More unusual wear found in San Onofre nuclear plant
Additional tube wear found at troubled San Onofre nuclear plant on California coast Washington Post, By Associated Press, April 12 LOS ANGELES — The operator of an idled nuclear plant on the California coast announced Thursday that more unusual wear has been found on tubing that carries radioactive water, the latest disclosure in an ongoing mystery involving the plant’s steam generators.
Southern California Edison said in a statement that investigators at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station found additional wear in its Unit 2 generators that is similar to degradation in its sister reactor, Unit 3, though at a lower level…….
The new findings show “all of the generators are exhibiting the same kind of wear, though the wear in unit 3 is more excessive than in Unit 2,” Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Victor Dricks said.
The twin-reactor plant has been shut down for more than two months while federal regulators and company officials try to find out why tubing designed to withstand many years of use under high pressure has been quickly wearing away……..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/additional-tube-wear-found-at-troubled-san-onofre-nuclear-plant-on-california-coast/2012/04/12/gIQAWEx8CT_story.html
Exelon Nuclear company begging for taxpayer charity
State Help Needed for New Nuclear Units, Exelon Chief Says Bloomberg News, By Brian Wingfield April 11, 2012 U.S. utilities will need government help to build nuclear reactors as other forms of electric power become less expensive, a top executive of Exelon Corp. (EXC) (EXC), the nation’s largest commercial producer of atomic energy, said.
State support may include letting companies recover costs from customers during construction, providing loan guarantees or agreeing to buy power from the plant, Mayo Shattuck III, executive chairman of Chicago-based Exelon, said today at a conference in Washington.
Building reactors may require “the sovereign support of that state, which really means it’s on the backs of the ratepayers, not the backs of the shareholders,” Shattuck said at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission on March 30 awarded Scana Corp. (SCG) (SCG) a permit to build two reactors at a plant near Columbia, South Carolina, and on Feb. 9 approved Southern Co. (SO) (SO)’s plan for two units at its Vogtle plant near Augusta, Georgia. Southern expects its project to
cost $14 billion. Scana will cover 55 percent of the estimated $10.2 billion for the South Carolina reactors. The plants, being financed partly by customers, may be among the last in the U.S. this decade…..
Economic conditions raise “very serious questions” about the possibility of building new reactors without government support, Shattuck said……
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-11/state-help-needed-for-nuclear-units-exelon-chief-says
USA military bases in Australia – making Australia a nuclear target?
If too closely aligned with the US, Australia will be associated with any mistakes. US actions, mounted from Australia, will implicate Australia. In the Cold War US joint intelligence facilities were a target for Soviet nuclear weapons……
Australia needs to be careful that it does not make inevitable the future that it should fear the most. Current decisions are being made without public debate or discussion. Once made they will be difficult to reverse.
We must not get too close to the US, BY: PETER LEAHY The Australian April 12, 2012 “……. there can be too much of a good thing, especially if it involves putting unnecessary pressure on China. By substantially increasing its
close relationship with the US, Australia may unduly complicate its relationship with China. Care needs to be taken to ensure that Australia is not caught between the US, as security guarantor, and China as economic underwriter.
As a sovereign nation Australia should maintain the ability to say no to the US and separate itself from its actions. This will require careful thought and deft diplomacy……By agreeing to the US Marine Corps and potentially more extensive air and naval access requests, Australia has confirmed that it is firmly in the US security camp……. Continue reading
Mystery of USA’s lost nuclear attack submarine
Experts out to solve deep-sea mystery of the USS Scorpion By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY 12 April 12, Shipwreck disaster experts are calling for a deep-sea expedition to a lost U.S. nuclear attack sub, the USS Scorpion, in an effort to verify a new theory on what caused the Cold War vessel to sink. Continue reading
USA has the hugest nuclear arsenal
The U.S. Still Has More Nukes Than Russia, US News, April 10, 2012 The United States has hundreds more nuclear weapons deployed and aircraft capable of dropping atomic bombs than Russia, according to State Department data released Tuesday.
Under a nuclear-arms reduction pact the Cold War-era rivals struck last year, both nations are in the midst of reducing their nuclear arsenals…… The State Department data shows the U.S. has 812 intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers deployed. Russia possesses 494.
The report also says the the military has nearly 1,740 nuclear-tipped ICBMs and sub-based ballistic missiles, and warheads “counted for deployed heavy bombers.” Russia has around 1,490. Washington also has the edge in the number of total—meaning those that are and aren’t currently deployed—nuclear ballistic missile launchers, submarines and bomber aircraft: 1040 to Moscow’s 881.
Obama has talked of a “nuclear-free world,” and has pushed hard for nuclear weapons reductions between the Cold War foes. More pragmatic Obama administration officials simply want nuclear arsenal cuts because they feel the nation has more than enough and it would perhaps free up billions annually.
But hawkish Republicans on Capitol Hill vow to block big reductions….. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/dotmil/2012/04/10/the-us-still-has-more-nukes-than-russia
The danger of nuclear powered drones to foreign countries, and to USA citizens
drones have become a nightmare for local residents. Civilian deaths inflicted by drone strikes have repeatedly strained relations between America and Pakistan….. ten times as many civilians as suspected terrorists died in U.S. drone attacks.
the document gives the “green light” for drone-based domestic spying.
Pentagon considers nuclear-powered drones. Space Daily Moscow Apr 09, 2012 American scientists are working on new-generation nuclear-powered unmanned aircraft capable of staying in the air for up to several months. While being able to tackle a wider range of more complicated tasks compared to their existing analogues, the new drones will not require a costly air base network for refueling and technical maintenance.
What’s more, on February 14 President Barack Obama signed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act that allows the use drones in U.S. airspace by both state-owned and private companies….. Continue reading
Warning on radiation -cancer risk from too many dental X rays
Dental x-rays linked to brain tumours, ABC News, 10 April 12, People who get regular dental x-rays are more likely to suffer a type of brain tumour, according to new research, suggesting that yearly exams may not be best for most patients. The study in the US journal Cancer showed people diagnosed with meningioma who reported having a yearly bitewing exam were 1.4 times to 1.9 times as likely as a healthy control group to have developed such tumours.
A bitewing exam involves an x-ray film being held in place by a tab between the teeth. Also, people who reported getting a yearly panorex exam – in which an x-ray is taken outside the mouth and shows all the teeth on one film – were 2.7 to three times more likely to develop cancer, said the study.
A meningioma is a tumour that forms in the membrane around the brain or spinal cord. Most of the time these tumours are benign and slow growing, but they can lead to disability or life-threatening conditions. The research, led by Elizabeth Claus of the Yale University School of Medicine, was based on data from 1433 US patients who were diagnosed with the tumours between the ages of ages 20 and 79 years. For comparison, researchers consulted data from a control group of 1350 individuals who had similar characteristics but had not been diagnosed with a meningioma.
Dental patients today are exposed to lower radiation levels than they were in the past, but the research should prompt dentists and patients to re-examine when and why dental x-rays are given, says Claus. ”The study presents an ideal opportunity in public health to increase awareness regarding the optimal use of dental x-rays, which unlike many risk factors is modifiable,” she says…… http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/04/10/3474085.htm
Nuclear power company pays investors $450,000 to settle accusations of fraud
Settlement reached in nuclear project lawsuit, The Spokesman Review, By ALEX MORRELL, Associated Press, 9 April 12, BOISE, Idaho — The head of a company seeking to build a nuclear power plant in Idaho has agreed to pay $450,000 to resolve a lawsuit with a group of angry investors.
Shareholders of Alternate Energy Holdings Inc. in late 2010 sued the company, Chief Executive Officer Don Gillispie and Vice President Jennifer Ransom, claiming they schemed to mislead investors about their compensation and manipulated the company’s trading value. Continue reading
Radioactive particles in ocean and atmosphere arriving at California
seaweed along California’s coastline is already measuring 500 times higher in radioactive iodine.
Fukushima Radiation Coming Soon to a Coastline Near You, Take Part, 9 April 12, “……. It turns out the Japanese are not the only ones worried about radiation exposure one year after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plants flooded and melted down. Californians are now number two on the list. Continue reading
Palisades Nuclear Power Plant shut down after safety violations
Troubled Michigan nuclear plant shut down for maintenance,By Todd Sperry, CNN Senior Producer April 9, 2012 – Washington — A troubled Michigan nuclear power plant cited for safety violations has been taken off line for maintenance and refueling, the plant’s owner said Monday.
Palisades Power Plant, a 39-year-old facility located near Kalamazoo, has been under increased scrutiny from inspectors after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cited the plant for three safety violations. The plant is currently owned and operated by Entergy Corporation…….
Violations at the plant included a September 25, 2011, incident in which half of the control room indicators were lost because of an electrical fault “caused by personnel at the site,” according to the NRC. A special inspection “determined the plant failed to have adequate work procedures for the electrical panel maintenance work to ensure the job was done successfully,” the NRC report said. Additionally, the NRC cited Palisades and Entergy for an October 2010 incident in which an operator left his post unattended in the nuclear
reactor’s control room without permission.
The Palisades spokesman declined to provide a timetable for when the work will be completed….. The news of a shutdown at Palisades came just days after Friday’s report that California’s San Onofre nuclear plant would remain shut down indefinitely until the source of problems with two of its generators can be determined. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/09/us/michigan-nuclear-plant/
Fire at Fort Calhoun nuclear plant was a major danger
Feds confirm Neb. nuke plant fire was major threat OMAHA, Tulsa’s Channel 8, Neb. (AP) – Federal regulators on Tuesday confirmed their preliminary finding that a fire at an idled Nebraska nuclear plant last June presented a serious safety threat.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in its final determination that the small fire at the Fort Calhoun plant 19 miles north of Omaha was of “high safety significance.” The finding mirrored the commission’s preliminary conclusion announced March 12.
“This finding has high safety significance because it affected multiple safety systems and consequently warrants actions to prevent recurrence,” said the NRC’s regional administrator, Elmo Collins…… http://www.ktul.com/story/17375718/feds-confirm-neb-nuke-plant-fire-was-major-threat
$Billions for the Watts Bar nuclear reactor could be better spent on renewable energy
Another Multi-Billion Dollar Nuclear Gamble for TVA Clean Energy Footprints, April 9th, 2012 Simon Mahan › Hot on the heals of the biggest Mega Millions jackpot in history, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has just upped its ante on a different game of chance: completing the Watts Bar nuclear reactor at their existing nuclear plant in Tennessee. TVA announced last week that the construction cost estimates to resurrect the abandoned reactor “were wrong.”
The initially proposed $2.49 billion reactor now needs another $1.5 to $2 billion to be completed, according to TVA. And remember, this is on top of the $1.7 billion that utility spent decades ago on the reactor before abandoning the project. Just as we highlighted last summer when the TVA board approved billions of dollars to spend on completing the Bellefonte reactor in Alabama, we don’t think this nuclear gamble bodes well either for TVA ratepayers. Continue reading
Plutonium in space – another great idea from the pro nuclear lobby
despite precautions, scenarios exist in which plutonium-238 from spacecraft could contaminate Earth. If a nuclear-laden spacecraft performed a high-speed slingshot fly-by and a calculation mistake occurred, the craft could enter the Earth’s atmosphere, disintegrate, and spew plutonium throughout the planet.
The public will have to weigh the benefits [what benefits? – Christina Macpherson] of these pioneering space missions against the costs and risks of use
Nuclear Renaissance in Space, Miller-McCune, By Wendee Holtcamp, April 6, 2012 As the U.S. prepares to relaunch domestic production of plutonium-238, the space community wishes to assure the public of its safety. Are they right?
In this, the 50th year of using nuclear energy for space missions, the U.S. is preparing to restart domestic production of a plutonium isotope that fuels space vehicles — a topic that was front and center at the recent Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space conference, held in The Woodlands, Texas…. Continue reading
Many thousands of jobs created by USA’s renewable energy grants program
DOE: Renewable grant program was a big jobs creator Politico, By ALEX GUILLEN | 4/6/12 A $9 billion Obama administration grant program for renewable energy projects has created tens of thousands of jobs, an Energy Department report out Friday concludes.
The report comes just one week after Speaker John Boehner slammed Energy Secretary Steven Chu over the claim and challenged him to provide proof of the jobs creation. The report — conducted by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory — concludes that the program supported 52,000 to 75,000 construction and installation jobs on average over the three years it was in effect. Continue reading
Decentralised energy: solar rooftop array provides electricity to 200 homes
Local solar panel array lights up region, New Bern Sun Journal, April 05, 2012 Eddie Fitzgerald The largest solar energy collecting array in Eastern North Carolina, which is located in New Bern, is now online and producing electricity for Progress Energy. Continue reading
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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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