*** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and links

Repost away. The more info shared, the better.

Sellafield failed by private clean-up firms: Series of expensive mistakes has led to review at nuclear plant

The Government is expected to take back control of the clean-up of nuclear waste at Cumbria's Sellafield, following a string of failures by a private sector consortium of US, French and British engineers. Alarmed by spiralling budgets – £70bn and counting – and a series of delays to crucial projects, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has quietly drafted in a team of consultants from the accountants KPMG to review how Sellafield is run, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

It is running through three options to sort out a situation in which 12 of 14 major projects were behind schedule last year, as well as last month's £700,000 fine for sending bags filled with radioactive waste to a landfill site in Cumbria rather than a specialist facility.

The most eye-catching – and believed to be favoured – choice, involves stripping the contract from Nuclear Management Partners, a consortium made up of URS from California, France's Areva and Amec, one of Britain's biggest listed companies.
[link to www.independent.co.uk]
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TEPCO cam...

Notice:
"The live camera location has been moved from Unit 1 side to Unit 4 side.
Starting from 10:46 AM on August 1, images of Unit 4 side of the station are provided."
[link to www.tepco.co.jp]
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Areva earnings hit by new provision for Finland reactor project

French nuclear group Areva said first-half earnings were hit by another provision for its troubled reactor construction project in Finland, but the group stuck by its 2013 profit outlook.

Areva said it booked a 150 million euro (130 million pounds) charge related to the construction of its flagship EPR reactor in Olkiluoto, Finland, which is years behind schedule and billions of euros over budget. Provisions on the project now total about 3.3 billion euros.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) said in February it did not expect Areva's EPR reactor to start producing power before 2016, seven years behind schedule.

Areva has never said when it expects the reactor to start and did not mention it on Wednesday either.

Another EPR reactor under construction in Flamanville, France is experiencing similar delays and cost overruns, but two EPRs being built in China are on budget and on schedule.

Areva has not sold a new reactor since 2007, when China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp in Taishan bought the two EPRs.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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Emergency declared at U.S. nuclear plant: Fire shuts down reactor — “Reports of black smoke” — Company says no release of radioactivity “above normal operating limits” #Callaway
[link to enenews.com]

This will be a very difficult one...

TEPCO ordered to drain contaminated tunnel water

Japan's nuclear regulator has ordered the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to remove radioactive wastewater from underground tunnels.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority told Tokyo Electric Power Company on Monday it must stop the water from leaking into the sea.

High levels of radioactivity have been detected in wells in the plant site and an adjacent port since May. TEPCO admitted last week that contaminated water is leaking into the sea from the site.

The regulators pointed out a possible leak of highly-radioactive wastewater in the plant's underground tunnels through gravel laid on the floor.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Why on earth ship them to us?... keep your sh!t and recycle them in Canada ffs... lol...

Nuclear power plant puts radioactive shipping plans on hold
Plan to move 16 radioactive steam generators was met with strong opposition

A plan to ship 16 radioactive steam generators through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River for recycling in Sweden has been cancelled after delays caused by public opposition.

An agreement was reached in 2009 between Bruce Power in Tiverton, Ont., and Swedish company Studsvik, but Bruce Power president Duncan Hawthorne said the plans have been put on hold to allow further discussion with First Nations, Métis and other groups.
[link to www.cbc.ca]
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WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC COMPANY: POTENTIAL EXISTENCE OF DEFECTS IN SHIELD PASSIVE THERMAL SHUTDOWN SEAL SYSTEM

The defect being reported concerns an identified inconsistency between the intended design functionality of the SHIELD passive thermal shutdown seal (SDS) and that observed during post-service testing.

The purpose of the SDS is to reduce current reactor coolant system inventory losses to very small leakage rates for a plant that results in the loss of all reactor coolant pump (RCP) seal cooling. The SDS is a thermally actuated, passive device integral to the RCP Number 1 seal insert and is positioned between the Number 1 seal and the Number 1 seal leak-off line to provide a near leak-tight seal once activated.

The SDS has only been delivered and installed in the following plants: Beaver Valley Unit 2, Callaway, D.C. Cook Unit 1, Farley Units 1 and 2, and Wolf Creek.

Westinghouse has concluded that the hardware itself will not adversely impact safe plant operation.

Affected customers have been informed via their respective Customer Project Managers of the post-service test failure.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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How Much Nuclear Waste Does Your State Hold?

One of the biggest critiques of nuclear energy is that it produces radioactive waste in the form of used nuclear fuel, or UNF. While the amounts are relatively small -- just 20 metric tons per power plant annually -- they remain radioactive for periods of time that are difficult for humans to comprehend. The waste adds up across the 100 nuclear reactors currently in operation across the United States. At last count, the country's atomic fleet had produced approximately 69,720 metric tons of UNF over the past four decades.

Where does it all go? Power plants first store waste on-site in steel-lined concrete pools. After maxing out capacity, however, waste is stored in large dry casks similar to the ones pictured above. They may look intimidating, but there has never been a radiation leak since dry storage techniques were implemented in 1986.

Phew! No worries. But really, do you live in a state that hoards radioactive waste?
[link to www.fool.com]

Top 3 states: Illinois, Pennsylvania and South Carolina
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Gov’t: Extremely radioactive tunnels at Fukushima must be drained — Contaminated from melted fuel — Nuclear material going through gravel and into ocean? (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]

Scant hope...






Japan gov’t intervening at Fukushima nuclear plant — Will take over measuring radiation levels — Top official “questioned accuracy of Tepco’s data on contamination”
[link to enenews.com]

Fire that shut down U.S. nuclear reactor released “potentially toxic gas or asphyxiant or flammable gas that could impact plant operation” #Callaway
[link to enenews.com]

[link to www.youtube.com]

Niigata governor protests nuclear safety standards

The governor of Niigata has refused a Cabinet minister's request to allow a nuclear power plant operator in the prefecture to apply for a government safety screening to restart operations.

Economic Revitalization Minister Akira Amari met Governor Hirohiko Izumida in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Izumida said that undergoing a government safety screening and deciding to restart the plant are separate issues and consistent efforts should be made to heighten safety.

Amari sought the governor's approval for Tokyo Electric Power Company to apply for the screening process to restart its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Unbelievable...

Tourists to Fukushima Pref. rebound to 77% of pre-quake level

The number of tourists to Fukushima Prefecture rose 26.3 percent in 2012 from the previous year to 44.46 million, rebounding to 77.8 percent of 2010, the year before the triple disaster -- an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown -- struck, the prefectural government said Monday.

Tourism "steadily recovered due to restoration of tourist facilities and declining misinformation about the nuclear power plant accident," an official at the prefecture said.

The survey showed that tourists last year to the region including the Futaba district, which is home to the quake-disabled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, were still 74.1 percent fewer than 2010

The survey was conducted jointly by the prefecture and local municipalities at a total of 374 tourist spots and events, nine places more than the previous year.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Rejected environmental report could delay Turkey's first nuke plant

A rejected environmental impact analysis report could delay construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, the company behind the project says.

The Environment and Urban Planning Ministry rejected the Environmental Impact Analysis Report for the Akkuyu plant, citing deficiencies in form and content, Hurriyet Daily News reported Monday.
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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AP1000 closer to licensing in Canada

Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design has successfully passed the second phase of a three-stage pre-licensing review by the Canadian nuclear regulator.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) concluded that there are "no fundamental barriers to licensing the AP1000 design in Canada."
[link to www.world-nuclear-news.org]
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Roughly 250 to 300 new reactors worldwide depending on output specifications... at the same time hundreds of the current +400 reactors needs to be replaced... there's no way the nuclear industry will be able to build that many in just 30 years... the capacity to build that many reactors is missing and it will take decades to create it... it's just wishful thinking... just my speculations...

Asian growth to boost global energy demand

World energy consumption will increase by 56% between 2010 and 2040, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Nuclear power generation is expected to double over that period, but coal will remain the dominant fuel for electricity.

Electricity generation from nuclear power plants is forecast to increase from 2620 TWh in 2010 to 5492 TWh in 2040. Substantial increases in nuclear generating capacity are projected, including 149 GWe in China, 47 GWe in India, 31 GWe in Russia and 27 GWe in South Korea. However, nuclear's share of global electricity production will only grow from 13% to 14%.
[link to www.world-nuclear-news.org]
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COOK: MANUAL REACTOR TRIP FOLLOWING SECONDARY PLANT TRANSIENT

On July 28, 2013, at 1018 EDT, DC Cook Unit 2 Reactor was manually tripped due to lowering steam generator level caused by an automatic trip of the west main feed pump. The west main feed pump tripped on low suction pressure resulting from a secondary plant transient. The cause of the secondary transient is still under investigation.

This event is reportable under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B), Reactor Protection System (RPS) actuation, as a four (4) hour report, and under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A), specified system actuation of the Auxiliary Feedwater System, as an (8) hour report.

The DC Cook Sr. Resident NRC Inspector has been notified.

The electrical grid is stable and Unit 2 is being supplied by offsite power. All control rods fully inserted. Decay heat is being removed via steam dumps to the main condenser. Preliminary evaluation indicates all plant systems functioned normally following the Reactor Trip. DC Cook Unit 2 remains stable in Mode 3 while conducting the post trip review. No radioactive release is in progress as a result of this event.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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Fukushima steps up tainted water monitoring

The government of Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan has stepped up monitoring of seawater around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The prefecture took the move after the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, admitted last week that groundwater contaminated with radioactive substances was leaking into the sea.

The government increased the number of sampling sites from 2 to 6 and monitoring frequency from once every 3 months to every month.

About 185 liters of seawater is to be sampled at each of 6 points from the plant's port to 3.5 kilometers offshore to analyze levels of 4 radioactive substances, including cesium and tritium.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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TEPCO logs 437.9 bil. yen group net profit for April-June

Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Wednesday reported a group net profit of 437.93 billion yen for the April to June quarter but noted that achieving its goal of moving into the black in the full business year will be extremely difficult if it is unable to restart its nuclear reactors.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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EDF to pull out of US nuclear due to shale boom

French power company EDF (EDF.PA) is to withdraw from the US nuclear market because of the way shale gas has altered the American energy sector.

Instead, EDF will focus on developing its renewables business in America. However, the company has stressed that its nuclear intent elsewhere in the world – particularly the UK – remains strong.

EDF chief executive Henri Proglio (pictured) said the prospects for nuclear power in the US had been dealt a major blow by the “true revolution” of shale gas, which he said had “completely reshaped the landscape of electric power generation in favour of gas”.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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Constellation Energy Nuclear Group to Be Integrated into Exelon Nuclear Fleet

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 2013-- The three commercial nuclear power plants operated by the Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) in New York and Maryland will be operationally integrated into the Exelon Generation nuclear fleet over the next nine months, CENG co-owners announced today.

The consolidation of the two commercial U.S. nuclear fleets includes transferring the operating licenses of the plants to Exelon Generation, Exelon and Électricité de France (EDF) said in a joint announcement.

The three CENG plants include five reactors capable of generating more than 3,900 megawatts at full power (a megawatt is a million watts). They include:

-- R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario, NY, a single 577-megawatt
pressurized water reactor.

-- Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Scriba, NY, two boiling water reactors
totaling 1,595 megawatts.

-- Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, Md., two pressurized water
reactors totaling 1,753 megawatts.

An application to transfer the operating licenses from CENG to Exelon will be submitted to the NRC within days. Review and approval typically requires six to nine months."
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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FB [snip] Fukushima Diary's Mochizuki

On 7/30/2013, Tepco claimed shutting down of nuclear power plant is contributing to increase CO2 emission in their report of “Result of CO2 Emission and CO2 Emission Factor in FY 2012″.

The CO2 emission due to Fukushima decommissioning is not mentioned in the report.

Their report is below,

Our CO2 emission factor in FY2011 based on the “Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures” was 0.406kg-CO2/kWh (a 12% decrease compared to the previous year) with Kyoto mechanism credits, etc. taken into account. Consequently, our 5-year average CO2 emission factor over the period from FY 2008 to FY 2012, to which our self-imposed target applies, is expected to be 0.377kg-CO2/kWh (an 0.8% decrease compared to FY 1990).

In FY 2012, our CO2 emission was 141.2 million tons (a 14% increase compared to the previous year) since power generated by thermal power generation increased due to the shutdown of nuclear power stations although the electricity sales was at almost the same level as that in the previous year. However, as we reflected Kyoto mechanism credits, etc., corresponding to 32.1 million tons, we saw a decrease in CO2 emission factor compared to the previous year.

We set a self-imposed target, which is “to reduce our CO2 emission factor (the five-year average CO2 emission factor) by 20% compared to FY 1990″, and made efforts to achieve this target. However, we do not expect that we can achieve the target even when an additional credit that will be issued later for FY 2012 is reflected in the comparison against the self-imposed target.

The CO2 emission factor in FY 2012 will be announced as “actual emission factor, adjusted emission factor, etc., per electric utility company” after the government review.

[end snip]



Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 07/31/2013 01:06 PM

Entergy replaces radiation monitors; state asks the NRC to investigate “spurious” radiation spikes at Vermont Yankee
[link to fairewinds.org]


Four times since mid-June, monitors have recorded “spurious spikes” in radiation levels inside the Vermont Yankee plant.

The “false positives” for high radiation levels were a result of faulty equipment that produced inaccurate results and did not indicate there were actual increases in radiation in the building that contains the spent fuel pool, according to Rob Williams, a spokesman for the plant.

Entergy notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the equipment malfunction last week.

On Friday, the Vermont Department of Public Service sent a letter to NRC asking for a “full accounting” of the incidents. In addition, Darren Springer, deputy commissioner of the department, insisted the NRC require Entergy to report serious equipment “failures” immediately. The first spike occurred on June 14; the state was notified of the incidents on Thursday. Under NRC rules, Entergy has 60 days to file a report.

Chris Recchia, commissioner of the department, said the false positives are alarming because the radiation monitors are the fundamental warning system for the plant. The monitors, he said, must be perfectly calibrated so that the readings are accurate. “What happens if there was actually a radiation leak and the equipment didn’t register anything or didn’t register the proper amount?” he said.

Springer expressed this sentiment in the official letter to the NRC, which the agency is obliged to respond to. “Failure of the radiation monitoring equipment is a serious issue, and could have under other circumstances led to significant harm if the failed equipment had not detected a radiation release at the plant,” he wrote.

Nuclear Waste Part 1: The elephant (shrew) in the room
[link to bravenewclimate.com]

Nuclear Waste Part 2: The nuts and bolts of waste
[link to bravenewclimate.com]

Nuclear Waste Part 3: Case studies
[link to bravenewclimate.com]

i got to watch those bug, and being typical i shrugged... tanks...

EU to Russia, nuclear secret carnage... Greenpeace report. Waste dumping and transportation

[link to www.greenpeace.org]

Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 08/01/2013 12:31 AM

Safety screening urged for Niigata nuclear plant

Members of Japan's government-financed fund for nuclear damage liability facilitation have urged the operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant to apply for government safety screening soon to restart reactors at a plant in Niigata.

Restarting the 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariha plant is seen as essential for Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, to fulfill its promise to the government and financial institutions to move into the black in fiscal 2013.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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New research body for reactor decommissioning

Public and private sector groups in Japan will jointly set up a new research organization to pursue ways to decommission the crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Thursday handed a charter for the body to Kyoto University Professor Hajimu Yamana, who will head the International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning.

Motegi said he hopes all related parties will join forces to achieve results in response to the high expectations of the residents of Fukushima Prefecture and other citizens.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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