•NRC Monitoring an Event at Byron Nuclear Plant

January 30, 2012

• NRC Monitoring an Event at Byron Nuclear Plant

http://www.nrc.gov/

Exelon shuts Byron nuclear plant unit after power loss

January 30, 2012
Reuters) — U.S. power company Exelon's 1,136-megawatt Unit 2 at the Byron nuclear power plant in Illinois shut Monday morning due to the loss of offsite power, the company said in a release.

Exelon declared an unusual event following the shutdown, which indicates a potential degradation of the safety level of the plant.

A spokeswoman for the plant said smoke was seen coming from an auxiliary transformer but the fire department found no fire.


Read more: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120130/NEWS11/120139975/exelon-shuts-byron-nuclear-plant-unit-after-power-loss#ixzz1kyTi1rVh

Fire extinguished at Waterford power plant in St. Charles Parish /NRC proposes fine against nuclear power plant

wwltv.com
Posted on January 15, 2012 at 9:04 AM
Updated yesterday at 11:36 AM
Dominic Massa / Eyewitness News

ST. CHARLES PARISH, La. -- An oil fire at the Waterford I power plant sent thick smoke into the air Sunday morning but was extinguished after about an hour and posed no danger to residents, officials said.

A WWL-TV Eyewitness sent in a photo of the thick, dark smoke in the air Sunday morning. The fire reportedly broke out around 8:30 a.m. at the Waterford I power plant in St. Charles Parish.

About 9:50 a.m., parish officials reported that the fire had been extinguished.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/Oil-fire-at-Waterford-III-nuclear-power-plant-sends-smoke-into-air-over-St-Charles-Parish-137374833.html

NRC proposes fine against nuclear power plant

Jan 9, 2012

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a $140,000 civil penalty against Entergy Operations Inc., a subsidiary of Entergy (NYSE: ETR), at the 978 MW River Bend Station, for control room operators accessing the internet without authorization and failure by the utility to take timely corrective actions once the issue was identified.

The NRC said control room operators are directly responsible for monitoring the reactor and other important plant systems to ensure that it is operated safely. Plant procedures require operators to remain attentive and focused on their work.

http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2012/01/nrc-proposed-fine-against-nuclear-power-plant.html

Michigan's Palisades nuclear plant may be named one of nation's 5 worst

 

Jan. 15, 2012

The Palisades nuclear power plant, which sits on the shores of Lake Michigan, could soon be downgraded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to a status making it among the nation's five worst-performing nuclear plants after a year of accidents, unexpected shutdowns and safety violations.

The regional head of the NRC said last week that if performance does not improve, the agency would not hesitate to shut down the plant. Palisades is one of the nation's 10 oldest nuclear plants, and after hitting its 40-year life-span in 2011, its license was extended until 2031.

"Quite frankly, we find your performance troubling, and it declined in 2011," regional administration Cynthia Pederson said in a rare public rebuke of the plant owned by Entergy Nuclear Operations.

Entergy acknowledged mistakes. One accident in September led to a loss of electricity at the plant that tripped its reactor and caused equipment to malfunction.

The accident "could have killed somebody," the plant's manager said last week in a shaken voice.

That was one of at least five unexpected shutdowns of the plant in the past year after valves malfunctioned, seals leaked or pumps failed. The NRC spent 1,000 extra hours last year inspecting the plant.

Antinuclear activists and watchdogs say there are even deeper problems the NRC has not addressed, including Entergy not having replaced major components that former owner Consumers Energy said needed to be replaced when it sold the plant in 2006. Although their age makes those components vulnerable, the NRC says the components still meet safety standards.

"If all these failings and accidents line up in just the right way, we could have a very bad day at Palisades," said Kevin Kamps, a Kalamazoo native and staff member at Beyond Nuclear near Washington, D.C.

Palisades nuclear plant accident investigated

It began with a light bulb.

Read more:
http://www.freep.com/article/20120115/NEWS05/201150541/Michigan-s-Palisades-nuclear-plant-may-be-named-one-of-nation-s-5-worst

Blended nuclear waste allowed in Utah

State Regulators Stand By Decision to Allow Blended Nuclear Waste

01.10.2012 by Jessica Gail (KCPW News)

The battle over nuclear waste in Utah raged on Tuesday as anti-nuclear activists along with representatives of EnergySolutions met before the Utah Radiation Control Board.

State regulators have come under scrutiny over a recent decision to allow blended radioactive waste to be buried in Utah.

KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on the state’s reasoning and what environmental activists have to say about it.

http://kcpw.org/blog/local-news/2012-01-10/state-regulators-stand-by-decision-to-allow-blended-nuclear-waste/

Fukushima further bursts "nuclear renaissance" bubble

 

 

Fukushima Daiichi's explosions -- like this one at Unit 3 -- were captured on live television and were broadcast internationally.In a new report entitled "Nuclear Safety and Nuclear Economics: Historically, Accidents Dim the Prospects for Nuclear Reactor Construction; Fukushima Will Have a Major Impact," Dr. Mark Cooper of the Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment compares the cost increases for new reactor construction -- due to increased nuclear safety regulation in the aftermath of the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown -- to escalating costs that can be expected after the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe. Cooper points out, however, the new reactor construction costs were already skyrocketing before the TMI and Fukushima meltdowns -- but the accidents accelerated the cost increases dramatically.

He concludes: "From a big picture perspective, Fukushima has had and is likely to continue to have an electrifying impact because it combines the most powerful message from TMI on cost escalation with the most powerful message from Chernobyl on the risk of nuclear reactors in a nation where it was not supposed to happen. And, it has taken place in an environment where information and images flow instantaneously around the world, so the public sees the drama and trauma of losing control of a nuclear reaction in real time."

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/

Renewable Energy Eclipses Nuclear In The US


 Renewable energy sources – including wind and solar – now provide a greater share of the US energy supply than nuclear power.

According to the Energy Information Administration, both production and consumption of renewable energy were higher than nuclear power in the last nine months of 2011.

The shift came despite a tough year for renewable energy which saw the implosion of solar manufacturer, Solyndra.

In the equivalent periods in 2009 and 2010, nuclear held a significant lead over renewables but declined in 2011.

                                             
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2012/01/10/renewable-energy-passes-nuclear-as.html

French nuclear plants double child leukemia – study

 

January 12, 2012 Source: Reuters

The incidence of leukaemia is twice as high in children living close to French nuclear power plants as in those living elsewhere in the country, a study by French health and nuclear safety experts has found.

But the study, to be published soon in the International Journal of Cancer, fell short of establishing a causal link between the higher incidence of leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, and living near nuclear power plants..

… The study, conducted by the French health
research body INSERM, found that between 2002 and 2007, 14 children
under the age of 15 living in a 5km radius of France’s 19 nuclear
power plants had been diagnosed with leukaemia.

This is double the rate of the rest of the country, where a total of
2,753 cases were diagnosed in the same period.

“This is a result which has been checked thoroughly and which is
statistically significant,” said Dominique Laurier, head of the
epidemiology research laboratory at France’s nuclear safety research
body (IRSN)……

http://nuclear-news.net/2012/01/12/higher-incidence-of-child-leukaemia-near-nuclear-plants/

A closer look at Canada's nuclear plants

CBC News

Posted: Jan 9, 2012 11:50 AM ET
Last Updated: Jan 9, 2012 4:19 PM ET

Reports of two radioactive spills at the nuclear power plant in Point Lepreau, N.B., late in 2011 have raised concerns with the head of Canada's Nuclear Safety Commission.

Michael Binder, the president of the commission, called the news “unsettling.”

In light of the meltdowns at Japan's Fukushima Daichi plant resulting from the tsunami in March 2011, the CNSC has made numerous assurances regarding the safety of plants in this country. It stressed that none of Canada's nuclear facilities are on or near fault lines capable of causing a major earthquake.

Uranium processing and fuel fabrication facilities
Blind River uranium refining facility (Blind River, Ont.)
Port Hope uranium conversion facility (Port Hope, Ont.)
Port Hope nuclear fuel facility
Toronto nuclear fuel fabrication facility
Peterborough nuclear fuel facility

Some notable nuclear accidents in Canada

Chalk River, 1952 and 1958

A power surge and partial loss of coolant led to significant damage to the NRX reactor core in 1952. It was the world's first major nuclear reactor disaster, and it resulted in 4.5 tonnes of radioactive water collecting in the cellar of the building. In 1958, a fuel rupture in the reactor led to a fire and complete contamination of the NRU building. The military was called in both times to aid in the cleanup.

Pickering, 1974 and 1983

The most serious nuclear accidents in Canada happened at the Pickering facility east of Toronto, in 1974 and in 1983. In each case, pressure tubes — which hold fuel rods — ruptured. Some coolant escaped, but was recovered before it left the plant, and there was no release of radioactive material from the containment building.

Darlington, 2009

In 2009, more than 200,000 litres of tritium, the radioactive isotope of hydrogen, spilled into Lake Ontario after workers accidentally filled the wrong tank with a mixture of tritium and water. The level of the isotope in the lake was not enough to pose harm to residents.

Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/01/09/f-canada-nuclear-reactors.html

Should-virginia-continue-moritorium-uranium-mining?

Should Virginia continue the moritorium on uranium mining?


Please click here to vote or cut and paste:  http://www2.timesdispatch.com/online/2012/jan/21/should-virginia-continue-moritorium-uranium-mining-pl-1184/

Example of voting is below but vote on link above!

Yes

No

Not sure

Poll Opened: January 21, 2012
Poll Closes: January 28, 2012

Click here to Vote Yes:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/online/2012/jan/21/should-virginia-continue-moritorium-uranium-mining-pl-1184/

Japanese towns Okuma, Futaba to disappear because of nuclear radiation

2 towns at risk of disappearing / Okuma, Futaba face uncertain future due to nearby crippled N-plant Yasushi Kaneko / Daily Yomiuri 9 Jan 12, How will the government help the estimated 25,000 people who lived in areas where residency likely will be prohibited for an extended period due to the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant?

In particular, Okuma and Futaba towns in Fukushima Prefecture will face extreme hardship because most of their residential areas fall in those areas. The crippled nuclear plant is located in the two towns.

It will be extremely difficult for the municipal governments to
restore the towns to their conditions before the disaster. The central
government will need to consider providing assistance to the evacuees
so they can lead self-reliant lives.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry
detected many spots in the two towns where annual levels of exposure
to radiation would be 100 millisieverts or higher. This is at least
five times higher than the level deemed safe for human habitation.

The ministry measured radiation levels one meter above the ground and
monitored the radioactive contamination of soil. The ministry has
regularly measured radiation levels using vehicles and planes in
affected prefectures–mainly Fukushima Prefecture but also including
Tokyo–with cooperation from local governments.

Air radiation levels were measured at about 3,000 spots in the
no-entry zone around the nuclear plant and planned evacuation areas as
of Dec. 11. Of them, annual radiation levels of 50 millisieverts or
higher were estimated at about 700 spots. These sites likely will be
designated as zones where residency is prohibited for an extended
period.

According to Japan Atomic Energy Agency calculations, it would take
more than 50 years for radiation levels at the sites to naturally fall
below the safe limit of 20 millisieverts.

Environment Minister Goshi Hosono has said it will be “difficult to
lower air radiation levels with conventional decontamination methods”
in areas where annual levels are 50 millisieverts or higher. Residing
in these areas will be forbidden for an extended period…..
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120108003576.htm

No nuke waste in our backyard: Madahbee

For Immediate Release

No nuke waste in our backyard: Madahbee

UOI OFFICES, NIPISSING FN (January 5, 2012) – Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee says that First Nations in the Anishinabek Nation Territory have been opposed to nuclear waste storage sites since 2004.


“We always hear non-Native communities saying they don’t want certain projects or developments in their backyard. Well, First Nations don’t want nuclear waste in our backyard,” says Madahbee. “Representatives from Chiefs in Ontario have been attending information sessions held by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and this is not the proper consultation we are entitled to.”

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands and territories of Indigenous Peoples without free and prior consent.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is federally mandated to assume responsibility for the long-term management of Canada’s used nuclear fuel. A Deep Geological Repository Program is seeking long-term storage for Canada's growing amount of high-level spent nuclear fuel bundles.

Since the Nuclear Industry started using nuclear reactors to produce electricity in the early 1970s, they have accumulated about two million spent fuel bundles, a number that could fill six NHL-sized hockey rinks.

Three of the five sites in Northern Ontario involved in NWMO’s 10-year selection process – Wawa, Horne Payne and Schreiber – are in Anishinabek Territory. Elliot Lake, Blind River and the Township of Northshore have also expressed interest in becoming storage sites.

Historical uranium mining and processing within Anishinabek Nation Territory has resulted in significant and long-term consequences not only to the environment, but also to the people who live and thrive off the land and waters for their livelihoods.

The Grand Council Chief said there is absolutely no guarantee that the Government, Industry or NWMO can provide assurance that a natural hazard such as an earthquake, volcanic activity, rock fracture, corrosion, ice age or any other naturally- occurring disaster can be avoided – only their unproven scientific theory.

NWMO is offering to provide a Jan. 26-27 all-expenses paid junket for journalists to participate in an “information-sharing” exercise in Toronto and Ottawa, including a tour of the Pickering Nuclear power-generating plant.

Grand Council Chief Madahbee said Anishinabek Nation Resolution 2010-30 declared that our communities were united in their opposition to both export of nuclear waste and deep geological nuclear waste disposal.

The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 39 member communities across Ontario, representing approximately 55,000 people. The Union of Ontario Indians is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.

-30-

For more information contact:

Marci Becking
Communications Officer
Union of Ontario Indians
Phone: (705) 497-9127 (ext. 2290)
Cell: (705) 494-0735
E-mail: becmar@anishinabek.ca

NRC says no cause yet for Davis-Besse cracks

 

Updated: Friday, 06 Jan 2012, 2:14 AM EST
Published : Thursday, 05 Jan 2012, 4:01 PM EST
JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press

PORT CLINTON, Ohio (AP) - Federal inspectors are convinced that a nuclear reactor along Lake Erie is safe to operate even though they said Thursday it is not clear why small cracks appeared in a concrete shell that protects the plant.

Read more:
http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/nrc-puts-spotlight-davis-besse-cracks?ref=scroller&categoryId=20000&status=true

Frontline's post Fukushima program had many flaws.

Beyond Nuclear

Frontline's post Fukushima program had many flaws.

One was the claim that Germany will emit more Co2 and use more coal due to its nuclear phaseout.

Not so. And, thanks to feedback from Arne Jungjohann at the Heinrich Boell Institute, for the following: "Numerous feasibility studies, amongst others by the Federal Environmental Agency or an independent Commission on Energy Choices , have shown that ...the nuclear phase-out will not jeopardize Germany's ambitious climate action efforts: reducing carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2020 and by at least 80 percent by 2050. If emissions were to rise due to the nuclear phase-out, the government would have to come up with compensating measures to reach these targets. 

 However, it is unlikely that emissions will rise, because according to the rules of the EU cap-and-trade system there is a cap for emissions from the energy sector and that of course also applies for Germany.

Even if Germany’s nuclear capacity was to be replaced by using energy generated in coal plants, the total energy emissions would still have to be reduced.

This could be achieved by either shifting to more natural gas or by replacing older coal plants with new and more efficient plants. That's the genius of a cap-and-trade system.

Believe it or not, with that system in place, Germany's nuclear phase-out will even cause emissions in other European countries to fall.

In Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out, Renewable Energy Plans Are Clear | World Resources Institute

www.wri.org

Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in the United States yesterday to be presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, coming shortly after her announcement that Germany plans to phase out nuclear energy by 2022 and accelerate the transition to a clean energy system largely built on renewable energ...

Nuclear Agency Squabbling Throws Smokescreen Over Safety Lapses

January 05, 2012
The Jaczko Debate
by LINDA PENTZ GUNTER


Four of the five commissioners at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission have charged their boss, Chairman Gregory Jaczko, with “causing serious damage to this institution.” That is tough talk coming from an agency where mismanagement under previous chairmanships actually did serious damage, not only to the regulatory integrity of the institution, but to safety integrity at nuclear reactors.


For example, in April 2000, the Commission had photographic evidence of extensive corrosive leakage that put the Davis-Besse reactor near Toledo, Ohio within a hair’s breadth of a meltdown. Yet, despite lava-like formations of rust roiling off the top of the reactor pressure vessel, the NRC allowed the reactor to restart, giving it the green light for two more years of operation. The NRC clearly needed a top to bottom safety shakeup. That’s when Chairman Jaczko showed up.

The grumbling over Jaczko is a convenient smokescreen to draw attention away from the fact that, for the first time in decades, the NRC actually has a Chairman who, in his own words, is “a very passionate person about safety” at the country’s 104 operating nuclear reactors. That shows up the other four, who, much of the time, adhere to an old culture of capitulation to the demands of the nuclear power industry, a practice which almost invariably diminishes safety.

Although he has by no means a perfect record, Jazcko has on several important occasions put his vote where it counts to reinforce safety at the country’s nuclear power plants.

Read more:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/01/05/nuclear-agency-squabbling-throws-smokescreen-over-safety-lapses/

Governor McDonnell Asks General Assembly to Keep Uranium Mining Moratorium in Place in 2012

Comment: Please call The Gov. Telephone number is 804-786-2211. Lets flood his office with calls! Please forward to others on address book! We need to Keep the Ban on Uranium Mining and Milling in VA

Commonwealth of Virginia Office of Governor Bob McDonnell


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2012

Contact: Jeff Caldwell
Phone: (804) 225-4260
Email: Jeff.Caldwell@Governor.Virginia.Gov

Governor McDonnell Asks General Assembly to Keep Uranium Mining Moratorium in Place in 2012

Session Issues Directive to State Agencies to Analyze Scientific and Legal Issues and Report Back Prior to 2013

McDonnell: “Before we make important policy decisions about whether or not to proceed, we must be certain that uranium mining can be conducted safely and responsibly.”

Governor’s Directive Available Here

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell is asking the General Assembly to take no action to permit uranium mining during its 2012 session, calling instead for the continuation of the state’s moratorium on uranium mining pending a comprehensive and on-site study of the issue to be completed by a newly-created multi-agency state workgroup. The Governor’s directive that the state work group look further into the specific issues surrounding mining at a particular site in the Commonwealth follows a thorough review by the McDonnell Administration of the recent National Academy of Sciences report that looked broadly at uranium mining in Virginia. The report noted, “At present, there are gaps in legal and regulatory coverage for activities involved in uranium mining, processing, reclamation and long-term stewardship. Some of these gaps have resulted from the moratorium on uranium mining that Virginia has in place; others are gaps in current laws or regulations, or in the way that they are applied.” The Governor also consulted with agency heads, legislators, business leaders and others concerning the prudent course of action on this complicated issue.

Speaking about his decision to seek greater information regarding the efficacy and safety of uranium mining in Pittsylvania County, the Governor stated, “Over the past month I, along with members of our administration, have analyzed the NAS report on uranium mining in the Commonwealth in great detail. We have spoken with local legislators, agency heads, scientists as well as business and community leaders in and around the potential mining region. To further understand the issue members of our administration, including technical experts, traveled to Coles Hill to view the property personally.  They also traveled to a uranium mining site in Canada to gain a greater understanding of the scientific and legal issues that must be addressed if Virginia were to move forward. Yesterday, I received a letter from a bipartisan group of Virginia legislators from the Uranium Subcommittee of the Coal and Energy Commission of the General Assembly asking that our Administration delay any action on uranium mining until such time that a more thorough and on-site review of the issue could take place. As a result of our analysis, and consideration of the points made in the letter, I believe that such an on-site study must take place before any action is taken. The NAS study was broadly helpful in providing a better understanding of the associated economic benefits, which are potentially significant, as well as the possible risks, which are potentially serious, associated with uranium mining in this geography and climate. However, in order for an informed decision to be made by state lawmakers, we need more detailed information. Before we make any decisions about whether or not to proceed down the path to development, we must be certain that uranium mining can be conducted safely and responsibly. Public safety must be the primary factor in the ultimate determination as to whether to proceed with uranium mining.

To attain that information, I have today sent a letter to my Secretaries of Natural Resources, Commerce and Trade and Health and Human Resources asking them to create a working group, comprised of the appropriate technical staff from the Departments of Health, Environmental Quality, and Mines, Minerals and Energy, which will develop a draft regulatory framework for presentation to the Coal and Energy Commission next year. My letter sets out more than a dozen issues that need to be addressed by the working group. Further, I have directed the group to report their progress to the legislative Uranium Subcommittee no fewer than three times over the next year, and to allow thorough opportunity for public participation in its work.

I have been clear that we must base all decisions on this matter on public safety and science. While uranium mining could mean the creation of high-paying jobs for our citizens, a boost for the important nuclear power industry, increased economic development for the region, and the generation of significant tax revenue for the entire Commonwealth, we must prudently study this issue to ensure that such mining would not impair the health of our people, or the condition of our environment. The NAS study, while broadly helpful, left many questions still unanswered. Some of those questions can only be answered through an on-site evaluation of Coles Hill and the surrounding area. I look forward to receiving the draft statutory proposal and regulatory framework from this working group. This analysis will arm the Commonwealth’s policy makers with more information and data so that they can soundly determine the proper course of action moving forward.”