Nuclear Energy Institute writes the rules for Nuclear Regulatory Commission
allowing the NEI to play such a large role means the industry can shape much of what nuclear companies are required to do…….. NRC’s precursor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, was disbanded after Congress concluded it had become too concerned with promoting nuclear power instead of regulating safety…..over the years, NRC has become more accommodating to the industry.
U.S. Nuclear Regulator Lets Industry Help With the Fine Print by John Sullivan, Special to ProPublica April 13, 2011, “…….Large parts of the guides, issued by NRC, incorporate or endorse material written by the industry’s trade group, the Nuclear Energy Institute[6]. Continue reading
Nuclear Regulatory Commission was all too cosy with Davis Besse Nuclear Power Station
The inspector general concluded that a conflict between the NRC’s twin goals of inspecting the plant to protect public safety and a desire to “reduce unnecessary regulatory burden” on the owner led to the delay in finding the gaping hole.
U.S. Nuclear Regulator Lets Industry Help With the Fine Print by John Sullivan, Special to ProPublica April 13, 2011, In the fall of 2001, inspectors with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were so concerned about possible corrosion at Ohio’s Davis Besse Nuclear Power Station [1] that they prepared an emergency order to shut it down for inspection. But, according to a report [2] from the NRC inspector general, senior officials at the agency held off – in part because they did not want to hurt the plant’s bottom line. Continue reading
New USA standards will allow higher levels of radiation
This is being accomplished, of course, to protect the nuclear lobby and its stakeholders from threats to its financial health.
Radiation Spreads Worldwide. The Poisoning of Mother Earth, Global Reseach Ca, by Freedom Against Censorship
Thailand (FACT), 14 April 11,“…….However, what we’re seeing, according to the American NGO Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is the application of new standards which will drastically raise the levels of radiation allowed in food, water, air and the general environment. Access to internal US Environmental Protection Agency communications has revealed a 1,000% increase for exposure to Strontium-90; a 3,000-100,000% rise for Iodine-131; a 25,000% rise for Nickel-63 in drinking water. Continue reading
Radiation contamination in Grand Canyon
Uranium Mining Threatens Grand Canyon Communities | Truthout Cathie Bird, 14 April 11, Over a thousand uranium mines have already contaminated water across the Southwest, poisoning communities with radiation that leads to cancer, harming the biodiversity of rivers and dissipating toxic ore dust into the air. Despite the immeasurable damage the mess of these abandoned mines has inflicted, including the official designation of the Four Corners as a “national sacrifice area,” the federal government and foreign mining companies want to continue uranium mining in the Grand Canyon… Uranium Mining Threatens Grand Canyon Communities | Truthout – MicroHawk’s NewsScan
Connecticut might tax nuclear plant out of existence
Conn. tax plan could shut nuclear plant -lawmakers | Reuters, 13 April, * Dominion could shut Millstone if state passes tax* State seeks $340 million from proposed tax* Power rates in Connecticut second highest in nation The proposed legislation, An Act Concerning Electric Rate Relief (Senate Bill 1176), aims to raise revenue, provide ratepayer relief and fund clean energy projects.The money would come from a tax on the power produced at nuclear, coal and oil-fired generators in the state.The bill is expected to raise about $340 million a year, but Dominion said $330 million of that would come from Millstone, the only nuclear plant in the state.”If the tax passes we will be forced to shut Millstone. That burden of $330 million will make the plant no longer economically viable to operate,” Dominion spokesman Ken Holt told Reuters…..
Yucca Mountain is NOT the answer to USA’s nuclear wastes
This threat should disqualify the site, especially when combined with the fact that Southwestern water resources will be polluted with radiation as waste canisters at Yucca Mountain disintegrate over time.
Solving the problem of nuclear waste The Hill’s Congress Blog By Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) 12 April 11 – At a time when our nation is making tough choices about spending, I am amazed that Congressman John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and other House Republicans are demanding we dump $100 billion into Yucca Mountain. This shuttered boondoggle, located 90 minutes from Las Vegas, is nothing more than an empty hole in the Nevada desert.
While some are seeking to use the tragic events in Japan to once again push for moving nuclear waste to Nevada, they fail to mention that Yucca Mountain is located smack in the middle of an earthquake zone. Continue reading
Radioactive Cesium in Hawaii and other USA locations
AUDIO Japan Nuclear Radiation In Hawaii Milk At LEAST 600% Above Federal Drinking Water Limits : The Intel Hub By Alexander Higgins – Contributing Writer April 12, 2011 Title of article now represents the minimum percentage that the radiation found in Hawaii is over EPA standards.
New EPA milk samples in Hawaii show radiation in milk at 800% above limits for Cs-134, 633% above limits for Cs-137 and 600% above EPA maximum for I-131 for a total of 2033%, or 20.33 times, above the federal drinking water limits.
New readings have also been posted for Phoenix AZ with milk being above the federal limit and Los Angeles with milk being slightly below the limit for Iodine.
Montpelier VT milk has tested positive for radioactive CS-137, above about 2/3rds the EPA maximum and Spokane WA milk testing less than half the limit for i-131….Japan Nuclear Radiation In Hawaii Milk At LEAST 600% Above Federal Drinking Water Limits :
Steady growth in renewable energy in USA
Energy Use Down, Renewables Up | RenewablesBiz, Wind grew by one-third in 2009 Bill Opalka | Apr 12, 2011, Renewable energy is growing steadily even while the overall economy slumps and energy use from other sources is falling.That’s the gist of a new report from the federal Energy Information Administration, which tracks energy use and projects future supplies. It just released a report that showed that overall use declined for consecutive years, in 2008 and 2009, for reasons outside of the energy sector, for the first time in decades.
U.S. energy consumption declined for the second year in a row in 2009, falling 4.8 percent between 2008 and 2009 to 94.6 quadrillion Btus. This follows a 2.1-percent decline between 2007 and 2008. As a result, total energy consumption in 2009 dropped to its lowest level since 1996…….
the overall shift to renewables from 2005 to 2009 is impressive. Wind has come from a relatively minor renewable energy source to accounting for nearly 10 percent of total renewable energy consumption. Energy Use Down, Renewables Up | RenewablesBiz
Supreme Court upholds State’s rights over water intake at nuclear plant
SJC upholds state’s right to regulate water intake at Pilgrim nuclear – Boston Globe , by Beth Daley, 12 April 11, The state Supreme Judicial Court has upheld Massachusetts’ right to regulate the intake of vast amounts of water by the Pilgrim Nuclear Station and other power plants, which can harm fish and other marine organisms.Power plants use the water to cool equipment then discharge it later — and hotter — into waterways. Environmental studies show the heated water can harm aquatic life. The state and environmentalists have also long argued that the sucking in of water can kill vast amounts of fish larvae, eggs, shellfish, and other aquatic organisms – larger creatures become trapped on screens covering the intake pipes, and smaller ones are sucked into the cooling system. Continue reading
Call for new rules on USA’s nuclear wastes
US lawmaker calls for new nuclear waste rules
* Feinstein says waste should move to dry storage faster
* Study found that dry cask storage less risky than pools
* NRC has said waste could stay in pools for 100 years
By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) – A top Senate Democrat on Monday urged the U.S. nuclear regulator to require plants to speed up the shift of radioactive waste to dry cask storage from pools. Continue reading
License application withdrawn for Diablo nuclear plant
PG&E withdraws license renewal application for San Luis Obispo nuclear plant, PolitiCal | Jack DolanApril 11, 2011 Pacific Gas & Electric asked federal regulators to hold off on granting them a new license to run the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Central California until the company can complete a new round of seismic safety studies.
The company, which runs two reactors at the coastal site south of San Luis Obispo, cited “considerable public concern” about nuclear reactors situated in earthquake zones after a massive quake and tsunami crippled the Fuskushima Daichi plant in Japan last month…….In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey revealed that it had discovered a previously unknown fault less than a mile from Diablo Canyon. Another fault, about three miles offshore, had been discovered in the early 1970s. Geophysicists are concerned that movement of one fault could trigger an earthquake along the other, potentially compounding any damage to the nuclear plant…..PG&E withdraws license renewal application for San Luis Obispo nuclear plant | PolitiCal | Los Angeles Times
California moving to 33 percent renewable energy
California to set 33 percent renewable energy goal for 2020 Govenor to sign bill The Desert Sun |, Apr. 12, 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign a new law Tuesday committing California’s private utilities to producing 33 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.
The signing is scheduled for around 11:15 a.m. when the governor attends the dedication of SunPower’s new solar panel manufacturing facility in Milpitas…..California to set 33 percent renewable energy goal for 2020 | The Desert Sun | MyDesert.com
As global temperatures rise, there will be expensive nuclear plant shutdowns
the prolonged spell of hot weather put the TVA at risk of violating environmental permits, with hefty fines as one consequence and potential harm to the Tennessee River ecosystem as another…..The total cost of the lost power over that time? More than $50 million dollars, all of which was paid for by TVA’s customers in Tennessee….. What happened last summer at Browns Ferry may be a sign of what people living in the Southeast can expect in the future. As average global temperatures rise,
Heatwaves cause problems for nuclear power plants | Climate Central, By Alyson Kenward, 11 April 11, On July 8, 2010, as the temperature in downtown Decatur, Alabama climbed to a sweltering 98°F, operators at the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant a few miles outside of town realized they had only one option to avoid violating their environmental permit: turn down the reactors. Continue reading
Five USA nuclear plants at earthquake risk
Five U.S. nuclear reactors in earthquake zones – USATODAY.com,By Steve Sternberg, 11 April 11, At least five U.S. nuclear reactors are located in earthquake-prone seismic zones, potentially exposing them to the forces that damaged the Fukushima plant in Japan, a new analysis shows. The at-risk reactors are the Diablo Canyon Power Plant and San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California; the South Texas Project near the Gulf Coast; the Waterford Steam Electric Station in Louisiana and the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant in North Carolina…..Five U.S. nuclear reactors in earthquake zones – USATODAY.com
Florida and 30 other US States endangered by nuclear cooling ponds
“It would be hard to manage this hazard (more) foolishly. The federal government’s ineptitude in disposing of spent fuel has left Americans across the country exposed to elevated and undue risks,”
Japan’s crisis adds fuel to Florida nuclear fears. The Palm Beach Post, 11 April 11, Once, the thousands of 12-foot-long rods now being stored in 40-foot-deep pools of water at Florida Power & Light Co.’s two South Florida nuclear plants helped power the state’s electric grid.Their job is done. However, the used, or “spent,” fuel rods have not gone anywhere. 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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