Secrecy surrounding laser uranium enrichment technology, with its risks of nuclear weapons spread
Commercialization of the SILEX technology has sparked concerns of nuclear proliferation. Arms control advocates fear that commercialization could lead other countries to follow suit, raising concerns about the technology falling into the wrong hands.
Uranium enrichment plant meeting to be closed to public Star News, By Wayne Faulkner July 10, 2012 The last major review before a revolutionary laser uranium enrichment plant could be built in Castle Hayne will take place behind closed doors.
The unusual step in closing the hearing Wednesday is because the discussions will include non-public information about GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment but also the sensitive technology that would be used at the plant, said David McIntyre, spokesman for the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
The hearing, before a panel of administrative judges at the NRC’s headquarters in Maryland, is being conducted by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, which then would make recommendations to the NRC for possible approval of a 40-year license to operate the plant….
The NRC on Feb. 29 approved the plant’s environmental-impact statement.
There will be no more public comment about the plant or technology, McIntyre said.
The facility on GE’s Castle Hayne campus near the intersection of Interstate 140 and Castle Hayne Road would be the nation’s first laser-based commercial uranium enrichment operation, using an Australian technology called SILEX, or Separation of Isotopes by Laser
Excitation. Continue reading
Decaying concrete a problem for aging nuclear power plants
concrete degradation has surfaced in the reactor containment buildings of three U.S. nuclear power stations. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently warned operators there that design strengths and assumptions used in original containment building design plans “may no longer hold true,” if ASR and its telltale cracks and fissures are present.
Decaying concrete raising concerns at Canada’s aging nuclear plants, National Post Ian MacLeod, Postmedia News Jul 8, 2012 Decaying concrete at nuclear power plants is the latest concern for nuclear safety authorities.
At Quebec’s sole atomic power station, Gentilly-2, eroding concrete has prompted federal licensing officials to suggest that any provincial attempt to refurbish and re-license the 30-year-old plant must satisfy federal concerns over the aging concrete’s ability to stand up to another two or three decades of service.
The move comes as economic pressures force nuclear utilities to consider refurbishing their nuclear plants and operating them well past their 25- to 30-year initial lives. Continue reading
USA has done 1030 nuclear bomb tests – it’s time to stop
Rid world of nuclear tests Observer and Eccentric, Fern Katz, 9 July, “….July 16 marks the 67th anniversary of the first nuclear test explosion in New Mexico, commonly known as “Trinity.” In the years that followed, the United States conducted 1,030 nuclear test explosions — more than any other country in the world.
Radioactive fallout from nuclear testing has negatively impacted health all across America and the globe. A National Cancer Institute study showed that every county in the lower 48 states received some amount of fallout from nuclear tests.
With the negative effects that come from nuclear test explosions, how can our nation’s leaders think that holding open the option of ever conducting these tests again is a good idea? Continue reading
AREVA having trouble getting funding for uranium enrichment plant
Uranium enrichment plant near Idaho Falls could be delayed KTVB.com.. July 7, 2012 BOISE, Idaho — Areva still hasn’t announced a partner to help build its proposed gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant near Idaho Falls.
If it can’t find an investor, construction on the $3 billion project will likely be delayed until 2014…. Spokesman Mike French said Areva is still seeking assistance. If no suitable investor is found or steps forward, he says it could push construction back until early 2014.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/Idaho-uranium-enrichment-project-could-be-delayed-161675625.html
Clean Coal? Carbon Capture and Storage is a Dud
CCS? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ CCS, by Energy Matters, 9 July 12, While the Carbon Capture and Storage boffins struggle to make CCS commercially viable and environmentally safe – a goal that may never eventuate in time – the key to a low carbon energy future is already here.
A report released last month by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has determined renewable electricity generation using currently available technologies such a wind, solar PV, concentrating solar power (CSP), hydropower, geothermal, and biomass; combined with better electricity infrastructure, could supply 80% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2050.
The NREL says electricity supply and demand can be balanced in every hour of the year in this scenario, including nearly 50% from variable renewable generation.
The Renewable Electricity Futures Study (RE Futures) states U.S. renewable energy resources “can support multiple combinations of renewable technologies that will slash not only electric sector greenhouse gas emissions, but also water use“…..
The four-volume Renewable Electricity Futures Study can be downloaded here.
Established over 35 years ago, the NREL is the principal research laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The organisation is solely focused on advancing renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies; from concept to commercial application. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3287
Tri-Valley Care fights the good fight to save Livermore valley from plutonium wastes
Tri-Valley CAREs has had many successes throughout the years…. the first group in the western US to receive an EPA grant to monitor the Superfund cleanup at Lawrence Livermore National Lab and the first community-based group in the country to win a recognition award from EPA for its effectiveness
For decades, a toxic groundwater plume has flowed westward from Lawrence Livermore National Lab in the Livermore community aquifer towards Dublin.
Living with the Legacy of the Nuclear Stockpile Next Door in Livermore, CA http://www.arounddublinblog.com/2012/07/livermore-ca-nuclear-stockpile-next-door/ by Around Dublin Team Tri-Valley CAREs was founded in 1983 in Livermore, CA by concerned neighbors living around Lawrence Livermore National Lab , one of two locations where all US nuclear weapons are designed. This grassroots organization works to strengthen global security by stopping the development of new nuclear weapons in the US and by promoting the elimination of nuclear weapons globally.
It monitors nuclear weapons and environmental clean-up activities throughout the US nuclear
weapons complex, with a special focus on Lawrence Livermore National Lab and the surrounding Tri-Valley communities. Continue reading
Delays in relicensing nuclear reactors, but they can continue to operate
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last month told the NRC to revisit rules governing the storage of spent nuclear fuel at the nation’s 104 operating reactors. The commission, the court said, failed to conduct an environmental review when it updated its so-called “waste confidence rule” in 2010.
More Nuclear Reactor License Renewals Delays: NRC’s Jaczko to Platts Energy Podium WASHINGTON, July 5, 2012 Market Watch, — Speaking at a Platts Energy Podium event, the departing chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said Thursday that the agency may not be able to renew licenses for operating nuclear plants for “a few years” because of a federal court ruling, but the practical impact will be limited…..
.. Jaczko urged the agency to continue to make post-Fukushima improvements to nuclear plants mandatory and warned that there are signs of nuclear industry “pushback” against some of the measures proposed in the wake of the tsunami-induced shutdown of the Japanese nuclear facility. Continue reading
Laser enrichment technology can promote the spread of nuclear weapons
a tension between the United States’ goal of safely commercializing nuclear-power technology and its efforts to control the proliferation of nuclear materials. ”When there’s a conflict, generally speaking, the policy to spread nuclear technology overrides the non-proliferation policy.”
Laser-based uranium enrichment plant sparks controversy 07/05/2012 Laser Focus World by Gail Overton Senior Editor Washington, DC–A July 4 Nature news story from Sharon Weinberger says that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to open a plant that uses laser-based uranium enrichment will be considered in private. Although the controversial laser uranium-enrichment technology is on the cusp of making it cheaper to create fuel for nuclear power plants, some non-proliferation experts are concerned that the efficiency of the laser-based technology will also smooth the path for bomb makers. Continue reading
Court judgment makes USA, not Australia, the leader in cutting carbon emissions
Three judges –two Democrats and one Republican – upheld the EPA’s right to regulate greenhouse emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Result? No new coal-fired power stations! Under the Clean Air Act, carbon emissions are limited to 1,000 pounds of CO2 per MW hour of power produced.
the United States has pledged a much more responsible cut of 17 per cent by 2020,
EPA Clean Air to end coal in the US http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/politics/epa-clean-air-to-end-coal-in-the-us/ 4 July, 2012 Last week, in a milestone announcement that went largely unreported in Australia, the US Court of Appeals upheld the EPA’s right to regulate greenhouse emissions under the Clean Air Act. Today is the 4th July and Independent Australia believes this decision is cause to celebrate. Environment editor Sandi Keane reports. Continue reading
The fight to shut down San Onofre nuclear power plant goes mainstream
it’s not just Helen Caldicott and the local no-nukes activists. They have now been joined by powerful mainstream voices, including the Los Angeles Times editorial page
Leading the fight to shut down San Clemente have been locals Gary Headrick of San Clemente Green, Gene Stone of Residents Organized for a Safe Environment and Donna Gilmore of San Onofre Safety, along with Dan Hirsch of the Committee to Bridge the Gap. They’ve gotten help from Arnie Gundersen and Friends of the Earth and of course Helen Caldicott. Activists have held rallies, spoken at official meetings and petitioned the NRC and Congress.
It’s hard to disagree with the conclusion of LA Times editorial: “Now is the perfect time for Edison, and the state as a whole, to begin the planning for a non-nuclear future.”
‘Shut Down San Onofre’: The New Front Line in the Fight Against Nuclear Power http://www.thenation.com/blog/168746/shut-down-san-onofre-new-front-line-fight-against-nuclear-power# Jon Wiener on July 5, 2012 Not long after the meltdown at Fukushima, workers at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, north of San Diego, discovered radioactive steam leaking into the air. Hundreds of steam tubes had been banging together and vibrating, until one of them sprung a leak, investigators said. And the tubes had been installed less than two years ago. Continue reading
USA experiencing ‘brutal’, unprecedented heat wave
the center of the country will experience high temperatures for the next several weeks, possibly into August.
More than 2,000 heat records matched or broken http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/65842 5 July 12, Joseph O’Leary More than 2,000 temperature records have been matched or broken in the past week as a brutal heat wave baked much of the United States, and June saw more than 3,200 records topped, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Monday. Continue reading
Gregory Jaczko urges Nuclear Regulatory Commission to put safety ahead of costs
Mr. Jaczko said the [nuclear safety] changes were necessary for safety and the NRC should require operators to make them, regardless of cost
U.S. Nuclear Regulator: Agency Divided on Japan Response By RYAN TRACY 5 July 12 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303684004577509021876463962.html WASHINGTON—The departing chief U.S. nuclear regulator said U.S. officials still can’t agree on a response to Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi accident and urged his successor to “keep the pressure on” the nuclear industry. Continue reading
San Onofre nuclear plant: uneconomic, and a political burden?
Could the looming costs become so large that they would make operation of San Onofre financially unworkable?
“The decision for closing a nuclear plant is much above and beyond economics,” “Closing (San Onofre) really has a very heavy political burden.”
San Onofre Costs: Could Economics Doom The Ailing California Nuclear Plant? HUFFINGTON POST, By MICHAEL R. BLOOD 07/04/12 LOS ANGELES — The
future of the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant could balance on an inescapable question: Is it worth the money to fix it?
Engineers face a daunting task finding a solution for problems that knocked the seaside plant offline last winter. And even if they come up with a plan that fully addresses safety and operational issues, will it all make sense on a balance sheet?..
… Two decades ago, San Onofre’s Unit 1 reactor was shut down and then dismantled when owners faced the prospect of swallowing a $125 million bill for upgrades and repairs. Oregon’s Trojan nuclear plant closed its doors in 1993, rather than replace steam generators that had leaky tubes. Continue reading
Obama to make further cuts in nuclear weapons
White House considers nuclear-arms cuts, Philly.com, By Robert Burns 3 July 12 WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is moving toward decisions that would further cut the number of U.S. nuclear weapons, possibly to between 1,000 and 1,100, reflecting new thinking on the role of nuclear weapons in an age of terror, current and former officials say.
The reductions under consideration are in line with President Obama’s vision of trimming the nation’s nuclear arsenal without harming national security in the short term, and in the longer term, eliminating nuclear weapons.
The White House has yet to announce any plan for reducing the number of nuclear weapons, beyond commitments made in the recently completed New Start treaty with Russia, which obliges both countries to reduce their number of deployed long-range nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550 by 2018. As of March 1, Russia had dropped its total to 1,492
and the U.S. stood at 1,737……http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/161304925.html
South Carolina to be USA’s nuclear waste dump, with Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)?
The mini-reactors – also dubbed small modular reactors or SMRs – have been hailed as the nuclear technology of the future.
waste is the problem…… waste could be shipped into the state from other areas…. South Carolina once again could become the nuclear dumping ground for the nation.
Mini-nuclear reactors Herald Online, 1 July 12,South Carolina might benefit in many ways from being the site of the nation’s first mini-nuclear reactors. But the resulting nuclear waste is a big concern.
The U.S. Department of Energy gave the go-ahead in April for three companies to partner with the Savannah River Site in Aiken County to possibly develop the nation’s first mini-reactors there. The three companies are competing with other design companies across the nation – as well as among themselves – for a federal matching grant totaling as much as $452 million to support engineering, certification and licensing for up to two mini-reactor designs. Continue reading
1 This Month
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
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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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