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

#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Ishikawa of JNTI Talks about Reactor Core Conditions
[link to ex-skf.blogspot.com]

[snip]

Now, Mr. Tetsunari Iida speaks, agreeing to Mr. Ishikawa's "war" analogy:

"I totally agree with Mr. Ishikawa's assessment of the plant, and that this is a war. The government simply orders TEPCO to "do it". But it is like the Imperial General Headquarters (大本営) on the eve of the Sea of Japan Naval Battle during the Russo-Japanese War [in 1905] ordering merchant ship TEPCO to attack [the imperial Russian navy].

"The government should appoint a commander. TEPCO has a limit as a private business. No one knows what to do. We have to seek the advice from the best and the brightest in the world."

Mr. Hasegawa of Chunichi Shinbun jumps in, and says "We took the numbers from the government like 30% core melt as true, and went from there. But then Mr. Ishikawa says it's a total melt."

Then, Kohei Otsuka, the Vice Minister of Health and Welfare and politician from the ruling party (DPJ), sitting right next to Mr. Ishikawa, butts in, and warns everyone:

"Since none of us knows for sure the condition of the reactor cores, we shouldn't speculate on a national TV."

Mr. Hasegawa overrides the politician, and says "The real problem is that what no one knows is presented to us every day as if it is a fact, like 30% core melt in the chart."




Now... where have I heard that before...?

Oh, yes..

N.Korea to step up nuclear, missile efforts

North Korea's parliament has passed legislation boosting development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency said on Monday that the Supreme People's Assembly had convened for their annual session in Pyongyang. The leader Kim Jong-un was reportedly in attendance.

Delegates unanimously adopted legislation to reinforce the nation's status as a nuclear power, as stated in the constitution last year.

They also adopted legislation related to long-range ballistic-missile development. A state bureau is to be launched to take charge of this area, known there as "space development."
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Govt. to reform power industry to urge competition

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has decided to end the effective regional monopoly power companies have had in Japan for decades.

It plans to do so by encouraging new entries into the industry and realizing a more flexible exchange of power among utilities.

The lack of easy transfers of power supplies among networks led to rolling blackouts in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster. Many regional power plants had to stop production due to the crisis.

The plan approved on Tuesday aims to set up an independent body in around 2 years' time that will single-handedly manage the country's power grids.

This will allow utilities to transmit electricity to each other more easily.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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North Korea to restart nuclear complex

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea vowed Tuesday to restart all mothballed facilities at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, adding to tensions already raised by near daily warlike threats against the United States and South Korea.

The reactor was shut down in 2007 as part of international nuclear disarmament talks that have since stalled.

A spokesman for the General Department of Atomic Energy said that the facilities to be restarted are a graphite-moderated 5 megawatt reactor, which generates spent fuel rods laced with plutonium and is the core of the Yongbyon nuclear complex. The reactor, when fully running, is capable of churning out one atomic bomb worth of plutonium — the most common fuel in nuclear weapons — a year.
[link to www.japantoday.com]
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More about the Arkansas accident...

Fatal accident at Arkansas Nuclear One leaves unit without offsite power

Around 07:50 on Easter Sunday morning, an accident at the Arkansas Nuclear Power Plant not only killed one worker and injured others it also left the Unit 1 reactor without offsite power.  Workers were using the Unit 1 turbine temporary lift device to move the Main Turbine Generator Stator, which weighs over 500 tons, out of the turbine building when it fell. The lift crane failed, dropping the load, which resulted in a crash which was heard by local residents miles from the site, and tripped the Unit 2 reactor. There was one known fatality and 4 known serious injuries to workers.

The event caused a loss of decay heat removal at Unit 1, which was restored some four minutes later. As the Unit 1 lost all off site power, the Emergency Diesel Generators were started and are supplying backup power.

At 10:33, over two and a half hours later, Unit 2 entered a Notification of Unusual Event due to damage in the 2A1 switchgear. Unit 2 entered hot standby mode with decay heat being removed via steam dumps to the atmosphere.
[link to enformable.com]

NOTIFICATION OF UNUSUAL EVENT DECLARED DUE TO A BREAKER EXPLOSION IN THE PROTECTED AREA
[link to www.nrc.gov]

Scroll down for pictures from the accident.
[link to www.stevemeadedesigns.com]
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[link to atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com]

NOTIFICATION OF UNUSUAL EVENT DECLARED DUE TO A BREAKER EXPLOSION IN THE PROTECTED AREA

"At 0750 [CDT] on 3/31/2013, during movement of the Unit 1 Main Turbine Generator Stator (~500 tons), the Unit 1 turbine temporary lift device failed. This caused a loss of all off site power on Unit 1. The ANO Unit 1 #1 and #2 EDG [Emergency Diesel Generator] have started and are supplying A-3 4160V switchgear and A-4 4160V switchgear. P-4A Service Water pump and P-4C Service Water pump has been verified running. Unit 1 has entered [procedures] 1202.007 - Degraded Power, 1203.028 - Loss of Decay Heat, and 1203.050 - Spent Fuel Emergencies. Unit 1 is in MODE 6.

"ANO-1 entered TS 3.8.2 A, 'One Required Offsite Circuit Inoperable'. All required actions are complete. The event caused a loss of decay heat removal on ANO Unit 1 which was restored in 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

"Unit 2 tripped and is in MODE 3. Emergency Feed Water was initiated on Unit 2 and Unit 2 was in [Technical Specification] 3.0.3 from 0817 [CDT] to 0848 [CDT] due to Emergency Feedwater. Unit 2 is being powered by off-site. Unit 2 Startup 3 [transformer] lock out at 0921 [CDT]. [Bus] 2A1 is on Start up 2 [transformer] and [bus] 2A3 is on #2 EDG.

Lol, I'd love to take credit, but it really should be common sense.

TEPCO Cites 6 Years For Total Property Loss

April 2nd, 2013 | Add a Comment
[Translate]

Six Years For Total Loss On Fukushima Properties
TEPCO has admitted a time frame for total loss on property claims. In this NHK report they cite that after 6 years of non occupancy a house will be considered a total loss.
[link to www.simplyinfo.org]

So if they reclassify before the 6 year limit then they don't have to pay?

Companies to exploit prenatal test loophole

Companies plan to launch prenatal test services that could uncover chromosomal abnormalities in fetuses simply by examining the blood of pregnant women, a move seen as creating a loophole in the guidelines set by a medical association, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The prenatal test method is expected to start in the nation as early as next month as clinical research sanctioned under the guidelines of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG).

But only a limited number of medical institutions, which can conduct sufficient counseling to explain the genetic issues involved, will be allowed to use this new method.

Therefore, not all pregnant women who want to receive the prenatal diagnosis will be able to do so. The companies apparently intend to take advantage of the expected situation, according to sources.

Some experts see such a move as problematic because the test, which involves the issue of the fate of the child, is to be conducted commercially. It is likely to cause controversy and even invite calls for legal regulation, observers said.

Unlike the standard amniotic fluid test, in which a needle is inserted into a pregnant woman's abdomen, this prenatal diagnosis is simple and has little chance of causing a miscarriage.

According to a Tokyo company that has partnerships with overseas medical institutions in Guam and on the west coast of the United States, it expects a doctor to visit Japan to "see patients" in late April.

The blood of pregnant women will be taken at a clinic in Tokyo and sent to a testing company in the United States.
[link to webcache.googleusercontent.com]

Note: this a a google cache of an article from March 31st, looks like it may have been scrubbed already.

[snip]

Some experts see such a move as problematic because the test, which involves the issue of the fate of the child, is to be conducted commercially. It is likely to cause controversy and even invite calls for legal regulation, observers said.

I see this as a direct attempt to hide DNA mutations in foetus..
They will attempt to abort any foetus with abnormality to protect the nuclear industry.

Pure evil.

Nuclear board warns of Hanford tank explosion risk
[link to www.google.com]

[snip]

Underground tanks that hold a stew of toxic, radioactive waste at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site pose a possible risk of explosion, a nuclear safety board said in advance of confirmation hearings for the next leader of the Energy Department.

State and federal officials have long known that hydrogen gas could build up inside the tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, leading to an explosion that would release radioactive material. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recommended additional monitoring and ventilation of the tanks last fall, and federal officials were working to develop a plan to implement the recommendation.

Tecpo shows groundwater flowing from Fukushima reactors into ocean
[link to enenews.com]

Sea water offshore Fukushima is warmer than the average of past 30 years by 2.5℃~
[link to fukushima-diary.com]

Heh, now they can all play Angry Bird... lol...

Nuclear evacuees given tablet computers

A town near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has introduced a system to provide information via tablet computers to all the evacuees who are living outside the town.

Naraha Town is designated as an area where public access is allowed only in the daytime. All of its 7,600 residents are now living in Tokyo and 32 prefectures, outside the town.

Under the new system, the local government will give tablet devices to all of the evacuees so they can see notices, as well as radiation levels and live footage from the area, from the town via the Internet.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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CP, this one is for you...

Exxon, BHP to build largest floating LNG plant

US-based Exxon Mobil and British-Australian BHP Billiton are joining forces to build the world's largest floating plant. The facility will produce liquefied natural gas off the coast of Australia.

The companies said on Tuesday they plan to drill the seabed for gas at a site 220 kilometers off Australia's northwest coast, starting in 2020.

The floating plant will be about half-a-kilometer long and will process the gas into liquefied natural gas, or LNG.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Pentagon condemns N.Korea reactor announcement

The US Defense Department is criticizing North Korea for violating its international obligations by trying to restart a nuclear reactor.

Defense Department spokesman George Little on Tuesday referred to North Korea's recent announcement that it would restart a reactor at Nyongbyon that was disabled under a six-party agreement in 2007. The move suggests that North Korea plans to extract plutonium for nuclear weapons.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Nuclear authority to require new inspections

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority plans to require new inspections by nuclear plant operators that want to operate reactors for more than 40 years.

A law enacted last June limits the life of Japanese nuclear reactors to 40 years, but says any reactor can continue operating for up to 20 more years with permission from the authority.

On Wednesday, the authority presented new requirements for such extensions. Plant operators will have to conduct ultrasonic checks of reactors' entire structures and closely examine the strength of concrete for reactor containment vessels.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Ultimate BS...

Japan to set frequency limit for serious nuclear accidents

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday it plans to set a frequency limit for accidents resulting in large releases of radioactive substances of below one every million years per reactor.

The NRA has been discussing nuclear safety goals, saying it is important to be aware of the risks that will remain once planned measures are implemented, instead of reviving the nuclear "safety myth" that prevailed before the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi complex disaster.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Westinghouse announces successful setting of AP1000 containment vessel top head at China's Haiyang Unit 1

Westinghouse Electric Company, its consortium team member CB and I, China's State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation Ltd. and Shandong Nuclear Power Company Ltd. of China Power Investment Corporation has announced the successful setting of the AP1000 containment vessel top head (CVTH) for the nuclear island of Unit 1 at the Haiyang site in China.

Placement of the CVTH, which weighs approximately 659 tons, was completed at 9:36 a.m., China Time, on March 29. It was manufactured by Shandong Nuclear Power Equipment Manufacturing Company Ltd. in China's Shandong province.
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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Swiss supreme court stays closure of nuclear plant

The Swiss supreme court on Thursday ruled that the country's Muehleberg nuclear power plant can continue operating beyond the end of June, overturning a cut-off date for decommissioning.

The Federal Tribunal voided a 2012 decision by Switzerland's administrative court, which had said Muehleberg's operating authorisation should end on June 28 owing to technical deficiencies.
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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More bad news CP...

Australia gives environmental approval to new uranium mine

Australia on Tuesday gave environmental approval for a new uranium mine in its resource-rich west, with 36 conditions to guard against negative impacts from radiation and other factors.

Environment Minister Tony Burke said he was giving the go-ahead for Toro Energy's Aus$269 million (US$281 million) Wiluna uranium project of two open pits and a processing plant, after a "rigorous environmental assessment".
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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San Onofre Operator Requests to Restart Reactor

The operator of the San Onofre nuclear power plant, Southern California Edison, has submitted a draft request for a license amendment to restart the plant at 70 percent power this summer. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission meets this week to consider the request.

It’s the next step in the long-running saga of whether to restart the San Onofre nuclear power plant, which has been shut down for more than a year since a small radiation leak was detected in one of its new steam generators.

Rochelle Becker of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility said ratepayers should oppose the idea of restarting at 70 percent power.

“When Edison originally applied to the new steam generators in 2004, their statements said the plant would only be cost effective if both units ran at 88 percent power,” she said, “so granting them a license to run at 70 percent power is not cost effective.”
[link to www.kpbs.org]
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Speechless! I pay over $500 a month to Edison. How crazy is it that they want to start faulty reactors and put ratepayers in danger to pay for their pieces of shit! I'm going solar this year and I can't wait!

guess that puts end to the myth of mothballing the entire idea of nuke plants......

This looks interesting.. Gamma absorption patent

[link to www.slideshare.net]

BP to withdraw from wind power business in US

Major British energy company BP plans to pull out of the wind power business in the United States to streamline its operations.

BP officials said on Wednesday that the firm will withdraw from wind power generation in 9 states including California and Texas, and sell its relevant facilities. The company says it wants to focus on its core oil and natural gas business.

The officials did not say what the firm will make from the sale. But media estimate the amount at about 1.5 billion dollars.

BP has invested 55 billion dollars in its energy operations in the US over the past 5 years.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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WTF?...

Nuclear Regulation Authority changes 'safety standards' to 'guidelines'

TOKYO — The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has announced that it is to relabel its new nuclear safety standards.

The NRA announced Wednesday that it is to change the name of the guidelines it is drawing up for the operators of nuclear power plants. A regulatory committee member voiced the concern that calling the guidelines the “New Safety Standards” may lead members of the public to the misunderstanding that following the guidelines ensures the safety of nuclear power plants. As a result the new rules have been renamed “Regulatory Guidelines,” TBS reported.

“Following the guidelines does not ensure safety. Rather, adhering to the guidelines is a sign that the operator is attempting to mitigate potential dangers,” said NRA chairman Shunichi Tanaka.

The NRA also announced that nuclear reactors more than 40 years old will be subject to special inspections before they will be allowed to go back online.

In principle, reactors more than 40 years old are supposed to be decommissioned, but 20-year extensions will be allowed if the reactors pass strict safety checks.
[link to www.japantoday.com]
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Pakistan-China negotiate on 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed Thursday the atomic energy commission is negotiating the purchase of a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant from China.

"We have an ongoing cooperation with China regarding civilian nuclear technology under IAEA safeguards," spokesman Aizaz Chaudri told a weekly briefing when asked to comment on reports claiming construction of a third nuclear power plant in Chashma in southern Punjab would soon start.

Pakistan is operating two Chinese-supported 300-megawatt nuclear plants in Chashma and working on two additional 300-megawatt plants.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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N. Korea seen beginning to reopen nuclear facility: U.S. institute

North Korea has apparently begun constructing a plutonium production reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear complex in an attempt to restart the facility which was shut down under a 2007 six-party agreement, a U.S. think tank said Wednesday, citing commercial satellite imagery of the site.

The U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said on its website 38 North that the reactor at the nuclear complex could be restarted in "weeks rather than months."

"A key step in that process will be to restore the disabled secondary cooling system," according to the institute.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Further contraband found hidden in Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant ceilings

Yesterday, we reported that while remodeling a bathroom in the protected area on the third floor of the Administrative Building, workers found a bottle of gin while removing the ceiling tiles.  Today, officials from Exelon reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that two additional old bottles of blackberry brandy were found after removing more ceiling tiles.  These are the third and fourth bottles of contraband found hidden in the ceilings at the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant.
[link to enformable.com]
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