nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Nuclear renaissance bubble losing its puff

the simple reality is that a nuclear renaissance in the U.S. will be impossible if new reactors remain too expensive to build and natural gas remains “dirt cheap” while renewable energy costs continue to decline and consumer demand remains on a downward spiral……

underestimated costs, ignored risks, political ballyhoo and prodigious but inadequate subsidies — now make clear that we are dealing not with a renaissance but with a bubble. The main remaining question is just how much taxpayer money will go into keeping it inflated.”

Reactor under microscope  South Maryland News, Constellation, officials working to keep CC3 project going, Oct. 20, 2010, By MEGHAN RUSSELL“.………..even if EDF agreed to take the project under its wing, many skeptics, like the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, doubt the conditions are right for a “nuclear renaissance” and believe Calvert Cliffs 3 was doomed from the start. Continue reading →

October 20, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Another dead nuclear reactor problem – Hanford

The other cocooned reactors are being left in long-term storage for 75 years to let radioactivity decay to more-manageable levels.

Energy Department wants to remove Hanford reactor | Seattle Times Newspaper,The Associated Press Tri-City Herald.20 Oct 10, TRI-CITIES, Wash. —The Energy Department wants to tear down the K East Reactor at Hanford rather than cocooning it like five other old reactors on the nuclear reservation. Continue reading →

October 19, 2010 Posted by | decommission reactor, USA | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toxic uranium spill still affecting Navajo in New Mexico

People still remember, in part because of lingering illnesses they attribute to the spill,…People got compensated quickly at Three Mile Island – around here, I don’t think anyone got compensated for anything,

Uranium spill elicits traditional approach,  Indian Country Today By Carol Berry,  Oct 19, 2010 CHURCH ROCK, N.M. – About 10 miles north of this predominantly Navajo community, Highway 566 transects Red Water Pond Road, which is blocked at the entrance to an abandoned United Nuclear Corp. mine site from which nearly 1 million gallons of toxic wastewater spilled into the nearby Puerco River 31 years ago. Continue reading →

October 19, 2010 Posted by | indigenous issues, Uranium, USA | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Non ionizing radiation is effective in medical diagnosis

Study reveals diagnostic strategies eliminate ionizing radiation exposure in IBD patients, THE MEDICAL NEWS, 19 Oct 10, At the American College of Gastroenterology‘s (ACG) 75th Annual Scientific meeting in San Antonio, Texas, several studies of the effectiveness of non-X-ray techniques to evaluate Crohn’s disease revealed that diagnostic strategies such as capsule endoscopy (CE) and magnetic resonance enteroscopy (MRE) are useful in managing patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and avoiding ionizing radiation……
Study reveals diagnostic strategies eliminate ionizing radiation exposure in IBD patients

October 19, 2010 Posted by | health, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

Radiation risks of nuclear medicine need more oversight

CT scans of the abdomen use an amount of radiation equivalent to getting 1,500 dental X-rays, she said. CT scans of the heart and brain can use even more. The increased number of CT tests and increased amount of radiation used has boosted the amount of radiation exposure experienced by the general population…….

More oversight urged for X-ray technicians, Rapid City Journal, by Lynn Taylor Rick, October 18, 2010 “…………South Dakota is one of seven states in the nation that doesn’t require specific credentials for medical imaging operators, Continue reading →

October 18, 2010 Posted by | health, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Radioactive waste – depleted uranium headed for Nevada?

Nuclear Waste Shipment Could Be Headed To NV – KTVN Channel 2 , 17 Oct 10, RENO, Nev. (AP) — A shipment of 9,400 drums of depleted uranium oxide could be headed to Nevada. State officials say the U.S. Department of Energy is considering a plan to send the radioactive waste from a cleanup site in South Carolina to the Nevada National Security Site, formerly known as the Nevada Test Site……Stutsman also declined to comment on a published report that DOE wants to permanently dispose of the material at the Nevada site about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Nuclear Waste Shipment Could Be Headed To NV – KTVN Channel 2 – Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video –

October 18, 2010 Posted by | Uranium, USA, wastes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Emperor’s New Nuclear Clothes

Washington’s resolute reaction to the shrinking renaissance affirms the brilliance of Hans Christian Anderson’s ending to his fable “The Emperor’s New Clothes”:

“But he has nothing on!” everybody shouted at last. And the emperor shivered, for it seemed to him that they were right; but he thought within himself, “I must go through with the procession.” And so he carried himself still more proudly, and the chamberlains walked along holding the train which wasn’t there at all.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honey, I Shrunk the Renaissance: Nuclear Revival, Climate Change and Reality, CleanEnergy Footprints, by Peter Bradford, 15 Oct 10, “………Where have all the reactors gone?The 18 applications to build 27 new reactors that were on file at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in January 2009 (with five more applications for seven units expected by the end of 2010) were hailed by a compliant press to constitute “a nuclear renaissance.” Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by | spinbuster, USA | , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Utah State must rule on vexed question of “blended” radioactive wastes

The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah has challenged the idea of blending wastes to get around limits at the Utah site and urged state authorities to prohibit it.

Utah: NRC ruling leaves nuke waste rules to state, The Washington Post, By PAUL FOY, The Associated Press, October 15, 2010; SALT LAKE CITY — Federal regulators have put off a decision on whether blended radioactive waste can be buried in Utah.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided this week to develop a new set of rules assessing the dangers of blended waste based on the risks at individual disposal sites….. Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by | technology, USA, wastes | , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Radioactive tritium leaking from 20 USA nuclear plants

Last week brought more disturbing discoveries of radioactive tritium leaking into groundwater from Vermont Yankee, the aging nuclear plant in southern Vermont….In fact, the nuclear industry has contaminated groundwater with radioactive tritium at nuclear power plant sites all across the country.

Nuclear Power’s Threat to Clean Water | Greenpeace USA, by Jim Riccio – October 15, 2010 , Today is blog action day, an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day, and this year the topic is water. Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by | USA, water | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

American families unwilling to cop the financial risk exposure of nuclear power

The struggle for a nuclear renaissance has been and remains a struggle over allocation of economic risk. U.S. power markets allocate that risk to investors and lenders, who will not put up the money for new nuclear…… southeastern states decided to allocate that risk to their customers, some of whom have begun to rebel. Congress is being asked to allocate it to taxpayers. However, with each new reactor requiring the allocation of close to $100 in risk exposure to every family in America, this is proving a tough sell.

Honey, I Shrunk the Renaissance: Nuclear Revival, Climate Change and Reality, CleanEnergy Footprints, by Peter Bradford, 15 Oct 10, “……Did the nuclear renaissance jump, or was it pushed? In truth, the nuclear renaissance has always consisted of the number of plants that government was willing to build. This is true not only in the United States but also in every other country now building new nuclear units.  Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

Native Americans lead the way in Solar Energy Education

Native Americans ….. lead the five groups of recipients taking advantage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (also known as ARRA, or the stimulus) and as a result eligible for the IREC awards.

Native Americans Turn to Solar Energy, CALFINDER  15 Oct 10, In an interesting show of how established solar energy has become, on Monday Oct 12October 12, the New York-based Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) gave one of its 2010 Innovation Awards to Lakota Solar Enterprises, a renewable energy company owned entirely by Native Americans and located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by | indigenous issues, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Compensation for nuclear workers for radiation induced cancers

Former Ames Lab workers eligible for compensation – chicagotribune.com, 15 Oct 10, AMES, Iowa —Federal authorities have decided to make compensation available faster for former Ames Laboratory workers who developed cancer from radiation exposure.U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a directive stating all employees of the Department of Energy who worked at the lab from 1955 through 1960 for 250 consecutive days would be eligible for compensation.Harkin called the announcement “welcome news” for the workers and families. He says they handled “incredibly dangerous” materials in the early days of the Cold War…… Former Ames Lab workers eligible for compensation – chicagotribune.com

October 15, 2010 Posted by | health, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation danger – NASA astronaut warns

Radiation is the single biggest threat to the health of astronauts.

Space Station Living, Radiation and Monkeys Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chaio discusses his personal space radiation experiences and why monkeys shouldn’t be our guinea pigs .Discovery news,  Oct 14, 2010 Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by | health, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Fossil fuel lobby’s power over U.S. Congress is holding back Renewable Energy

America’s energy policies are still controlled by lobbying and political power of fossil fuel giants (BP, Chevron, Arco, Shell, and more). This money has successfully distorted public opinion about the economic and environmental implementation of renewable energy. By distorting renewable energy, the fossil fuel giants have been able to make record profits and receive federal subsidies.

The US – Will It Take the Necessary Steps to Be a Renewable Energy Leader | richhessler The oil spill off the coast of Louisiana is causing some Americans to question the longevity and environmental impact of oil. Solar companies should take advantage of the situation and persuade Congress to make renewable energy a priority. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by | politics, USA | , , , , | 2 Comments

Old nuclear plants have low market value, new ones not viable

..Constellation’s finances have stabilized but demand for electric power has fallen, reducing not only the market value of old power plants but the viability of building new ones.

Constellation’s fallout with French firm unfortunately the new business as usual, The Washington Post, By Steven Pearlstein, October 14, 2010 If you were looking for an example of the erosion in standards of business behavior, you couldn’t do better than the story of Constellation Energy and its recent falling-out with the French nuclear energy company EDF….. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment