USA « nuclear-news

USA came all too close to nuclear catastrophe

America’s nuclear safety under scrutiny after Oyster Creek’s Sandy alert
US nuclear regulators model risk from seismic activity or flooding based on past history. That’s leaving way too much to luck Richard Schiffman
guardian.co.uk, 1 November 2012 Oyster Creek nuclear power station was offline on Monday for maintenance, but officials said Sandy’s storm surge came within 6in of damaging its cooling system. Photograph: PR
We know the bad news about superstorm Sandy: the Jersey shore was devastated and many towns remain waterlogged. New York suffered a direct hit, with the city’s mass transit system flooded and part-paralyzed for days to come….. luckily, it did not trigger an even greater disaster at one of the region’s nuclear power plants. But it could have. Continue reading →

November 2, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Is Hanford Nuclear Reservation safe?

Occupy the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) Next week federal officials are mustering a several-hundred page report on the problem of radioactive leaking at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington. Over the decades the holding tanks have leaked about a million gallons of waste into the ground not far from the Columbia River. Together, all the tanks hold about 56 million gallons of toxic radioactive goo. Now with the new double layer tank failures, the federal government is running out of options to hold the sludge safely. Citizens want answers. Is the area safe? http://kplu.org/post/new-hanford-tank-leak-raises-questions-about-waste-storage

November 2, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Salem and Indian Point nuclear reactors remain offline

Storm-Area Nuclear Reactors Remain Offline WSJ,By RYAN TRACY, 31 Oct 12 Two nuclear reactors in New Jersey and New York that had shut down during superstorm Sandy remained offline Wednesday, but waters receded from one plant that had issued a safety alert.

In Southern New Jersey, Public Service Enterprise Group‘s PEG +0.95% Salem nuclear plant shut down its Unit 1 after experiencing water-pump problems as the storm moved past. U.S. regulators said the pumps were affected by debris and high water levels near the plant.

The company is “developing a repair plan” and will “make repairs as needed to return the plant to safe operation,” a spokesman said on Wednesday, offering no timeline for bringing the plant back to power. Another reactor at the site, Unit 2, is out of service for refueling.

An Entergy Corp. ETR +0.67% spokesman said the Unit 3 reactor at the Indian Point plant north of New York City was still offline Wednesday, though the company was prepared to return it to service “when the grid is ready to accept the power.” The unit shut down Tuesday after an electrical-grid disturbance…. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203707604578090523975335526.html

November 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Oyster Creek nuclear power plant still under alert

http://enenews.com/gundersen-suspect-going-reports-spent-fuel-pools-heating-new-jersey-nuclear-plants-video NRC: Alert still in effect at NJ nuclear plant — High water levels in Oyster Creek’s water intake structure remain

Title: ALERT REMAINS IN EFFECT AT OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Source: U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Oct. 30, 2012

[…] Heightened coverage will continue at Oyster Creek, a plant in Lacey Township, N.J., still in an “Alert” due to high water levels in its water intake structure. […]

At Oyster Creek, the Alert – the second lowest of four levels of emergency classification used by the NRC – remains in effect as plant operators wait for the water intake levels to drop to pre-designated thresholds. The water level rose due to a combination of a rising
tide, wind direction and storm surge. Oyster Creek was shut down for a refueling and maintenance outage prior to the storm and the reactor remains out of service. Water levels are beginning to subside to more normal levels, but the plant remains in an Alert status until there is enough confidence levels will remain at more normal levels. Offsite
power at the plant is in the process of being restored. […]

November 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Progress Energy’s nuclear plans a threat to Florida’s wetlands

Experts: Major Damage To Region’s Wetlands Seen If Levy Nuclear Reactor Gets License To Move Ahead http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/31/4951156/experts-major-damage-to-regions.html By Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Bronson, FL, Oct. 31, 2012 BRONSON, Fla., – Groups: Progress Energy Relying on the Kind of Weak Geology Review That Should No Longer Pass Muster Now that a Respected Geologist Heads the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.– Some of Florida’s limited remaining fresh-water wetlands are at serious risk if Progress Energy’s problem-plagued Levy nuclear power plant project is allowed to proceed, according to experts testifying here today before a three-judge Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) panel.

Expert testimony from scientists appearing before the NRC judges on behalf of the Ecology Party of Florida and Nuclear Information & Resource Service (NIRS) warned that construction and operation of the proposed dual reactors would deplete the region’s aquifer, cause saltwater intrusion to the already-imperiled local water supply, and harm fragile springs and wetland plants and wildlife in the area. Continue reading →

November 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Legal, USA | Leave a comment

All USA’s nuclear plants can withstand hurricane and flooding – Nuclear Regulatory Comission

“All plants have flood protection above the predicted storm surge, and key components and systems are housed in watertight buildings capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds and flooding,” the NRC said in a statement earlier today.

Inspectors Dispatched to Nuclear Reactors in Sandy’s Path By Mark Drajem, Kasia Klimasinska and Christine Harvey – Oct 30, 2012 Extra federal inspectors were dispatched to U.S. nuclear-power plants in the path of Hurricane Sandy as operators and officials reassured the public that they are prepared for high winds, power outages and flooding associated with the massive storm.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it sent additional inspectors to 10 sites from Maryland to Connecticut, and issued the employees satellite telephones, as regulators and plant operators grappled with the worst storm to threaten U.S. nuclear facilities since a nuclear disaster in Japan last year. Procedures require the sites to be shut before winds are forecast to exceed hurricane force, the commission said today in a statement.

“Given the breadth and intensity of this historic storm, the NRC is keeping a close watch on all of the nuclear power plants that could be impacted,” NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane said in a statement. “Our extra inspectors sent to the potentially affected sites will continue, on an around-the-clock basis, to independently verify that the safety of these plants is maintained until the storm has passed and afterwards.” Continue reading →

October 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

USA: nuclear reactors – assurances of safety precautions

they are unlikely to be affected by strong winds or unusually high tides.

Hurricane Sandy and N.J. nuclear power plants: Keeping it cool in high
winds http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/science-updates/nj-nukes-prepare-for-sandy , 28 OCTOBER 2012 BY ROBERT KINKEAD On Sunday, New Jersey’s four nuclear power stations, along with another dozen or so along the Eastern Seaboard,were prepped to deal with Hurricane Sandy as that massive storm crawls up the East Coast toward the Garden State.

Federal regulators require nuclear reactors to be in a safe shutdown condition at least two hours before hurricane force winds strike, according to Alec Marion, VP of nuclear operations at the Nuclear Energy Institute, an energy industry association.

Typically, plant operators begin shutting down reactors about 12 hours before winds exceeding 74 miles per hour arrive. One of the most significant challenges in the shutting down process is keeping the reactor core cool. Continue reading →

October 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Reference, safety, USA | Leave a comment

USA doesn’t like Imran Khan’s anti drone opinions

This Former Cricket Star Turned US Drone Critic Was Pulled From His Plane On The Way To The States http://www.businessinsider.com/this-former-cricket-star-turned-us-drone-critic-imran-khan-got-hauled-off-a-plane-for-questioning-on-his-way-to-the-states-2012-10 AP | Oct. 28, 2012, Imran Khan, the cricketer turned politician, claimed he was taken off an international flight by US immigration officials and questioned about his views on drones and jihad before being allowed into the country, it emerged on Saturday

Mr Khan has emerged as a leading critic of US policy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and his party is poised to make a breakthrough in elections due next year. Continue reading →

October 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Corporate lobbying against research on cancer causers

Chemistry Council trying to lobby Washington to cut off funding for research on carcinogens , October 28, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer (NaturalNews) Every two years, the National Toxicology Program (NTP), which operates under the banner of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), releases a congressionally-mandated report entitled the “Report on Carcinogens” (RoC) that identifies various agents, substances, mixtures, or exposures that are known to cause cancer. But the American Chemical Society (ACS), which represents many of the biggest names in the cancer-causing chemical industry, is currently trying to lobby Congress to stop the publishing of this important document…. http://www.naturalnews.com/037724_Chemistry_Council_lobbying_carcinogens.html

October 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry prepared for hurricane, is confident of safety

Nuclear Reactors Await Hurricane Sandy By MATTHEW L. WALD, NYT October 28, 2012, Among the various immobile pieces of infrastructure in the path of the East Coast hurricane are around 20 nuclear reactors, from Calvert Cliffs in southern Maryland to Pilgrim in Plymouth, Mass., and Vermont Yankee, just north of the Massachusetts line in Vernon, Vt.

But the industry and regulatory officials say that this is an anticipated challenge…. The most severe weather to afflict nuclear reactors may have been Hurricane Andrew, in August 1992, which was a Category 5 storm when it hit the Turkey Point reactors 25 miles south of Miami. The plant lost telephone communications with the outside world, and
the access road was blocked by fallen trees, but there was no significant damage to safety systems, the regulatory commission found later …. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/nuclear-reactors-await-hurricane-sandy/

October 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Solar energy is a dirty word, in USA’s election campaigns

this failure to make the promise of renewables a keynote in the debate is a huge missed opportunity. In particular, it ignores the dramatic reduction in the cost of photovoltaic solar power worldwide and the considerable benefits to U.S. consumers and the environment

Solar Energy Is Ready. The U.S. Isn’t Bloomberg, By Ken Wells – Oct 25, 2012 Clean energy has become a dirty word in presidential politics. In their second debate, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama each tried to outdo the other’s love of fossil fuels: Obama extolling his record on oil and natural gas production, Romney vowing to take “advantage of the oil and coal we have here.” Continue reading →

October 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | decentralised, renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Federal judge uphold’s Vermont State’s right to tax nuclear power plant

Federal judge throws out Vt. Yankee tax challenge Boston.com AP / October 25, 2012 RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant against the state, challenging taxes on the plant that were passed earlier this year by the legislature.

U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss rejected the argument made by New Orleans-based plant owner Entergy Corp. that the payment is not a tax and said federal court lacked jurisdiction over the case.

Reiss granted the state’s motion to dismiss the case saying, Entergy’s challenge ‘‘could be brought directly in Vermont’s state courts.’’

Entergy had challenged the taxes that it said increased the reactor’s annual state tax from about $5 million to about $12.8 million. Supporters of the new taxes said they were designed to replace money the plant paid the state under agreements in 2003 and 2005 that saw
the state drop its opposition to the plant boosting its power output by 20 percent and to the plant’s plan for storage of more highly radioactive nuclear waste on its grounds. Those agreements lasted until March 21, when the plant’s 40-year operating license expired.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a 20-year license extension last year…. http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/2012/10/25/federal-judge-throws-out-yankee-tax-challenge/fuHCQ3LNFULA0aH8NbsouI/story.html

October 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Harvey Wasserman lists America’s rust bucket nuclear reactors

The Rust-Bucket Reactors Start to Fall http://www.nukefree.org/editorsblog/rust-bucket-reactors-start-fall , Harvey Wassermann, 26 Oct 12, The US fleet of 104 deteriorating atomic reactors is starting to fall. The much-hyped “nuclear renaissance” is now definitively headed in reverse.

The announcement that Wisconsin’s Kewaunee will shut next year will be remembered as a critical dam break. Opened in 1974, Kewaunee has fallen victim to low gas prices, declining performance, unsolved technical problems and escalating public resistance.

Many old US reactors are still profitable only because their capital costs were forced down the public throat during deregulation, through other manipulations of the public treasury, and because lax regulation lets them operate cheaply while threatening the public health.

Continue reading →

October 26, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | 1 Comment

A horrible combination – fracking and nuclear reactor

Fracking and nuclear side by side in Pennsylvania: A match made in hell? RT.com 25 October, 2012, Plans are afoot to drill a well that will use fracking technology only a mile from a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The parties involved say they are unconcerned, despite evidence showing fracking increases incidence of earthquake….. http://rt.com/usa/news/fracking-nuclear-earthquake-safety-243/

October 26, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

The case for closing Vermont Yankee nuclear plant heard in court

Vermont Yankee Debate Heats Up On Two Fronts http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/96334/vermont-yankee-debate-heats-up-on-two-fronts/ , 10/24/12 The legal debate over the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is heating up at federal appeals court and at the state Public Service Board.