Florida consumers, led by mayors, oppose nuclear power companies’ bailout
Fla. Mayors Oppose Nuclear “Cost Recovery” Bailout Why the Outrage? Florida Ratepayers Would Have To Pay Additional Hundreds of Millions of Dollars In Advance for New Nuclear Reactors That May Never Be Built Clean energy.org, Miami, Fla. (October 20, 2011) — The mayors of South Miami and Pinecrest are leading the Florida consumer opposition against the most recent cost recovery request for new nuclear power, which would allow state utilities Florida Power & Light (FPL) and Progress Energy Florida (PEF) to collect more than a third of a billion dollars from Florida families and businesses, including senior citizens, in 2012 for developing new nuclear reactors and expansion of existing nuclear plants. Continue reading
How corporate America, the CIA and Walt Disney talked Japan into nuclear technology
The plan had the advantage of making allies dependent on technology from corporate giants General Electric Co. and Westinghouse,
Tepco ‘Deal With Devil’ Signals End to Japan’s Postwar Era Bloomberg, October 21, 2011,“……….Hiroshima Bombing Japan’s development into the world’s third-biggest user of nuclear energy dates from the last days of the war. Yasuhiro Nakasone, who would later become Prime Minister and a powerful advocate of atomic energy, was serving as a naval officer in Japan when Hiroshima was bombed. After the war, he began the work of persuading the U.S. to sell Japan nuclear technology…..
Japan’s interest coincided with U.S. concern about what to do with its own surplus of weapons-grade plutonium, and the suspicion that created in the Soviet Union, Laura E. Hein wrote in “Fueling Growth — The Energy Revolution and Economic Policy in Postwar Japan.”
U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower’s solution was the “Atoms for Peace” program to use U.S. plutonium to provide nuclear fuel for its allies. Continue reading
Radiation from Fukushma found in USA rain and food
Japan’s Nuclear Accident Spreading to Some Parts of the United States Universal Detection Technology Comments on Traces of Japanese Radiation Found in US Rain and Food MarketWatch Oct. 17, 2011, LOS ANGELES, CA, Oct 17, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –-Universal Detection Technology (www.udetection.com ) UNDT -33.33% , a developer of early-warning monitoring technologies that protect against biological, chemical, and radiological threats, commented today on a recent study funded by the US Departments of Energy and Homeland Security that linked elevated radiation in US rain water and food to the nuclear accident in Japan. Continue reading
Hanford nuclear plant on an earthquake fault line?
Washington’s Hanford Reservation and nuclear plant may lie on faults, High Country News, 18 oct 11, “…….Until now, the extensive seismic hazards of western Washington were treated separately from those east of the Cascades, which were thought to be smaller and farther from population centers. But the fault Sherrod is seeking appears to be part of an interconnected system underlying the Cascades, from Puget Sound to Umtanum Ridge and Rattlesnake Mountain, which loom above Hanford NuclearReservation and the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear plant, the Columbia Generating Station. Should it span the mountains, it could mean emergency planners have significantly underestimated eastern Washington’s earthquake risks. Longer fault systems — and this would be a long one — generally produce larger quakes, though they don’t always rupture along their entire length……. http://www.hcn.org/issues/43.17/washingtons-hanford-reservation-and-nuclear-plant-may-lie-on-faults
Video: Why Indian Point nuclear plant should be closed
VIDEO http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/indian-point-nuclear-nrdc-report_n_1015377.html
Indian Point Nuclear Plant Should Be Closed, Report Says, Huffington Post 10/17/11 A report released Monday says southern New York State’s Indian Point Energy Center should be closed, despite pressure to keep it open.
The Indian Point Energy Center is located along the banks of the Hudson River in Westchester County, less than 40 miles north of New York City. The report, commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Riverkeeper, suggests that the plant can and should be closed, in favor of readily available alternative energy options, Continue reading
Costly cracks in Davis-Besse nuclear reactor
FirstEnergy finds cracks at Ohio nuclear reactor,
* Davis-Besse shut to replace reactor vessel head
* Small cracks found in concrete shield building
NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) – FirstEnergy said it discovered small cracks in the concrete shield building surrounding the containment structure at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Ohio, which was shut for another reactor vessel head replacement, a spokesman for the Ohio-based energy company said Monday…..
Crystal River has been shut since September 2009 after workers discovered a gap in the concrete containment dome after they cut through the structure to replace the plant’s aging steam generators. The plant is not expected to return until at least 2014….
This is Davis-Besse’s third reactor vessel head.
It cost the company about $600 million to replace the first vessel head ($300 million) and buy replacement power ($300 million) after workers in 2002 discovered borated water, which acts as the reactor coolant, leaked from a control rod drive mechanism and ate a six inch hole in the first vessel head. The plant did not return to service until 2004.
In 2010 during a scheduled refueling outage, the company found small cracks in the control rod nozzels and decided to replace the second vessel head. Schneider said this head replacement project would cost about $115 million…..
With Federal govt paralysed, USA States take up renewal energy challenge
While Washington bickers, green tech goes local, CNet News, by Martin LaMonica October 16, 2011 As dark clouds form over solar in Washington, a handful of U.S. states are taking the lead in a global economic race to develop green technologies. Continue reading
Money talks louder than the public good, in the issue of uranium mining
Editorial: There’s green in that thar canyon The Daily Courier, 13 Oct 11, We smell something surrounding this week’s battle to open 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon for mining, and that something is political money.
In long run, Grand Canyon’s watershed must be saved from uranium mining contamination
the task of elected officials is not to just manage our county’s and city’s assets, but to thoroughly understand the complexities of our evolving human development. This involves managing our environmental resources to the best long-range benefit, and not for short-sighted, misperceived monetary gain.
Consequences outweigh benefits Kingman Daily Miner, Jack Ehrhardt, 14 Oct 11 Over the past months, stories have reported on how our local elected officials support the lifting of the moratorium on uranium mining in the Northern Arizona area, on the other side of the Grand Canyon. This area that is a watershed to the Grand Canyon is a sensitive area of environmental protection for its capacity to bring vast amounts of water to the storage downstream in Lake Mead and provide clean water to communities in the west. Continue reading
At last, efforts to rebury the poisonous monster of uranium, in Navajo land
Cleanup takes on uranium monster in Monument Valley, By Judy Fahys, The Salt Lake Tribune, Oct 16, 2011 Monument Valley • An old story tells how the first Navajos made a choice that shaped their destiny.
They embraced yellow corn pollen over yellow uranium. And they concluded unearthing the radioactive rock would unleash evil from the underworld.
But in the rush to fuel atomic weapons and nuclear reactors, Navajo lands yielded tons of the yellow rock, and the heavy machinery that dug it up left behind a hazardous legacy.
Here, below the Skyline Mine, about a mile from the famous Goulding’s Trading Post, the Navajos’ worst fears about uranium came true. Tumors and cancer and a host of other maladies plagued families living on the valley floor in Skyline’s shadow. So did a nagging fear.
In some people’s minds, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup this summer signaled the federal government has at long last started owning up to its obligations to the Navajos. Next week dump trucks and dozers will be done stuffing the evil back into the redrock.
And the unseen demons will be vanquished from the mythic landscape……
The $7.5 million Skyline cleanup is part of EPA’s effort to address uranium problems all over the reservation. About $22 million is slated for addressing water contamination. A total of $60 million is planned for five years to identify and deal with contaminated homes and mine sites.
The Skyline cleanup is the first of four that EPA has planned so far,….. A few weeks ago, Tenley announced the next cleanup on the reservation: a $44 million project to address contamination at the largest uranium mine on the Navajo Reservation, Northeast Church Rock, New Mexico. And, unlike the Skyline cleanup that taxpayers paid for, this one will be on the tab of the company that mined it, a subsidiary of General Electric Co….http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home2/52705676-183/uranium-mesa-cleanup-skyline.html.csp
Employment prospects bright in renewable energy and sustainability
Focus on Renewable Energy May Be One Bright Spot in Today’s Job Market Market Watch, HOUSTON, Oct. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The 2011 jobs market has certainly left much to be desired for many Americans. Rising jobless reports and a bleak economic forecast can make finding a career that feeds a person’s passion and their wallet seem beyond reach. However, for those committed to the environment, green living and sustainability, the outlook may be brighter than you might think, according to MXenergy, a Constellation company and leading energy provider.
“The focus on renewable and clean energy and sustainability has led to tremendous growth in these industries over the past several years,” says Marjorie Kass, MXenergy managing director of marketing. “All indications are that growth is expected to continue which will mean the need for trained, experienced personnel.”
According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, U.S. solar photovoltaic installation increased 64 percent between 2005 and 2010. The institute estimates that the U.S. already has more than 90,000 direct or indirect jobs in the manufacturing and installation of solar panels, with another 85,000 jobs in wind power.
Previously solar panel installation was too cost prohibitive for most homeowners. However many energy providers, including MXenergy’s parent company Constellation Energy, are now launching residential solar panel leasing programs making the transition to solar financially attainable to many homeowners for the first time.
“The increase in affordability and attainability through these programs is a benefit not only to homeowners but also to workers,” continues Kass. “As more people take advantage of solar leasing programs the need for licensed installers will increase as well.”…
Shroud of secrecy over USA nuclear loan guarantee program
Nuclear Secrecy – Plant Vogtle Federal Loan Guarantee History Clean Energy.org October 13th, 2011 Sara Barczak After more than a year and a half of stonewalling by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) continues to press ahead with our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation so that U.S. taxpayers can learn the full extent of the risks to which they are exposed in the massive commitment of$8.33 billion in conditional federal loan guarantees to Southern Company and their utility partners for two proposed new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. Continue reading Keep moratorium on uranium mining at Virginia Beach, say officials
Virginia Beach officials want uranium mine ban extended, By Julian Walker The Virginian-Pilot, October 13, 2011 VIRGINIA BEACH Concerned that a proposed uranium mining operation could taint the city’s water supply, Virginia Beach officials want the state to maintain an existing moratorium on that activity for at least another year.
In a letter this week, the city’s water task force asked Mayor Will Sessoms and the City Council to urge the General Assembly to keep Virginia’s long-standing mining ban in place until at least 2013 and to delay related regulatory action. City officials are already on record opposing mining until they’re satisfied it won’t threaten Lake Gaston, a key drinking water source.
Some studies have said flooding near the mine could wash radioactive contaminants into tributaries that feed Lake Gaston, though a pro-mining analysis concluded that is highly unlikely. Forces for and against lifting the nearly three decade-old ban are bracing for a battle on the subject as early at the 2012 state legislative session. A National Academy of Sciences study on mining should be publicly released by then.
Virginia Uranium, the company that wants to extract ore from a Pittsylvania County uranium deposit, has actively lobbied officials as it pursues permission to mine, sending some to foreign countries to observe mines there. http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/virginia-beach-officials-want-uranium-mine-ban-extended
Experts find USA radiological labs not prepared for nuclear disasters
U.S. Labs Not Equipped to Handle Radiation Disasters, By Shalmali Pal, MedPage Today October 12, 2011 Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The U.S. state-based public health community is not ready to address a large-scale radiological event such as the one at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, according to recent survey results.
The “serious gaps in U.S. radiological preparedness,” include a shortage of appropriate personnel and a lack of federal certification to conduct sample testing, wrote Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD, and colleagues, from the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) in Silver Spring, Md., in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.
APHL is the national professional organization representing state and local government labs. The authors analyzed data from two inhouse surveys, the 2009 All-Hazards Laboratory Preparedness Survey and the 2011 Radiation Capabilities Survey, which were sent to public health labs in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico…..
The authors called for several initiatives to better prepare public health labs for a radiological event.These plans include funding for the national Laboratory Response Network to continue identifying potential agents of biological and chemical terrorism and funding to develop more advanced lab methods to test radiological specimens…..http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/EnvironmentalHealth/29005
DOE can’t manage cold war’s nuclear wastes (let alone today’s)
“Many of the excess facilities awaiting deactivation and decommissioning are one-of-a-kind or unique to the DOE, with unprecedented scope and complexity,” said the authors. “In many cases, the necessary technologies are not yet developed or, if developed, they require significant re-engineering to fit DOE needs.”
Cold War’s nuclear wastes pose challenges to science, engineering, society Eureka Alert 13 Oct 11 Seven papers published in the current issue of Technology and Innovation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors ™ report on efforts by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure continued safe and secure storage and disposition of 50 years worth of spent nuclear fuel, surplus nuclear materials, and high-level wastes at DOE facilities. 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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