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

Fuel removal videos:
[link to www.tepco.co.jp]
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Russia Unveils Detailed Plans To Build 21 New Nuclear Power Units By 2030

The Russian government has approved a plan to build 21 new nuclear power generation units across nine power stations by 2030 as part of a regional and territorial energy planning scheme.

The plan, released in a document published by the government’s official online portal for legal information, includes the construction of five new nuclear power stations with two units each, three new power plant units at locations where a commercial nuclear installation already exists, and the addition of one new unit at an existing plant site.
[link to www.nucnet.org]
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New flaw found at Shearon Harris nuclear power plant

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Inspectors at the Duke Energy Shearon Harris nuclear power plant have found a flaw in a reactor vessel for the second time this year. The vessel contains the plant's nuclear fuel.

A report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says "ultrasonic examinations identified a flaw in a head penetration nozzle" of the vessel. The report says the problem was discovered November 18.

In May, the plant was shut down after an inspection revealed early signs of corrosion and cracking in the reactor vessel. The quarter inch crack was not all the way through the reactor vessel wall and no radioactive material escaped.

The plant - which began operations in 1987 - is located in New Hill, about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh near Jordan Lake.
[link to abclocal.go.com]
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[link to m.youtube.com] ???????

At the 1.37 mark, it looks like a small explosion after the mechanical arm latches onto the rod...

Does anyone else see that?

luckily no, it was simply the 'snap-lock' device that unsettled some more rubbish from on top of the assembly methinks

Imperial palace receives Fukushima rice at emperor's request

TOKYO — Some of the first rice harvested in Hirono, Fukushima Prefecture since the March 11, 2011 disaster was delivered to the imperial palace in Tokyo this week after the emperor expressed a desire to eat rice from the area.

The Imperial Household Agency said 120 kilograms of Koshihikari premium rice was delivered on Tuesday, Fuji TV reported.

The town of Hirono lies within the 30-kilometer radius of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Decontamination of the town’s rice paddies was completed earlier this year and rice cultivation resumed.
[link to www.japantoday.com]
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Wankers...

Workers accidentally drop camera inside Fukushima No. 3 unit pool

Workers at the disaster-struck Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Thursday accidentally dropped an underwater camera inside the No. 3 unit spent fuel pool, but it is unlikely to have damaged nuclear fuel there, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

In the unit where the reactor core melted and the reactor building was severely damaged by a hydrogen explosion in the March 2011 crisis, TEPCO has been cleaning the upper floor to prepare for spent fuel removal. Workers were preparing to remove rubble in the pool when the camera was dropped, it said.

The monitoring camera, weighing about 5.5 kilograms and remotely controlled, dropped shortly after 11 a.m. when the cable suspending it from a crane snapped, and a safety device also did not work, TEPCO said.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Laser enrichment chosen for Paducah

Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) will enter talks with the US Department of Energy after its proposal to build and operate a laser enrichment facility at shut down Paducah plant was selected. Off-specification inventory will be processed by Areva.

Uranium enrichment involves increasing the proportion of the fissile uranium-235 isotope relative to non-fissile uranium-238 for use in nuclear fuels. Laser enrichment uses a laser to preferentially excite the uranium-235 in gaseous uranium hexafluoride, making it easier to collect. The process is potentially more efficient than the gaseous centrifuge enrichment technology in commercial use today, which itself superseded energy-intensive gaseous diffusion enrichment plants.
[link to www.world-nuclear-news.org]
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Alexander Litvinenko inquest: high court halts lifting of secrecy order

William Hague successfuly argues that airing secret documents about former KGB spy would harm national security

Lawyers for the Foreign Office have succeeded in overturning a coroner's ruling that secret documents should be released for the inquest into the death of the former Russian dissident and KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.

In a unanimous decision, three judges at the high court accepted that the foreign secretary, William Hague, should not have to reveal material relating to the 2006 poisoning of Litvinenko on the grounds that it would be a risk to national security.

Litvinenko, 43, consumed radioactive polonium-210 while drinking tea during a meeting with former Russian security colleagues at the Millennium hotel in Grosvenor Square, central London. He died three weeks later.
[link to www.theguardian.com]
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Japan director turns to crowdfunding for anti-nuclear film

Japanese film director Takafumi Ota had a problem. He needed studio financing for a film that was harshly critical of the nuclear industry in the aftermath of Fukushima, but no one was interested in funding his project the traditional way. Large sections of Japan's movie industry wanted nothing to do with it, and he was told that influential sponsors did not want to be associated with anything that criticised the powerful atomic sector. "It wasn't only major film distribution companies but also DVD companies -- who usually get interested in investing in films to share copyright -- who showed no interest in my plan," said the 52-year-old Ota, whose previous work includes the critically acclaimed 2006 film "Strawberry fields", which screened at the Cannes International Film Festival. "A senior film director told me 'Don't do this. You'll never be able to make commercial films.'" With few options to make the film, but a groundswell of anti-nuclear feeling in post-Fukushima Japan, Ota turned to the public to make his film in another example of how crowdfunding is changing the face of traditional financing.
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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World Bank says no money for nuclear power

The World Bank and United Nations on Wednesday appealed for billions of dollars to provide electricity for the poorest nations but said there would be no investment in nuclear power.

"We don't do nuclear energy," said World Bank president Jim Yong Kim as he and UN leader Ban Ki-moon outlined efforts to make sure all people have access to electricity by 2030.

Kim said $600-$800 billion a year will be needed to meet the campaign target of universal access to electricity, doubling energy efficiency and doubling the share of renewable energy by 2030.

In some countries, only 10% of the population has electricity.
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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Gas release. The pool leaks and make up water has been sea water. Corrosion is the result. The gas means the integrity of the outer tube is compromised. Will get worse with time.

I doubt if he really ate it...

citizenDerp herp derp

stop posting on your face book and xhampster.....



Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 12/01/2013 01:57 AM

ps TEPCO? thanks for bumping.....

fuck you mob are reverse logic, i swear yer fuckin stupid....

Independent Scotland would phase out nuclear power

New nuclear would not play a role in an independent Scotland, according to a white paper published by the Scottish government in November.

The current Scottish government is opposed to the building of any new nuclear power stations in Scotland and will phase out existing stations in Scotland over time, it said.

Scotland has four AGR reactors in operation at the Huntersont B and Torness sites, which are due to close in 2023. However, EDF Energy plans to extend the lifetime of the fleet for as long as it remains safe and cost effective to do so.

In an independent Scotland the decommissioning costs of Scotland's three non-operational sites (Dounreay, Hunterston A and Chapelcross) would continue to be met from the public purse. EDF Energy would meet the cost of decommissioning Hunterston B and Torness. Costs relating to nuclear decommissioning outside of Scotland would be for the government of the rest of UK to meet.
[link to www.neimagazine.com]
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Npower layoffs reignite calls for Britain energy market reforms

The announcement of 1,460 layoffs in northeastern Britain by energy provider Npower has reignited Labor Party calls for reform of the country's energy markets.

Npower, owned by Germany's RWE, revealed Friday 550 call center employees at its offices in Stoke on Trent, 430 in Sunderland, 400 in Oldbury and 80 in Leeds would be laid off. Much of Npower's remaining customer service workforce will be outsourced, including to Tata Consultancy Services, which operates call centers in India.
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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Sellafield executives to face MPs as nuclear clean-up bill rises over £70bn

Public accounts committee to scrutinise private consortium accused of spending cash 'like confetti'

The bill for cleaning up the huge Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria will rise even higher than its current estimated level of £70bn as operators struggle to assess the full scale of the task, according to sources close to the project.

The warning comes just days before private sector managers face a grilling from the public accounts committee, which is investigating activities at the facility.

It was hoped that the huge bill – eight times the cost of staging the London Olympics – would be capped at £70bn, but well-placed sources have told the Guardian that the operators are convinced they are still "not at the top" of the cost curve.

Sellafield is regarded as the most dangerous and polluted industrial site in western Europe, not least because it houses 120 tonnes of plutonium, the largest civilian stockpile in the world.
[link to www.theguardian.com]
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HOPE CREEK: AUTOMATIC REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO MAIN TURBINE TRIP

While operating at 100% power on 12/01/2013, at 0613 EST, the main turbine tripped on moisture separator hi level. The reactor scrammed along with the main turbine trip. All safety systems responded as designed and expected. There was no radiological release. There were no injuries."

During the scram, all rods inserted into the core. The plant is stable in mode 3 in its normal shutdown electrical line up. Decay heat is being removed via the turbine bypass valves dumping steam to the main condenser.

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector and will be notifying Lower Alloways Creek township.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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More than 800 join suit to seek suspension of Oi nuclear plant

More than 800 people joined a lawsuit Tuesday filed last year by 1,100 plaintiffs from 17 prefectures demanding the central government and Kansai Electric Power Co. shut down the utility's Oi nuclear power plant.

The plaintiffs also demanded the government and Kansai Electric pay damages of 10,000 yen per person per month until the Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture, western Japan, is suspended, arguing an accident there would cause irrevocable damage and violate their right to live safely.

The suit was filed with the Kyoto District Court last November.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Unprocessed radioactive waste in Tokai could explode if safeties fail

Stockpiles of unprocessed plutonium solutions and liquid waste at a nuclear reprocessing facility in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, could boil and spew radioactive substances or cause hydrogen explosions if safety devices were to fail, the Nuclear Regulation Authority says.

The assessment of the Tokai Reprocessing Plant of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, where 3.5 cubic meters of solutions containing plutonium and the 430 cubic meters of high-level radioactive liquid waste are stored, was part of a Dec. 2 report issued by the NRA.

The reprocessing plant extracts plutonium from spent nuclear fuel for use in plutonium-uranium mixed-oxide fuel for consumption in the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor and other facilities.
[link to ajw.asahi.com]
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Ontario relies on current nuclear capacity

The government of Ontario has kept nuclear at the centre of its updated long-term energy program, with major refurbishments planned for the Bruce and Darlington power stations. However, it has decided to defer the construction of new nuclear capacity.
[link to www.world-nuclear-news.org]
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NINE MILE POINT: MANUAL SCRAM FOLLOWING TRIP OF BOTH REACTOR RECIRCULATION PUMPS

At 0904 [EST] on Monday, December 2, 2013, Nine Mile Point Unit 2 was manually scrammed from approximately 40% thermal power due to the loss of both reactor recirculation pumps during a planned downpower evolution. Manual scram of the unit is procedurally required upon loss of both recirculation pumps to avoid potential power/flow oscillations. The reactor recirculation pumps failed to transfer to the low frequency motor generators when downshifted from fast speed. The cause of the loss of both reactor recirculation pumps is not known at this time. [Nine Mile Point Unit 2] NMP2 has commenced cooldown in preparation for the forced outage to investigate and commence repairs.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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PALO VERDE UNIT 2: AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP FOLLOWING THE LOSS OF THE 1A REACTOR COOLANT PUMP

On December 2, 2013, at approximately 1758 Mountain Standard Time (MST), the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS) Unit 2 control room received reactor protection system alarms for low departure from nucleate boiling ratio and an automatic reactor trip occurred. Prior to the reactor trip, Unit 2 was operating normally at 100% power. Plant operators entered the emergency operations procedures and diagnosed an uncomplicated reactor trip but noted the 1A reactor coolant pump (RCP) was not running. All CEAs fully inserted into the core. Following the reactor trip, indications on the train A logarithmic (log) power nuclear instrument initially responded normally but then did not trend as expected. All other nuclear instruments responded normally and the train A log power channel was declared inoperable and technical specification limiting conditions for operation 3.3.10 and 3.3.11 were entered. No emergency classification was required per the PVNGS Emergency Plan.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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PALO VERDE UNIT 3: TECH SPEC REQUIRED SHUTDOWN DUE TO DROPPED CONTROL ELEMENT ASSEMBLY

At 2324 on December 2, 2013, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS) Unit 3 commenced a reactor shutdown required by Technical Specification (TS) 3.1.5, Control Element Assembly (CEA) Alignment. TS Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) 3.1.5, requires 'All full strength CEAs shall be OPERABLE, and all full strength and part strength CEAs shall be aligned to within 6.6 inches (indicated position) of all other CEAs in their respective groups.'

Regulating CEA number 69 dropped to the fully inserted position at 1830 on December 2, 2013, when the circuit breaker for CEA 69 tripped open. The other 88 CEAs in the reactor were unaffected and remained fully withdrawn. Unit 3 entered LCO 3.1.5 Condition A for one misaligned CEA and reduced power to 78% within one hour in accordance with Required Action A.1.

The CEA was unable to be restored to its required position within two hours in accordance with Required Action A.2 to restore CEA alignment.

At 2030, Unit 3 entered Condition C of LCO 3.1.5 because of the inability to restore CEA alignment. Condition C requires the unit to be in Mode 3 in 6 hours.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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IAEA: Tritium may have to be discharged into sea

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency say tritium in wastewater at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may have to be discharged into the ocean.

The report says TEPCO should step up efforts to remove radioactive substances from wastewater accumulating in the plant's tanks and other places.

Referring to tritium, which is particularly difficult to remove from wastewater, the report says TEPCO should consider discharging the substance into the ocean by diluting concentration to the permitted government levels.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Nuclear disaster-hit people can seek compensation for 10 yrs

The Diet enacted a special law Wednesday to extend the three-year time limit for seeking compensation for damage suffered as a result of the nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi complex to 10 years after the outbreak.

The enactment comes some three months before the third anniversary of the accident, which was triggered by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Under the legislation, those who develop health problems due to the nuclear accident can exercise the right to claim damages up to 20 years after they develop symptoms. Previously, the limit was set at 20 years after the accident occurred.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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