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

lol

The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have concluded that they have nearly finished the first phase of defusing the nuclear crisis at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to sources.

[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

- yeah right. And what are those sources? The same people that lied before are lying still. The worst thing about it is they are getting away with it.

Nuclear plant's tornado problems revealed

Chattanooga, Tenn. — Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant had far more problems during recent tornadoes than TVA told the public after winds took down power lines and the plant went into automatic shutdown.

When one of the generators failed at Browns Ferry, there was a temporary loss of shutdown cooling for one reactor for about 47 minutes, but the water level in the reactor never got near the boiling point, officials said.

The water in the reactor boiled low enough to trigger another shutdown alarm in the control room, but Golden said boiling water still covered the reactor fuel.

"I was a little surprised by the list of equipment that didn't work," Lochbaum said after reading TVA's reports to the NRC. "The diesel generator for the security equipment not working was surprising. Fortunately, the plant was able to safely shut down despite all those problems."
[link to www.msnbc.msn.com]

- just business as usual in the nuclear industry. Lying to officials about a problem. So which is it? Did it boil or not? Can't have it both ways.

TVA Reopens Antiquated Bellefonte 1 Reactor Amid Widespread Concern in the United States and Abroad About the Safety and Viability of Nuclear Power

Advocates for nuclear safety and nuclear power plant workers have urged caution and oversight after the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recently announced that it will begin reconstructing the Bellefonte 1 nuclear reactor in Alabama which was abandoned in 1988.

The reactor, designed and built before the computer age, is one of only two new reactors to be opened since the early 1990s, and many environmental and safety experts note that antiquated safety structures follow its antiquated design.

[link to embassyinvestigations.org]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio has made some changes in its new-car "lemon law" on a request from automakers still struggling to get repair parts in the aftermath of this year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

In such occasions, the law now allows an unspecified amount of extra time for repairs before the car company is required to permanently replace the vehicle or pay a refund. However, during the extended wait, the car's owner must be provided with a loaner vehicle, Corbitt told the Dispatch.

[link to www.forbes.com]

Quake Hits Central Japan, No Nuclear Reactor Problem Reported

[link to online.wsj.com]

- not likely to hear about a problem since the info crackdown.

Energid Technologies Corp. of Cambridge said it has developed a next-generation robot prototype to inspect nuclear power plants as part of an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan.

[link to www.boston.com]

WASHINGTON (AP) — An expert task force convened by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission called Japan's nuclear disaster "unacceptable" and concluded that nuclear power plants in the U.S. need better protections for rare, catastrophic events.

[link to www.usatoday.com]

Govt's energy review a blow to N-fuel cycle

Prime Minister Naoto Kan's announcement Wednesday that Japan should make itself not dependent on nuclear power essentially means withdrawal from the nuclear fuel cycle, which has been the most important energy plan for this resource-poor country.

The nuclear fuel cycle is a system of using uranium and plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel, which are processed into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. MOX fuel can be used by both fast-breeder or standard nuclear reactors.

The nuclear fuel cycle was expected to be an effective measure to provide a partly domestic energy source. Plutonium-thermal power generation using MOX fuel, known as pluthermal generation, is conducted at three nuclear power plants, including the Genkai nuclear power plant. It was also used at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

Water system at Fukushima breaks again


FUKUSHIMA, Japan, July 15 (UPI) -- A unit treating radioactive water at Japan's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was shut down after a pipe junction snapped, officials said.

-
high radiation levels of 100-150 millisieverts per hour in the surrounding area make it very difficult to get to the machine and it was unclear when the repairs would be completed


Read more: [link to www.upi.com]

- the well-oiled machine that is Tepco.

A Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman said the utility started making safety changes before a Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel released its report on Japan's nuclear disaster.

[link to www.businessweek.com]

- hmmm. Pro-active or running scared?

U.S. may pull tactical nukes out of Europe: Report


Read more: [link to www.vancouversun.com]

Iran has begun efforts to shift its nuclear enrichment program to an underground bunker where it could attain nuclear status safe from the threat of attack.


Tehran disclosed the existence of Fordow, which was designed to withstand air and missile strikes, after Western intelligence detected the covert nuclear plant.



Read more: [link to www.vancouversun.com]

In the wake of the devastating tsunami damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, seismologists in the United States are focusing on a potentially dangerous fault system near the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California.

[link to californiawatch.org]

- another nuclear plant built near faults.

“Whenever there is a release of radiation into the environment it causes not only an immediate concern for those who are in the fallout area, but also long term concerns for people in the region,” reported Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President, Marketing at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “The long term damage done can have far reaching consequences. Not only are those people in the direct path of the fallout at risk for the dangers associated with the initial release of radiation, they are also at risk for long term environmental concerns due to contaminated soil and water. Even people living outside of the area directly impacted can be exposed to radiation from it contaminating the food and water supply as was the case in Japan. Tainted straw was consumed by cattle before being slaughtered for beef and consumed by unknowing people across Japan,” he continued.

[link to www.environmental-expert.com]

Nuclear power is an economic black hole


In the mid-1960s, Pacific Gas & Electric, a licensed monopoly public utility, completed estimates for Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. PG&E estimated Unit 1 at $188 million and Unit 2 at $212 million.

Estimates changed with the discovery of the Hosgri Fault 2.5 miles from Diablo Canyon. According to an Internet article, the new estimates bumped Unit 1 cost to $695 million, and Unit 2 to $560 million.

The final cost of the plant was about $5.52 billion, according to the kcet.org information. A wikipedia.org citation by Abalone Alliance placed the final cost at $5.8 billion, with additional financing costs of $7 billion.

PG&E ratepayers bear the burden of paying for the plant and lucrative cash flow for executives.

PG&E impacted the marine environment by killing off or driving away native species. Hot water dumped into the ocean from the plant causes thermal pollution.

On May 27, 1997, energy-net.org posted an article “PG&E to pay $14 million to settle Clean Water Act violations.” Other allegations have been made about environmental impacts against PG&E too numerous to list here. [link to santamariatimes.com]

- most people aren't aware of the effect of the water discharge from nuke plants

Removing fuel from Fukushima Nos. 3, 4 reactors to be given priority
[link to www.japantoday.com]

-misleading title. They are going to try to remove the spent fuel from the SFPs.

Curious to see how that goes. They are not getting anything out of those reactors for a long, long time.

Plant Status

Tokyo Electric Power Co. expects to meet its self-imposed July 19 deadline to stabilize reactor cooling and mitigate radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility. That work includes injecting inert nitrogen gas into the reactor 3 containment vessel, which started today. The nitrogen is intended to help prevent a potential explosion of built-up hydrogen. TEPCO has been injecting nitrogen into reactors 1 and 2 since April 7 and June 28 respectively. The next major milestone in the plan for Fukushima recovery includes cold shutdowns for reactors 1-3, which are expected to take place in the next three to six months.TEPCO continues to have difficulties with water decontamination equipment at the Fukushima Daiichi site. The system that is used to decontaminate and recycle cooling water is performing 20 percent below its target level. Toshiba this week unveiled a new decontamination system that can supplement the one already in use. It is expected to be in place by early August.
[link to www.enewspf.com]

- they keep saying cold shutdown of reactors. Impossible at this point.

Safe Drinking Water Act: Improvements in Implementation Are Needed to Better Assure the Public of Safe Drinking Water
[link to www.gao.gov]

- deciding for us what needs to be monitored. Changing ususal policy of consulting experts and keeping it in house. Thanks, EPA. Really on the ball.

Refurbishment of New Brunswick nuclear power plant inches toward completion

Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. has run into numerous problems during the refurbishment, which is $1 billion over budget.

When the project started, the reactor was expected to be back in service in the fall of 2009.

[link to www.winnipegfreepress.com]

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, July 17 (Kyodo) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of dealing with the nuclear crisis, met Saturday with the leaders of municipalities near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and said that the central government will consider reviewing its policy on the no-entry zone near the plant when the reactors at the complex are stabilized.

According to participants, the two said the government will consider reviewing the areas within a 20-km radius of the Fukushima plant, which continues to spew radiation, and also said the government is aiming to bring forward the schedule for stabilizing the reactors from January as previously planned.

[link to www.mcot.net]

- never suspected anything else.

The nine-month road map for Fukushima Daiichi, announced on April 17, was plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s answer to criticism that its response to the crisis was too ad hoc. The plan's first-stage goals were to achieve stable cooling of the heavily damaged reactor cores, secure storage space for the highly radioactive water and prepare countermeasures against any new quakes or tsunami.


A trial fitting last month of a cover for Fukushima Daiichi's Unit 1 No. 1, meant to limit the release of radioactive material
."Most of the objectives have been accomplished," Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared Saturday when he visited local leaders.

[link to online.wsj.com]

- pure bullshit

Japan's effort to deal with ongoing power shortages suffered a fresh setback over the weekend, as the discovery of a glitch in a key emergency cooling system at a nuclear plant in western Japan has forced the shutdown of another reactor.

The latest setback occurred at Unit No. 1 of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s (9503.TO) Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture. Kansai covers Osaka, Japan's second largest metropolitan area.

The nation's second-largest utility, known also as Kepco, reported Saturday that a pressure level inside the emergency core cooling system dropped below a required level Friday night, before rising again to normal levels an hour later.

The utility is still investigating the cause of the glitch Sunday evening.

[link to www.foxbusiness.com]

- glitch. really?

Japan Plans to Ban Fukushima Beef Shipments

Health experts say there is little health risk from consuming a limited quantity of the beef, but the latest discoveries are expected to increase concerns among consumers that agriculture products from the area are unsafe.

[link to www.google.com]

- health risks. course not.

Nuke workers toiling under intense heat


The operations room, made from a truck rear deck, has walls made of lead that shield it from radiation but turn the room into a sauna during the day. An air conditioner was installed only recently, but even after it was set up it is still sweltering, Sakamoto said.

Assignments were sometimes canceled (because of heat) even after I changed to protective gear and was ready to work," said a 59-year-old employee from Sendai, who wakes up at 4 a.m. every morning. "It doesn't really help us make progress. If you want to stick to the operation timetable, outdoor work should be done during the night."

[link to search.japantimes.co.jp]

- poor bastards

With radiation concerns gone, Japan eager for tourists

While there have been reports of limited amounts of food with elevated levels of radiation reaching consumers (most recently, a small shipment of beef), Japanese food — including that beef as well as raw or cooked fish — is not a health hazard. At least that’s what we’re being told not only by government agencies but by people who handle the food for a living.

[link to www.suntimes.com]

- well that settles it. It's all good. I'm calling my travel agent...

Fukushima reactors cooling – Japanese PM

After fixing water contamination problems, engineers at Fukushima are making progress towards cooling the damaged reactors at the crippled nuclear power plant.

[link to english.ruvr.ru]

- what a bunch of hooey. damn.

MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo and current leader Casey Stoner, who both ride for Japanese manufacturers, have ruled out taking part in this year's Japanese Grand Prix due to radiation fears.

[link to uk.eurosport.yahoo.com]

- don't blame them

SCE&G to store hot waste above ground

SCE&G’s plan to build dry cask storage units at its V.C. Summer nuclear plant will relieve pressure on its spent-fuel pool. The pool is a basin that contains what nuclear-industry watchers say are more than 1,100 used fuel assemblies — long, non-corrosive tubes, bundled together, that contain nuclear fuel pellets.

Citing a recent report by former Department of Energy official Bob Alvarez, Clements said the V.C. Summer plant has 1,177 spent-fuel assemblies and 526 metric tons of spent fuel. The material has more than 100 million curies of radiation, which Clements said is a significant amount.

They’ll have to prove they are able to withstand sudden missile attacks and threats like that,” Clements said. “I’m not convinced they are.”

Read more: [link to www.thestate.com]

- insanity.