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

A nuclear option: After 25 years, Genoa reactor's waste gets new home
GENOA, Wis. — On Thursday, a 64-wheel beast of a truck creeping along at just under 1 mph hauled a cask of radioactive waste from a long-dormant power plant to a concrete pad between Hwy. 35 and the Mississippi River, the first of five such trips it will make this summer in one of the final chapters of the Coulee Region’s atomic era.

A quarter century after Dairyland Power Cooperative shut down its La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor, the spent fuel remains. Starting last week and continuing through the summer, workers are transferring the radioactive waste into dry cask storage in a move designed to save the company millions in annual costs.
[link to lacrossetribune.com]
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Nuclear power plant safety promises sit on shaky ground
[link to mainichi.jp]

[snip]

Electric power companies have been reluctant to make preparations. In October last year, Kansai Electric Power Co. submitted the results of its "stress test," or safety evaluation, of the No. 3 reactor at its Oi nuclear plant. The first item in the evaluation is how many hours it would take for the plant's nuclear fuel to be damaged in the event of a total blackout. The power company concluded it would take "16 days" -- on the grounds that earthquakes and tsunamis were not part of its considerations. But after NISA pointed out that it was only natural to take earthquake and tsunami into consideration, the utility revised the time down to "one week." With no reinforcements, the time it would take for fuel to be damaged would drop further to just "a few days."

Other power companies submitting the results of stress tests to NISA are also eliminating earthquakes and tsunamis from their calculation on the time it would take for fuel to be damaged. But the whole reason the government imposed stress tests on nuclear power plants in the first place was because of the Fukushima nuclear crisis -- an event triggered by an earthquake disaster. The current stance of power companies casts significant doubt on whether they are seriously considering a major accident.

San Onofre’s Steam Generators: Significantly Worse than All Others Nationwide
[link to www.fairewinds.com]

pdf [link to fairewinds.org]

[snip]

Therefore, according to NUREG-1841, San Onofre’s eight plugged tubes are an anomaly for the US nuclear industry. Remarkably, the situation at San Onofre Unit 2 and Unit 3 is decidedly worse than indicated in Edison’s March statements. In its May 15, 2012 press release Edison indicated that at total of 1317 tubes were plugged in San Onofre Units 2 and 3 rather than the mere 8 tubes originally delineated. At its June 18, 2012 Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) presentation, the NRC confirmed to the general public and California state and municipal officials that this extraordinarily high number of tubes had been plugged. In its review of the evidence provided by the NRC and Edison, Fairewinds compared San Onofre’s data on its plugged tubes to the NRC’s data from other plants that have undergone steam generator replacements in order to determine how severe the damage is at San Onofre in comparison to the industry as a whole.

As evidenced in Figure 1, Edison has plugged 3.7 times more tubes in its San Onofre Units 2 and 3 replacement steam generators than the nationwide total of all plugs inserted in all the remaining replacement steam generators in all US nuclear reactors. Moreover, the NRC and Edison have not openly informed the public about the magnitude of tube generator plugging at San Onofre compared to the remainder of U-tube damage at other US reactors.



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Wha...? More shenanigans...?

Lot of 'collateral damage' if they screw something up at San Onofre..

New details about problems at San Onofre nuclear power plant
[link to latimesblogs.latimes.com]

[snip]

A May 7 analysis by Edison that was leaked to the advocacy group Friends of the Earth, discussed the issues in more detail. Edison officials confirmed the report was authentic.

According to the analysis, while designing the new steam generators, Mitsubishi input parameters like fluid temperatures, flow rates from the primary side of the reactor system and steam generator dimensions and used a number of computer codes, some developed by Mitsubishi, in various phases of analysis, to predict whether the tubes would experience vibration issues.

The reason that the design codes and assumptions did not accurately predict the issues that arose is not fully understood, the report said.

The report also noted examples of two other plants -- Three Mile Island and Arkansas Nuclear One -- that had experienced problems with tube to tube wear, but noted,“although tube-to-tube wear had occurred in the industry in the past, it was not comparable in magnitude to that experienced at SONGS."

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Couple things...

Would we have learned the true edison analysis results if they hadn't been leaked to an advocacy group...?

Should new nuke plant components be tested by 'assumptions'?

Browns Ferry nuclear plant had a control room fire in January, regulators took months to notify public
[link to blog.al.com]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejects plan to modify rebar in Plant Vogtle's Unit 3 reactor
[link to chronicle.augusta.com]

[snip]

“The company understands the NRC’s position and a license amendment request will be submitted for the nuclear island basemat/rebar design.”

Such an amendment, if approved by the NRC, could alter the design specifications to include the rebar now deemed non-compliant, thus avoiding delays or added costs associated with removing and replacing the material.

Both the cost and the construction schedule for the $14 billion project have garnered attention from the Georgia Public Service Commission because of its potential impact on ratepayers.


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They screw shit up and we get to pay for it...
Pretty good system...

No excuse for NRC to ignore spent fuel rods in re-licensing nuke plants
[link to www.thereporteronline.com]

[snip]

40 years after promising to provide a repository for the nation’s spent fuel, the federal government is no closer than it was 40 years ago.

So why on God’s green earth would the NRC go ahead and make re-licensing decisions that will only result in the creation of more of this toxic radioactive waste without taking into consideration the potential costs involved in keeping it safe or, heaven forbid, cleaning it up?
But that is just what the NRC is doing.

Public hearing on energy policy options
The government held its first public hearing on Japan's nuclear energy policy for the year 2030.

Nine members of the public expressed opinions at the meeting held on Saturday in Saitama City near Tokyo. Industry minister Yukio Edano attended.

Government officials have offered 3 energy policy options following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The options establish Japan's reliance on nuclear power in 2030 either at zero percent, around 15 percent, or between 20 to 25 percent.

At the hearing, a person who wants to eliminate nuclear plants said the Fukushima accident has convinced him that nuclear power is not safe. He called for advancements that will allow renewable energy to take over from nuclear power.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Govt. panel: SPEEDI use may have avoided exposure
A government panel investigating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident will issue its final report next week.

It will say residents could have avoided unnecessary exposure to radiation if the government's system for predicting the spread of radioactive substances had been used to plan their evacuations.

The government activated the SPEEDI system using unconfirmed data from the day the accident occurred because it failed to obtain information on where radioactive materials originated. But officials did not publicize the results.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Govt. releases renewable energy introduction map
The Japanese government has published a map showing which parts of the country are suitable for the introduction of renewable energy generation.

The Environment Ministry released the information on its website amid rising demand for renewable energy after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in March last year.

Users of the map can view which area is suitable for 5 forms of renewable energy generation-- solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, geothermal, and small and medium-scale hydropower.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Electronics makers starting energy-saving services
Japanese electronics makers are launching new services designed to help firms and households cut back on electricity consumption. The move comes amid concern about possible power shortages this summer.

Hitachi has developed a new service that allows companies to collectively control the energy-saving systems of their factories and offices.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Antinuclear rally draws 170,000 people at central Tokyo park
An anti-nuclear power plant rally called for by a group led by Nobel literature laureate Kenzaburo Oe and other celebrities drew a crowd of around 170,000 people Monday at Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, according to organizers.

The Metropolitan Police Department, which provided security for the event, said the assembly attracted around 75,000 people.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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1st Fukushima beach opens since nuclear disaster
A beach in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture opened Monday as the prefecture's only functioning beach for this summer, with all other beaches to remain closed following the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011.

At Nakoso beach, located about 65 kilometers south of the damaged plant, three local women working as tour guides marked the start of the season on the Marine Day public holiday by swimming in an event that was also spiced up by hula dancers and beach volleyball players.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]

The radioactive concentration in the seawater is below 1 becquerel per liter, and radiation in the air also poses no health risk, according to the Iwaki city office.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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March 25th, 2011 – Presentation from Japan Nuclear Technology invokes questions about official analyss of Reactor 4 explosion
[link to enformable.com]

Researchers track radioactive fish
[link to www.abc.net.au]

Fukushima's nuclear-hit Iitate village reclassified into 3 areas
The Fukushima Prefecture village of Iitate, where nearly all of its residents have been evacuated since the March 2011 nuclear accident, was reclassified Tuesday into three areas with varying levels of accessibility.

One of the three areas has an annual radiation exposure exceeding 50 millisieverts and thus difficult to return over a long period of time. The other two are a residence-restricted area with visitation-only access and an area readying for the lifting of evacuation orders.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Research shows Shika atomic plant may sit on active quake fault
Governmental research has suggested a strong possibility that a fault beneath Hokuriku Electric Power Co.'s Shika Nuclear Power Station may be active, raising questions about the utility's claim in the late 1990s that it is inactive, sources familiar with the research said Monday.

Government regulations do not allow construction of a nuclear reactor above an active quake fault. If it is confirmed active, the Shika power station may be labeled as sitting on premises ineligible for a nuclear power plant.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Another utility employee speaks at nuclear energy hearing, draws flak
At the third meeting sponsored by the government to hear citizens' views on future energy policy on Monday, an official of Chubu Electric Power Co. was picked in a limited quota of speakers and drew flak for expressing a pro-nuclear opinion from some members of the audience, although it was given as a view of a private citizen.

Similar criticism was expressed at the second meeting in Sendai city on Sunday where a ranking official of Tohoku Electric Power Co. expressed a pro-nuclear position.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Finland's Olkiluoto 3 reactor delayed again
Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) announced a new delay to the start of its Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, saying it will not begin electricity production in 2014.

Finland's fifth nuclear reactor was originally scheduled to start operations in 2009, but has been hit by repeated delays and soaring costs.

TVO has disagreed with its plant supplier, a consortium of Areva and Siemens AG, over who is responsible for the delays. On Monday, it cited delays in automation system engineering and installation works.

"There has been slower-than-estimated progress in installing pipelines and electricity systems, they have taken more time than was previously estimated, but clearly the automation is the main issue," TVO's spokeswoman Anna Lehtiranta said.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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General Electric-Hitachi (GEH) Nuclear Energy facility in Wilmington, NC -Three Severity Level IV Violations

In a letter from the NRC dated July 6, 2012, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy received the notice of violations from the NRC.

Severity Level IV Violation: As of April 20, 2012, GEH failed to establish measures to adequately evaluate and determine the cause of a condition and identify corrective actions to preclude recurrence. Specifically, GEH did not provide an adequate evaluation of potential issues resulting from partial joint penetration welds in boiling-water reactor (BWR) steam dryers described in GEH Potentially Reportable Condition PRC 11-71, “Steam Dryer Partial Penetration Welds, dated January 26, 2012.

Severity Level IV Violation: As of April 20, 2012, GEH failed to promptly identify and correct a condition adverse to quality identified in NRC NOV 05200010/2008-06.

Severity Level IV Violation: As of April 20, 2012, GEH failed to provide adequate design control measures for verifying and validating the adequacy of the ANSYS computer software model used in a dynamic complex analysis.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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Current Event Notification Report for July 16, 2012

CATAWBA - TWO INCORE DETECTORS CONTAINING U-235 UNACCOUNTED FOR DURING INVENTORY

OYSTER CREEK - INTERMITTENT SIGNAL INTERFERENCE WITH EMERGENCY SIRENS

LASALLE - TSC OUT OF SERVICE DUE TO FAILED FAN BELT

FITZPATRICK and NINE MILE POINT - OFFSITE NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY SIREN ACTIVATION

FERMI - UNEXPECTED INTEGRATED PLANT COMPUTER SYSTEM FAILURE

LIMERICK - FITNESS FOR DUTY (Licensed Operator)

QUAD CITIES - UNIT 1 HIGH PRESSURE COOLANT INJECTION (HPCI) INOPERABLE DUE TO VALVE LEAK

[link to www.nrc.gov]
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For all the rhetoric concerning the jap nuke industry.. it seems the leopard cannot change his spots.
Japan is going down the tubes because of this, unless the citizens receive some accountability from them..
Same could be said anywhere there are NPPs.

700+ earthquakes 5.0 and higher in japan since 3.11.11.
2135 total since then. [link to www.japanquakemap.com]
It's not a question of if another large earthquake causes more devastation... it's a question of when.

There is contaminated waste-water pouring off of the damaged reactors, and pouring straight into the ocean that will take 1000s of years to disappear.

Officials lied about Chernobyl until they couldnt hide the facts anymore.

The waste water is being diluted by the sheer volume of the oceans right now, but they have got to start working on a permanent fix that will stop the leakage for good, because too many people of the Earth depend on seafood to live, and it is getting worse everyday.

Nuclear operator to release secret Fukushima tapes

Former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan, who was in office during the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns, has told the ABC he believes the plant's operator has been hiding key evidence.

For months TEPCO has resisted pressure to release critical recordings, arguing they are in-house material and to release them would compromise the privacy of those on the tapes.

The company now says it will bow to months of pressure from Mr Kan and the government and release the many hours of teleconference video taken in the days after last year's meltdowns.

But it has confirmed crucial audio of a heated exchange with Mr Kan is missing, claiming its hard drive was full.

The recordings are a window into the decisions, dramas and dangers at the heart of the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, and Mr Kan says the withheld information is "crucial".

"This is extremely important material which is needed to investigate the cause of this accident," Mr Kan told the ABC in an exclusive interview.

"It's like the black box flight recorder on an aeroplane. The black box is crucial to understanding how an accident happened. So too are these recordings."

Read more----

[link to www.abc.net.au]

They all lie.. it's in the manual.

Some people accuse me of fear-mongering... say I'm an anti-nuke shill..
Pffft.. somebody want to pay me for this..?
If they knew half of what I know.. they'd shit themselves.
I don't tell everything.

I really don't care what anybody thinks. I'm just a regular guy with a little free time to research this crap. Always been against nuke technology used malevolently in the past.. and since fuku, against nuclear technology in the hands of the private[corporate] sector.. because I believe the health and safety of people should be of the highest concern.

And I know that is not the case.

Personally, I am anti-nuke.. but not a shill..
So take your false accusations.. put them in your pipe..
and stick it where the sun don't shine.

'But it has confirmed crucial audio of a heated exchange with Mr Kan is missing, claiming its hard drive was full.'


I hate it when that happens..

New report..




U.S. plutonium inventory: 95.4 metric tons
[link to blogs.knoxnews.com]

link to report

[link to nnsa.energy.gov]

*As a U.S. citizen, he served from 1968 to 1970 as a Senior Surgeon of the United States Public Health Service. He was recruited in 1974 by the University of South Alabama to establish one of the first free-standing Departments of Medical Genetics in the nation, at the emerging USA College of Medicine.


Geneticist charts effects of nuclear disasters
[link to blog.al.com]

[snip]

"It is not the scale of a nuclear accident itself that makes a human disaster it is the response by officials afterward and the public panic produced. The public should not be treated as idiots and told only the 'good half' of the story, as is often done by official agencies. People have the right to know, the need to believe those who are in charge."

Wertelecki believes that the often-made comparisons of Chernobyl or Fukushima-Daiichi outcomes with those that followed the atomic bomb explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki are wrong.

The impact of the bombs was external radiation, which was intense but short-lived, said the physician. The impact of Chernobyl and Fukushima-Daiichi is ongoing and radiation still in the environment is inhaled or swallowed, leading to accumulation in the body. One mushroom eaten in affected areas may deliver as much radiation as hundreds of chest x-rays, he concluded.

This pisses me off. They should deal with this NOW - it is way past time for a workable solution.

Reminds me of the video series you posted many pages ago. The one where they were storing the fuel and apologizing to the future people for the mess that had been created. Storage for a minimum of 200 years?! Think back on the changes we have seen over 200 years....