Japan agrees second reactor life extension since Fukushima
TOKYO Aug 3 (Reuters) – Japan’s nuclear regulator on Wednesday approved an application by Kansai Electric Power Co Inc to extend the life of an ageing reactor beyond 40 years, the second such approval it has granted under new safety requirements imposed since the Fukushima disaster.
The move means Kansai Electric, Japan’s most nuclear-reliant utility before Fukushima led to the almost complete shutdown of Japan’s atomic industry, can keep No. 3 reactor at its Mihama plant operating until it is 60 years old.
The regulator granted the first such approval in June to Kansai Electric’s ageing reactors No.1 and 2 at its Takahama plant.
The Mihama No.3 reactor, which will turn 40 years old in December, has been shutdown since 2011 and a restart will not happen immediately as Kansai Electric needs to carry out safety upgrades at a cost of about 165 billion yen ($1.63 billion).
The upgrades involve fire proofing cabling and other measures and are planned to be completed in March 2020, a company spokesman said.
Opinion polls consistently show opposition to nuclear power following Fukushima. Critics say regulators have failed to take into account lessons learned after a massive earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Nuclear Repression, not Nuclear Renaissance, in Jaitapur, India
Jaitapur’s people are more concerned about being treated as sub-humans by the state, which has unleashed savage repression, including hundreds of arrests, illegal detentions and orders prohibiting peaceful assemblies. Eminent citizens keen to express solidarity with protesters were banned, including a former supreme court judge, the Communist party’s secretary and a former Navy chief. Gadgil too was prevented. A former high court judge was detained illegally for five days. Worse, a Maharashtra minister recently threatened that “outsiders” who visit Jaitapur wouldn’t be “allowed to come out” (alive).
This hasn’t broken the people’s resolve or resistance.
The truth behind India’s nuclear renaissance Jaitapur’s French-built nuclear plant is a disaster in waiting, jeopardising biodiversity and local livelihoods Praful Bidwai guardian.co.uk, 8 February 2011 The global “nuclear renaissance” touted a decade ago has not materialised. Continue reading
Possibly, a partial solution to unsolved problem of dead nuclear reactors
EnergySolutions cannot dispose of all the waste. Clive is licensed only for the least contaminated material. And the spent nuclear fuel is in the same situation as used reactor fuel all over the country: the Energy Department is under contract to take it, but has no place to dispose of it. Until a permanent repository is built at the proposed Yucca Mountain facility in Nevada or another location, the waste will stay at the Zion site in steel and concrete casks designed to last for decades.
Nuclear Plant Finds Novel Way to Decommission, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD: November 22, 2010 ZION, Ill. — Twelve years ago, Commonwealth Edison found itself in a bind. The Zion Station, its twin-unit nuclear reactor here, was no longer profitable. But the company could not afford to tear it down: the cost of dismantling the vast steel and concrete building, with multiple areas of radioactive contamination, would exceed $1 billion, double what it had cost to build the reactors in the 1970s. Nor could Commonwealth Edison walk away from the plant, because of the contamination. Continue reading
North Korea shows off new nuclear complex
Experts caution, however, that true hydrogen bombs are quite difficult to make, so it seems unlikely that North Korea would succeed in that step anytime soon.
North Koreans Unveil Vast New Plant for Nuclear Use, NYTimes.com, By DAVID E. SANGER November 20, 2010 WASHINGTON — North Korea showed a visiting American nuclear scientist last week a vast new facility it secretly and rapidly built to enrich uranium, confronting the Obama administration with the prospect that the country is preparing to expand its nuclear arsenal or build a far more powerful type of atomic bomb…….. Continue reading
Seabed area still radioactive, after Dounreay nuclear plant closed for 60 years
An area equivalent in size to 22 football pitches is being cleaned.
Dounreay: Investigation uncovers worst radiation hotspot ever Radioactive particles located during the latest search of the seabed off Dounreay. STV News, 18 November 2010 An investigation into the seabed off the Dounreay nuclear plant has uncovered the most dangerous radioactive hotspot yet found. Continue reading
Another USA nuclear power plant plan bites the dust
Ameren nuclear plant bill likely dead for this session, STI Today, 18 Nov 10, “………..A bill that would pave the way for a new Ameren nuclear plant has hit a roadblock in the Missouri Senate and is likely dead for the session.One of the Legislative session’s most controversial bills, the Ameren-backed proposal would repeal the state’s prohibition on utility companies charging customers for some costs of an electrical plant before the facility is up and running.But consumer groups and large industrial companies in the state complained that the bill also rewrote utility regulations to the point where Ameren could reap too many rate increases during the process of building a $6 billion plus nuclear plant in Callaway County……..”UPDATE: Ameren nuclear plant bill likely dead for this session
Radiation emergency drill held near Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant
Virtually all of the eastern half of Rhode Island from Providence down to the East Bay through Warren, Bristol and Little Compton are within a 40-mile radius of Plymouth and the plant.
Emergency crews conduct radiation drill | Turn to 10, 18 Nov 10, Emergency management officials in Rhode Island and Massachusetts held a drill Wednesday to test their response to a mock radiation leak. Continue reading
China – Nuclear power plant operator delayed notifying of radiation leak
Nuclear official feels Legco heat on leak, The Standard, Dennis Chong, November 17, 2010 Legislators lambasted the operator of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station for notifying the public more than three weeks after a radiation leak was found.Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company, a subsidiary of CLP Power which operates the plant, said the incident did not involve risk to the public and, as a result, did not need to be reported.However, lawmakers were dissatisfied and asked the company to reveal the timeline of events after maintenance workers found a defective pipe in the cooling system…… Meanwhile, legislators said the operator has not learned from an experience in May when an increase in radioactivity inside the plant sparked widespread rumors of a major leak.…Nuclear official feels Legco heat on leak – The Standard
Guangdong nuclear plant radiation leak reported
Radiation Leak Reported at Guangdong Nuclear Power Plant, Economic Observer News-, By Ruoji TangShare By Yu Huapeng and Hua Yan, November 17, 2010,Translated by Ruoji Tang Original Article: [Chinese] On October 23rd, during a routine inspection of the No. 1 reactor at Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, a small leak of radioactive material was discovered, the third leak detected in a Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company plant since May this year. Yesterday, Daya Bay Nuclear Power Operations Management Ltd. Co. released a report stating that one of the heat removal pipes had been found to be defective but had since been dealt with….Radiation Leak Reported at Guangdong Nuclear Power Plant- Economic Observer News- China business, politics, law, and social issues
Vermont nuclear reactor ready to be dead and buried
Nuclear Reactor in Vermont Needs to be Shut Down, Greenpeace on the Case – Planetsave.com 16 Nov 10, An old nuclear reactor in Vermont, the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, has had a number of problems lately and Greenpeace has taken notice. “ The 38-year-old reactor has a history of contamination issues, including a recent leak of radioactive water,” Becky Striepe of our sister site Ecoscraps writes. Continue reading
French nuclear firm stuck, unable to sell nuclear reactors in USA
EDF Puts U.S. Nuclear Expansion Plans on Hold, BloombergBy Tara Patel – Nov 16, 2010 Electricite de France the biggest operator of nuclear reactors, put on hold a plan to develop atomic plants in the U.S…. EDF is reviewing its business in the U.S. and supply contracts for developing a reactor, Thomas Piquemal, chief financial officer, said today on a conference call. “When we have a better visibility on the regulatory environment and price evolution, we will be in a better position to see whether we go ahead with U.S. projects.”
EDF agreed last month to pay about $249 million partly to buy out Constellation Energy Group Inc. from a venture to develop EPR reactors in the U.S., including one in Maryland. Slumping power prices has cut the value of three U.S. atomic plants that the two utilities own together and forecasts of sustained low prices prompted Constellation to withdraw from talks on a government loan guarantee for the Maryland reactor…..
Not needed now? Old Wisconsin nuclear plant with safety issues history
The plant was previously considered to have the most serious safety issues of all nuclear power plants in the country,……. the energy produced at Point Beach may not be necessary for the state.
Life of state’s nuclear plants to be extended Company prolongs operation of aging facility by 20 years; critics say could increase accidents, danger The Badger Herald: NewsBy Christina Spiewak , November 9, 2010
The oldest nuclear power plant in Wisconsin will reach its projected lifespan of 40 years next month, but a nuclear operating group is planning to extend its use by up to 20 years. Continue reading
Time running out for Vermont nuclear plant
An Uncertain Nuclear Countdown, November 5, 2010, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD If the clock is ticking on the lifetime of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, when will it actually close? Continue reading
Entergy trying to sell Vermont Yankee nuclear plant
State lawmakers have reacted vehemently to a series of misstatements and missteps by Entergy and leaks of radioactive tritium at the plant, in Vernon, Vt., on the banks of the Connecticut River near the Massachusetts border….
Vermont Nuclear Plant Up for Sale, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD November 4, 2010 Entergy Nuclear, evidently convinced that the Vermont legislature will not allow the company to run the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant for another 20 years, announced on Thursday that the plant was up for sale. Continue reading
BNP Paribas banking group to fund a dangerous obsolete nuclear reactor
This reactor fails to meet international safety standards, in addition its outdated, decades old technology would never be permitted in France itself. It is a dangerous nuclear project that should not go ahead – yet BNP Paribas wants to finance it. This money would come partially from customers’ savings – which make up 45% of the banking group’s global revenue.
Why isn’t BNP Paribas ‘sharing’ its nuclear projects on Facebook? Greenpeace International, by Laura K. – November 4, 2010 Two weeks ago we revealed banking group BNP Paribas, the world’s leading investor in the nuclear industry, is planning to fund an obsolete, dangerous nuclear reactor in Brazil – Angra 3. Continue reading
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See here the final program of the 12th International #Uranium Film Festival #Rio de Janeiro, May 18 – 28, 2023, Modern Art Museum (MAM Rio) #Cinematheque. uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/rio-2023-pr…
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