiaries of several American
companies have been quietly trading with Iran for years. These
companies include Halliburton, GE and Conoco.
Trading With the “Enemy”: Halliburton & GE Make Millions Trading With
Iran Democracy Now JULY 16, 2003 As head of Halliburton and as U.S.
Vice President, Dick Cheney lobbied to remove sanctions against Iran
to allow his business to profit off the Iranian dictatorship. Continue reading
Black ministers join in supporting Virginia’s ban on uranium mining
it would be a tragic mistake for the Virginia General
Assembly to even consider allowing Virginia Uranium Inc., or whater
it’s called today, to open a uranium mine in our beautiful but
frequently flooded Southside Virginia
Seventeen black ministers signed a resolution requesting a permanent
ban on uranium mining in Virginia.
Roanoke pastor: uranium mining is bad news for Va.By Ralph Berrier
Jr.The Roanoke Times January 4, 2013
A coalition of black ministers from the Roanoke Valley and Southside
Virginia spoke out today in Roanoke against lifting Virginia’s ban on
uranium mining, citing what they believe would be disproportionate
negative consequences on minority populations should the ban be
lifted.
State lawmakers are considering ending the 30-year moratorium on
uranium mining, as Virginia Uranium Inc. hopes to mine one of the
world’s largest known uranium deposits in Pittsylvania County. Continue reading
Will USA’s EPA continue allow radioactive wastes to be injected into groundwater
The situation at Christensen Ranch underscores the overlaying problem of the sheer number of underground waste and injection wells. According to the UIC Well Inventory of 2011, there are 659,345 injection wells across the nation. Even in water-strapped states like California there exist a staggering 67,302 underground waste wells
former EPA officials are concerned of well leaks and that completely removing pollutants from water is not possible.
EPA Approved Underground Waste Dumping for Uranium Mine Giant IVN, By Christopher Davis-Garland | 01/04/2013 | ProPublica recently published journalist Abraham Lustgarten’s special project series covering injection wells. The latest story in the series converges on Christensen Ranch in Wyoming where industry giant Uranium One mines for uranium and disposes of its waste in an aquifer with EPA permission.
1 This Month
23-25 October – on Zoom – World BEYOND War’s annual global conferenc
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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