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

Report blasts poor 'safety culture' at Palisades nuclear plant
[link to www.hollandsentinel.com]

[snip]

Allegan County —

An outside review of the “safety culture” at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant near South Haven says employees don’t believe management is open to suggestions for improvement or makes the right decisions.

“There is a lack in the belief that Palisades management really wants problems or concerns reported or that the issues will be addressed,” the report’s executive summary stated.

EDITORIAL: Lessons at Browns Ferry
[link to blog.al.com]

[snip]

It is troubling that TVA at first denied to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector assigned to the plant that there had been a fire when he visited the control room shortly after the fire.

"He was told there was no fire, no damage to any adjacent equipment," said NRC spokesman Joey Ledford. "He asked all the typical questions and determined it had been a minor problem." Perhaps, but the fire did knock out some plant alarms and warning lights.

Two months later TVA issued a report on the incident and that was the first time the NRC "heard there was an actual fire," he said. But the public didn't hear about the fire until the NRC issued a report July 9, more than five months later. Ledford said he did not know why the NRC didn't make the incident public sooner than it did.

One of the most important steps in earning credibility with the public is to quickly acknowledge a problem. TVA and the NRC certainly failed in this case.

TVA also seems to have forgotten about five words that are scary when strung together: Browns Ferry control room fire.

This oughta be good..

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Secrets about Crystal River nuclear plant could be revealed at hearings this week
[link to www.tampabay.com]

[snip]

The North Carolina Public Service Commission has summoned several Duke board members to explain the less-than-one-day tenure of Bill Johnson as CEO of the newly combined Duke-Progress Energy giant.

Johnson's "lack of transparency" in his accounting of the busted Crystal River plant seems central to his ouster. Duke has revealed that its own secret report highlights the plant's problems, but it has thus far resisted releasing the study.

There's little cover for any of those who will take the stand. What the board members heard leading up to Johnson's ouster and the statements they made are not protected by confidentiality, experts say. "They're now going to have their feet held to the fire to identify what it was that led to their decision," said Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School.

That's not good..

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Faulty Piping Received at Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Plant Construction Project at the Savannah River Site, Unknown if Pipe has been Placed in MOX Plant
[link to aikenleader.villagesoup.com]

[snip]

It appears that the piping was set to be used in the area of the MOX plant where plutonium would be purified, or “polished,” to remove impurities before being converted to an oxide and fabricated into fuel pellets. According to the two-page “60-Day Interim Report Notification Information” attached to the July 12 letter, “Testing of this heat of material has since been performed twice more by the independent test lab contracted by MOX Services with failing results thus indicating that the pipe is thermally sensitized and susceptible to intergranular corrosion if utilized in an environment with electrolytic potential (e.g., nitric acid, oxalic acid). The 1/2" 304L SS pipe in question is intended for use within the aqueous polishing portion of the MFFF, where these environments exist for many processes.”

DOE photo of INL facility interior..

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Nuclear research screeners checking for explosives at 'populated' areas, putting lives at risk, report says

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

Whoops...

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[English illiterate top echelons] NHK “Fukushima crisis is still on-going”
[link to fukushima-diary.com]

[Reactor4] New assembly taken out on 7/18, IAEA might visit Fukushima plant
[link to fukushima-diary.com]

Bizarre story..

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Researcher Affected by Radiation: Centre's Reply Sought
[link to news.outlookindia.com]

[snip]

Pandey, a post graduate in Environmental Sciences, had joined Hissar-based Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology at Hissar, a joint centre of BARC and the Board of Research on Nuclear Sciences, said the petition filed through advocate Atul Wadera.

The course in-charge did not want Pandey to continue with his research and asked him to leave, said the petition adding they mixed the "hazardous and radioactive Strontium in a liquid form in cups of tea which the petitioner used to consume without knowing that those were contaminated."

Victims of French nuclear tests see hope in cancer link finding
[link to www.france24.com]

[snip]

The epidemiologist said France’s nuclear tests may have taken their toll on local populations as well. “Thanks to recent studies, we are now certain that small doses of radiation can seriously affect the thyroids of young children, causing cancers or other illnesses,” he added.

took them some time, but i am now baned from posting my web-blog to my facebook...

[link to fukushimaemergencywhatcanwedo.blogspot.com.au]

Here's one about kid health problems. 36 % are f::::::::::::ked

[link to mnhopkins.blogspot.se]

Thermal power plants hit by problems
Thermal power plants across Japan have developed at least 10 problems since the country began a new power-saving campaign more than 2 weeks ago. The country is increasingly reliant on thermal power following last year's nuclear accident in Fukushima.

Japanese utilities rely on thermal energy for 90 percent of their power generation on average, as most of the country's nuclear reactors are shut down.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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2nd reactor of Ohi nuclear plant to restart soon
Kansai Electric Power Company plans to restart another reactor at its Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture on Wednesday night.

The utility says if things go as planned, control rods will be lifted at the No. 4 reactor and chain reactions will begin on Thursday morning.

It adds that the reactor could begin full operation as early as next Wednesday.

The plant on the Sea of Japan coast is the only one operating in the country. The facility's No. 3 reactor began full operation on July 9th.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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TEPCO removes unused fuel rods from pool
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has begun removing two unused fuel rods from a storage pool in the No. 4 reactor.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, began the work on Wednesday as a test for eventually removing all 1,535 fuel rods stored in the pool, including 204 unused ones.

Workers are carefully monitoring radiation levels and footage from underwater cameras to make sure they remove unused fuel rods, instead of a highly radioactive spent one.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
.

That is a crock.. Did they give a reason for the censorship..?

March 13th, 2011 – Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 and 3 have experienced core damage – the reactor cores were completely uncovered for a period of time
[link to enformable.com]

[snip]

Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 and 3 have experienced core damage; the reactor cores were completely uncovered for a period of time; reactor water level was restored on Unit 1.

Latest information has stated that the reactor vessel and primary containment structures are still intact for all of the nuclear units; there is intermittent venting of the primary containment (to the atmosphere) to maintain internal pressure within design limits.

Oh no, you di'in't..

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Spying on Scientists: How the FDA Monitored Whistleblowers Who Raised Concerns over Radiation
[link to www.democracynow.org]

[snip]

The Food and Drug Administration has been found to have launched a massive surveillance campaign targeting its own scientists for writing letters to journalists, members of Congress and President Obama.

The covert spying operation led the agency to monitor the scientists’ computers at work and at home, copying emails and thumb drives and even monitoring individual messages line by line as they were being composed in real time.

pacific radiation dispension over 10yrs

[link to www.washingtonsblog.com]

quote-
After 10 years the concentrations become nearly homogeneous over the whole Pacific, with higher values in the east, extending along the North American coast with a maximum (~1 × 10-4) off Baja California.
...to be higher than west pacific.

good to see youre still here wb , and others. sorry not been posting, i still been sorting out moving myself and others to equatorial regions (fuk risking living in the wake of this type of pollution).
respect 2u man, and all u guys,
many thanks
rawpaul

Good to see you, RP. Glad you are relocating. Good plan.. and good luck.

wb

Ohi plant restarts second reactor
Kansai Electric Power Company has restarted another reactor at its Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

The utility started lifting control rods at the No.4 reactor at 9 PM on Wednesday in the presence of senior vice industry minister Seishu Makino.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]

No issues so far. Touch wood, fingers crossed, lucky rabbits foot...
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CALVERT CLIFFS - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED SHUTDOWN DUE TO SMALL RCS PRESSURE BOUNDARY INSTRUMENT LINE LEAK

At 1715 EDT on July 17th, 2012, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 identified RCS Pressure Boundary Leakage from the instrument line to 1-PDT-123A, 11A reactor coolant pump differential pressure transmitter. Technical Specification 3.4.13, Action B was entered and requires that the Unit be placed in Mode 3 within 6 hours and Mode 5 within 36 hours. The licensee has initiated plant shutdown in accordance with this Technical Specification.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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FORT CALHOUN

Results of a thermal fatigue analysis on the Chemical and Volume Control System (CVCS) charging line concluded that the socket weld fittings above the RCS piping cannot be qualified.

As an interim action, shut down cooling purification has been secured and charging has been isolated to the RCS.

The plant is shutdown and in Mode 5 with the reactor vessel head removed, so RCS is not intact and not required to be for current plant conditions.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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NINE MILE POINT - AUTOMATIC REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO HIGH NEUTRON FLUX

On July 17 2012, at 1118 [EDT], Nine Mile Point Unit 1 experienced an automatic reactor scram due to high neutron flux as measured by the Average Power Range Monitoring system. The cause is currently under investigation. All control rods fully inserted and all plant systems responded per design following the scram. The High Pressure Coolant Injection [HPCI] system, which is an operating mode of the feedwater system, initiated as expected. There were no planned activities in progress at the time which could have contributed to the event.

Nine Mile Point Unit 1 is currently in Hot Shutdown, with reactor water level and pressure maintained within normal bands. Decay heat is being removed via steam to the main condenser using the bypass valves. The offsite grid is stable with no grid restrictions or warnings in effect. All emergency power sources are available in standby.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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Business as usual...

[link to www.energy-net.org]

Event Notification Report for July 18, 2012
[link to www.nrc.gov]

they haven't got back to me yet no... and morning bug....

Howdy..

I'm sure they have a policy of some sort against an overabundance of reality..

Thread: "Japan nuclear fallout may cause 1300 cancer deaths " They must think we're idiots.>>>>>>>>>>>

How Broken Is the San Onofre Nuclear Plant?
[link to www.greentechmedia.com]

[snip]

The SONGS Unit One was first-generation Westinghouse technology. It went on-line in January 1968, and was built to last until 2004 but was decommissioned in 1992 due to wear.



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Let's talk..

Although this article is not about songs 1, per se.. we can make a few observations from the snip.

- songs 1 reactor was decommissioned early

- it was a GE Mark I reactor[same as fuku] with a 40 year design lifespan

- it wore out.. 14 years before its engineered design lifespan

There are 22 reactors of this design in the US. Some near major population centers.

Why is their any question of them continuing to be operational..? 21 of them have already been extended and the other is pending..