Toronto man jailed for attempted nuclear exports

Found this little gem courtesy of AFP. A Canadian court on Thursday sentenced a Toronto man to four years and three months prison for attempting to export dual-use nuclear-related items to Iran, in violation of UN resolutions.

Mahmoud Yadegari was sentenced in the Ontario Court of Justice to 20 months in jail, as well as the 15.5 months of pre-sentence custody, Canada's public prosecution service said in a statement.

"Because the court granted double credit for pre-sentence custody, this amounts to a four-year, three-month sentence," the statement read. Prosecutors were seeking 6.5 years prison for Yadegari, 37, who was born in Iran but has been living in Canada since 1988.

On March 4, 2009, Yadegari "attempted to export controlled material to Iran" via Dubai, read the statement. "The goods, known as pressure transducers, are subject to a United Nations embargo on nuclear-related exports to Iran." The items, it said, "are also on Canada's Export Control List."

Yadegari was arrested in April 2009 following a two-month investigation carried out jointly with US officials. He was found guilty on July 6 of nine out of 10 charges, including offences under the Customs Act, the United Nations Act, and the Criminal Code.

Yadegari is the first person convicted of violating UN anti-nuclear proliferation resolutions against the Tehran regime, Crown prosecutor Bradley Reitz said earlier. Western powers believe that Iran is building nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, a charge Tehran vehemently denies.(30/7/10)

Images: ABC news / Global Times

New ventillation system of Chernobyl - well better late than never...

Found on the pages of the Earth Times. A ventilation system is to be installed at the now disused Chernobyl nuclear plant to minimise environmental contamination by radioactive material, nearly 25 years after the nuclear disaster at the site, Russian media reported Saturday.

The contract for the construction of a 50-metre-high steel tower has already been already been signed, the Russian company Atomstroyexport said, according to the reports. The area around Chernobyl is regarded as one of the most contaminated sites on Earth.

The new stack is to be placed on the 75-metre high reinforced concrete structure of the third reactor, taking the overall height to 125 metres. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of next year, according to Atomstroyexport.

The construction is being financed by an international fund, after the near bankrupt Ukraine failed to raise the several hundred million euros it needed to ensure the construction of the protective structure. The near bankrupt government of Ukraine had earlier indicated it lacked the several hundred million euros to ensure that the sheath of lead and steal to protect the reactor remnants.

The exact scale of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986 is still unclear. The anti-nuclear movement say up to 100,000 people were killed and thousands were exposed to radiation.(23/7/10)

When 'first responders' run the other way screaming, what you gonna do??

Amy Joi O'Donoghue, writing for The Desert News, goes on the alert.

Too many people, including first responders like police and firefighters, have an irrational fear of exposure to even small doses of radiation - fear that one noted physicist says will lead to chaos in a nuclear or radiological attack.

Allen Brodsky, who was in Salt Lake City last week for a meeting of the Health Physics Society, said the public's lack of understanding about radiation and a reluctance by policymakers to educate the nation leaves the country vulnerable. "More people will be injured or die in the panic of an attack than will die from radiation itself," Brodsky said. "Even the ill-equipped first responders will scream and run away, and so what is the public going to do?"

Brodsky, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the society's first chairman of the homeland security committee, stressed the need for first responders and even the public to have a personal dosimeter that monitors radiation exposure. This has led Brodsky and others to push police officers, firefighters and the public in general to get a SIRAD, a self-indicating instant radiation alert dosimeter, or the smaller RADSticker, which uses radiosensitive ink.

The products have been distributed free to thousands of police officers or firefighters across the country. At least 18 police or fire agencies in Utah are using them, including South Salt Lake, Layton and the Davis County Sheriff's Office, said Stephen Jones, who describes himself as a "social entrepreneur" trying to get the word out.(9/7/10)

No need to feel sheepish - we're back on the menu again

Nearly a quarter of a century after the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine exploded and spewed radioactivity across the world, it has finally stopped making Scottish sheep too “hot” to eat. So reports Rob Edwards for The Herald Scotland.

For the first time since the accident, levels of radioactive contamination in sheep on all Scottish farms dropped below safety limits last month, enabling the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to lift restrictions. Controls on the movement and sale of sheep have been in force since after the explosion in 1986.

In 1987, the restrictions covered 73 farms across southwest and central Scotland. Animals that contained more than 1,000 becquerels of ­radioactivity per kilo were banned from being slaughtered for food. In April 2009, there were still 3,000 sheep at five farms in Stirling and Ayrshire under restrictions. But now, according to an announcement from the FSA, there are none.

“Over time, radioactivity levels have continued to decline, and, as of February 2010, only two areas in Scotland remained under restrictions. Of these, one area has been taken out of agricultural use, so is no longer being used to farm sheep, and the other area was removed from restrictions on 21 June 2010.(5/7/10)

New Zealand allows uranium transit

Edward Gay, reporting for the New Zealand Herald, brings us this. 

Uranium transiting through New Zealand ports will only be used for "peaceful purposes", the Environment Minister said, despite one of the firms receiving the material being involved in making nuclear weapons.

Energy Resources has been granted permission to ship Australian yellowcake uranium ore through New Zealand. The destination of the uranium is listed as Honeywell's plant in Metropolis, Illinois. That plant enriches raw uranium for nuclear fuel and electric power stations. A byproduct of the process is depleted uranium, which has uses ranging from medical equipment to weapons and armour.

Honeywell told TV3 this week that all of its processed uranium was used in the production of nuclear power for civilian use and there was no military usage. However, the US Environmental Protection Agency lists two Honeywell plants (both in Minnesota) as "depleted uranium manufacturing and testing facilities". (2/7/10)

We can't list this building - it's full of toxic materials...

Found on the BBC’s web pages recently. A bid to list buildings at the decommissioned Trawsfynydd nuclear power station in Gwynedd has been refused by Wales' Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones. Campaigners wanted the structures saved as they were designed by Sir Basil Spence, the architect behind Coventry Cathedral. The power station was the first inland nuclear power station in Britain.

The minister, Alun Ffred Jones, was asked to consider whether the reactor towers met the criteria for listing 20th century buildings. His decision not to list them clears the way for the towers to be partially torn down, with work expected to start towards the end of this year.

The Twentieth Century society, which campaigns for the preservation for Britain's modern architectural heritage was asked to back the campaign for the listing, but declined to do so because there were too many "issues".

Although they agree the building is worth saving "architecturally" there were too many other considerations, not least the fact that the building is full of "toxic material", according to the society's Jon Wright.  "It's an important building, but it doesn't surprise me that it's not been granted listed status."

He added the society believed it was far better to keep it there than cover it up, which will happen under the decommissioning plans. "You can't pretend it was never there, that's a bit silly," he said. "Better to leave it as it is until it is decided how to deal with what's inside."(23/6/10)

PackEye detection equipment seen on Bear Mountain Bridge

Found on the Empire State News web pages.The following may have passed you by, but we thought you’d be interested. The Transportation Security Administration, under the VIPR program, deployed their PackEye radiation detection equipment on the Bear Mountain Bridge last Friday for routine vehicle radiation screening.

The screenings are done twice a week at different locations around the State of New York.  Thus far the units have only been used at the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge and the Bear Mountain Bridge.  “We do plan on extending further as we coordinate with the local jurisdictions in those areas,” said TSA Special Agent Scott Carpender.

 “We don’t have any specific threat information about this location,” Carpender said. “But once again, we like that randomness, that ability to pick a location where we do know there is high vehicular traffic and just deploy these devices.” Most of the readings that the device picks up are due to radioactive materials used in medical procedures, according to Carpender.  “Luckily we haven’t stopped any vehicles with any dangerous radiation that we really need to be concerned with.”

According Homeland Security officer Edward Primo, the devices are designed to detect nuclear material; “That’s the nasty stuff that we are generally concerned about.”  The PackEye detects both gamma radiation and neutron radiation.(18/6/10)

Transformers, robots in disguise? Nope, just 3 huge ones on way to Peach Bottom

Stephen Heiser, reporting for Nuclear Street, flexes his muscles down at Peach Bottom for this weighty tale

This week Exelon will be working closely with state and local officials in Maryland and Pennsylvania to safely and effectively transport three main power transformers from Havre de Grace, Md. to Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Delta, Pa. The project is part of Exelon’s $87 million plan to replace all six of Peach Bottom’s main power transformers and improve long-term service.

The transformers were recently shipped from Korea to Philadelphia and barged to Havre de Grace. Each unit weighs approximately 481,000 lbs. and stands 35 feet high and 28 feet wide. On June 7, Hake Rigging Company will begin transporting the transformers along a predetermined route through Harford and southern York County. The transporters will move approximately three to five miles per hour and most of the travel will take place at night to avoid as many traffic problems as possible. The units are scheduled to arrive at Peach Bottom on Thursday, June 10.

For the past 6 months, Exelon has been working with Hake Rigging as well as state and local school, emergency response and transportation officials to coordinate the effort. Detours and road closures will be clearly marked in advance and a coordinated outreach plan was designed to notify residents and businesses along the travel route. Exelon has also created a 24-hour “Transport Tracker” hotline to provide travelers with up to date information on the transformer’s location. The number is 717-456-4932.(7/6/10)

A touch too much salt causes problems at Dounreay

Found on the pages of the Press & Journal recently. An investigation is under way into an overnight fire at the Dounreay nuclear plant. The site’s firefighters were called out at 12.40am on Friday after radiation alarms were triggered at the defunct prototype fast reactor (PFR).

The outbreak involved a batch of radioactive sodium which had been removed and bagged after the break-up of pipework. No one was injured in the incident.

The firefighters wore breathing apparatus and special protective clothing to tackle the fire in a tented compound within the former steam-generating building. Their task was made more difficult by thick, pungent fumes and smoke emitted from the waste sodium.

After the fire was extinguished, work in the area was suspended while a probe began into what caused the estimated 4.5-6.5lb of the volatile metal to catch fire.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has been informed about the incident.(2/6/10)

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into Vermont Yankee...

Terri Hallenbeck, writing for the Burlington Free Press, has some more bad news from the troubled Vermont Yankee site. It was reported Friday afternoon that the radioactive isotope strontium has been located in the soil near where tritium had been discovered leaking at the Vernon nuclear power plant in January.

Strontium-90 was discovered in soil that had been excavated from the area of the leak, Vermont Yankee spokesman Larry Smith said. It was noted in an analysis the company received Monday from a soil sample taken March 17, he said. The state Health Department and Nuclear Regulatory Commission were notified Thursday, he said.

“This is the worst,” Gundersen said. “This is the most harmful, the hardest-to-detect and the most soluble. The existence of strontium-90 will increase the cost of eventual decommissioning of the plant.” Along with tritium, Vermont Yankee has acknowledged the discovery of cobalt-690, cesium-137, manganese-54 and zinc-65

The state Health Department noted the strontium discovery in its updates on the tritium leak Friday. The department emphasized that the strontium has been found in the soil but not in groundwater or in drinking water.(28/5/10)

Shuffling off to Buffalo? Remember to take a mop and bucket...

Robert J McCarthy, writing for the Buffalo News web pages, shuffles off with mop and bucket to Lewiston for this one. About 50 people gathered outside a World War II radioactive waste dump in the Town of Lewiston on Saturday morning as part of an ongoing protest against the federal government’s failure to clean up the site. Organized by the Niagara Watershed Alliance, the protesters rallied at the Niagara Falls Storage site, which began as the Army’s 7,500-acre Lake Ontario Ordnance Works and was the site of Manhattan Project research during World War II.

The idea was to call attention to the lack of action by the federal government and to call on authorities to seek local input on an eventual cleanup plan, said Vincent Agnello, Alliance secretary.  “Our ultimate goal is to have a clean community,” Agnello said. “This stuff should not be sitting on the shores of Lake Ontario.”

The Niagara Falls Storage Site is a 191-acre parcel in the Town of Lewiston owned by the Department of Energy. It contains a 10-acre “interim waste containment structure” where some radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project is buried.

The dispute between some members of the public and federal regulators over input into the investigation has been going on for several years. The volunteer Restoration Advisory Board for the site has questioned federal regulators about how they’ve handled the investigation and some of their results. The Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of the cleanup, has said it believes the site is not leaking.(24/5/10)

New pills for Triangle residents

John Murawski, reporting for the News Observer in Raleigh, NC, keeps taking the tablets...

Hundreds of Triangle residents who live near the Shearon Harris nuclear plant stocked up Saturday on emergency tablets they hope they never have to use.

Health officials in four counties surrounding Progress Energy's nuclear plant distributed the free pills to replace ones issued in 2003 that have expired. The potassium iodide pills, commonly known as KI pills, can reduce the risk of thyroid cancer from radiation exposure.

In addition to distributing pills, state and local emergency preparedness officials are also required to evacuate the area in an emergency. During an evacuation, police would block access to schools and redirect parents to pick up their kids at designated sites, said Brian McFeaters, Wake County's disaster preparedness coordinator.

Residents are instructed not to take the pills unless officials announce an emergency. The pills protect a single organ, the thyroid, and do not provide immunity to the rest of the body against radiation. "Your thyroid would still be here, but the rest of you would be melted," joked Matt Gasell of Holly Springs who picked up pills at Holly Ridge Middle School.(19/5/10)

UAE set to build 4 new reactors in near future

Dan Yurman, reporting for The Energy Collective web pages takes us to the UAE for this one.

A remote beach at Braka in Abu Dhabi on the Persian gulf about 50 km (31 miles) from the centre of Abu Dhabi’s oil industry at Rawis will be home to four new nuclear reactors to be built by a South Korean consortium.

The site was chosen from a short-list of ten alternatives. The evaluation process considered security, seismic conditions, and adequate water supply for cooling. Some of the reactor capacity will be used for desalinization which means the plants will use seawater, rather than fresh water, as a primary resource.

The UAE expects the first plant to be operational by 2017 with 2,000 operations and support staff on site. Construction of roads, and a port jetty with cranes, will begin later this year to support delivery of equipment, materials, and reactor components to the site. The UAE plans to connect the site to a regional transmission and distribution grid to supply electricity to other countries on its side of the Persian Gulf once the reactors are in revenue service.

In 2009 Abu Dhabi awarded a $20 billion contract to a consortium of South Korean companies including KEPCO which will supply four 1,400 MW reactors to the UAE. Doosan Heavy Industries will make the reactor pressure vessels, steam generators, and pumps. Other South Korean firms will set up factories to manufacture some of the reactor components in the UAE. Construction of the first reactor is expected to begin in late 2012 following completion of the licensing process with the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.(14/5/10)

New safety regs put in place at Progress Energy & Turkey Point

John Murawski, writing for the News Observer looks over the NRC’s new safety procedures.

Nuclear regulators have opened a review of fire safety risks at Progress Energy's Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant south of Wilmington.The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees the safety of the nation's 104 reactors, notified Progress that Brunswick is one of five nuclear sites in the nation identified as having multiple safety risks.

The NRC's April 21 letter opens a federal safety review of the power plants to determine the level of fire risk at each facility. The letter identifies "eight risk factors that can lead to elevated on-going risk if not appropriately mitigated."The companies will be required to fix the problems. Fire safety has bedeviled the nuclear industry for decades, and safety reviews this month add five sites to the list of plants that may be falling short. Progress' Shearon Harris nuclear plant in southwestern Wake County for years has required round-the-clock foot patrols and other compensatory safety measures that nuclear critics have long said are inadequate.

According to the NRC's new safety reviews, the two nuclear sites with the greatest number of risks are Brunswick and Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point, south of Miami. Both are cited for seven out of eight risk factors. The risks include complex safety procedures where "there is not high confidence that operators would be able to implement them in fire conditions." Progress spokesman Mike Hughes said the company has put measures in place to mitigate the risks. "These typically involve manual fire watches and the like, and meet or exceed the standard requirements," he said. (7/5/10)

Delhi University possible source of cobalt 60 incident - allegedly...

This report, found on the pages of the Straits Times, links up with the one we ran in our 'No Particular Place To Go' section about Indian workers being affected by cobalt-60 recently. Delhi University, blamed for dumping radioactive material that killed a man this week, buried 20 kilograms of other waste in a pit on campus, an academic claimed in a report published on Friday.

Ramesh Chandra, a professor in the chemistry department, told the Times of India that his counterparts in the physics faculty had buried radioactive waste two decades ago after using the material in experiments.

'Instead of handling over the hazardous material... for proper disposal, they just buried it,' he said. 'Though it's been 20 years the buried isotopes of substances like uranium could still be active.' On Thursday, police blamed the university for dumping an irradiation machine containing radioactive cobalt-60 which ended up in scrapyard in New Delhi, where the waste killed a 35-year-old worker and put seven others in hospital.

The Asian Age newspaper reported that India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board had suspended the university's right to handle radioactive material on Thursday evening. The university imported the gamma irradiation machine in 1980 but stopped using it in 1985 and sold it at auction in February.

Vice-chancellor professor Deepak Pental told reporters on Thursday that the university 'takes moral responsibility and was apologetic for the damages caused.' He said the 'mistake' was underestimating the radioactivity of the machine. A three-member committee has been set up to investigate. (3/5/10)

New cleanup deadlines for Hanford waste in place

Annette Cary reporting for the Tri-City Herald brings us up to date with the cleanup at Hanford.

The Department of Energy and its regulators have agreed to new legally binding environmental cleanup deadlines for radioactive waste that has been temporarily buried at central Hanford since 1970. The proposed new package would allow more time for some work but also add new deadlines DOE must meet. They include a final cleanup deadline for some of the most difficult-to-handle solid waste, which Hanford now lacks the capabilities to prepare for disposal.

The cleanup of Hanford along the Columbia River has become a top priority; money and resources have shifted to work along the river, making it more difficult for DOE to meet deadlines for a more central Hanford cleanup. In addition, some of the work in central Hanford is technically challenging.

The set of changes covers drums, boxes and cans of debris suspected of containing plutonium that DOE temporarily buried in central Hanford. Then Congress said transuranic waste - typically waste containing plutonium - must be sent to a national repository. But until the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico opened, the waste was buried for later retrieval.(30/4/10)

Indian port autorities turn detective with new detectors

Found on the pages of The Times of India. The Indian government has asked all 12 major state-owned ports to install advanced radioactive material detectors to prevent hazardous materials from being shipped into the country.

"The shipping ministry has issued letters to all major ports to immediately assess the requirement for the number of radioactive material detectors at each major port and get it installed. Six major ports are likely to be equipped with it in six months, while the remaining will have it by March, 2012," a senior shipping ministry official said. All ports have been asked to make budgetary provisions for procuring the radiation detectors. The ministry has asked the ECIL to make a demonstration of the equipment soon, the official said.

A prototype of the gadget has already been installed at the Nava Sheva port in Mumbai and once installed, the detectors will play a pivotal role in security, as they will scan cargo stacked within steel containers.

Asked about the cost of the gadgets, the official said a primary detector can cost anything between Rs 40 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, adding that apart from these, there were handheld secondary and tertiary gadgets for radiation detection. (23/4/10)

Is there a Dungeness 'C' on the cards for Kent?

The sun is shining, so let’s pay a visit to the Garden of England, courtesy of The Kent News. Senior Kent politicians have thrown their weight behind a campaign calling for a new nuclear power station at Dungeness. County Council leader Cllr Paul Carter was among those who attended a presentation on Tuesday evening, during which he gave his support for plans to build a third reactor on the existing site.

The plans for Dungeness C were thrown into disarray late last year when the Government left it off a list of 11 potential locations where new nuclear power stations might be built. More than 500 people are employed at Dungeness B, and campaigners fear the community will crumble if its main employer ceases to exist. Dungeness A is currently being decommissioned from use.

Had the site been approved, the new Dungeness C reactor would have seen about 2,000 workers employed during construction and a further 350 to 450 over a 60-year period.

The Government said it had left it off the shortlist due to the "adverse effect" it would have on the area's internationally unique ecosystem, this was based on advice from Natural England. However, just days after the announcement, Prime Minister Gordon Brown revealed that Dungeness had not been completely ruled out as a possible location for a new nuclear power station.(19/4/10)

Now which button makes this baby fly...?

David E Hoffman and Foreign Policy.com write that certain nuclear weapons have been left out of the new strategic weapons treaty, signed this week in Prague.

The Davy Crockett was one of the smallest nuclear weapons ever made by the United States. Built in the late 1950s, and designed for the battlefields of Europe to stop a possible Warsaw Pact invasion, the warhead looked like a watermelon, being only 30 inches long and weighing about 76 pounds. From a portable tripod launcher, it could be fired at the enemy as close as 1,000 feet or up to 13,000 feet away. It was a weapon for nuclear war at close range.

But the little nuclear watermelon is a reminder of the big work still to be done in arms control. The just-completed strategic weapons treaty does not cover smaller nuclear warheads in both arsenals that are a legacy of the Cold War - the so-called battlefield, or tactical weapons.

The United States is believed to have about 200 tactical nukes in Europe, all of them B61 free-fall gravity bombs to be used with U.S. and allied tactical aircraft, out of 500 total tactical nukes in the active U.S. arsenal. The Russians are estimated to have about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, several hundred in the European part of the country and the remainder in central storage sites.

These smaller warheads have never been covered by a specific treaty, nor are they subject to the kind of verification that is used to prevent cheating in the agreements covering the long-range or strategic weapons, including the nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. What's more, they are relics of a bygone era, with no military usefulness. There is no longer a Warsaw Pact or a Soviet Union threatening a massive invasion across the Fulda Gap that would have to be stopped with a last-ditch decision to fire off the battlefield nukes. (9/4/10)

America's nuclear arsenal: federal plans to extend life insufficient

William J Broad, reporting for the New York Times, inspects the USA’s nuclear arsenal.

In a challenge to the White House, America’s nuclear weapons laboratories have warned Congress that federal programs to extend the life of the nation’s aging nuclear arsenal are insufficient to guarantee the viability of the weapons for decades to come.

The warning, which implicitly endorsed the idea of creating an expensive new generation of more reliable nuclear warheads, has no direct bearing on the new arms control agreement reached this week by the United States and Russia. Rather, it addresses a long-simmering debate on what steps the United States should take to ensure confidence in the destructive capacity of its shrinking nuclear arsenal.

The new warning about the arsenal’s reliability came in letters from the directors of the nation’s three nuclear weapons labs to Representative Michael R. Turner, an Ohio Republican who is the ranking minority member of the Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces.

That finding, from an independent group of scientists that advises the federal government on issues of science and technology, could influence whether the Senate ratifies another nuclear treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty - a prime objective of the Obama administration - or whether the nation instead prepares for the design of new nuclear arms. (2/4/10)

We're  domed, I tell you - domed...

Mike Merritt writing for the Herald Scotland, brings us the latest on the future of the Dounreay site.

For more than half a century the futuristic dome of Dounreay nuclear power station has stood as one of the most iconic – and intimidating – coastal landmarks in Scotland. Now, despite last-ditch rescue attempts, it seems the imposing and eye-catching structure is doomed to be removed from the Caithness landscape forever.

Dounreay is now defunct and set to be decommissioned; a public consultation over the future of the monumental structure has come up with a series of strange suggestions designed to save the building. Although the power station itself was far from loved, the famous ‘golf ball’, which once housed Britain’s experimental fast breeder reactor, has an important place in Scotland’s heritage.

Ideas from the public to retain the golf ball have included turning it into a hotel, a museum and an art sculpture. But it seems few suggestions have a realistic chance of saving the structure from being levelled. Site operator Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) will now make recommendations over the dome’s future to Dounreay’s owners, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, by the summer. A decision is expected by the end of the year.

Crucially, DSRL believes that the golf ball should go. Even before the consultation began it said it was “minded” to remove it. The cost of painting it alone would be around £500,000 every 10 years; and then there’s the huge bill needed to look after a radioactive building over centuries. Some say the site won’t be fully safe until the mid-2300s.(31/3/10)

On a clear day you could see a new waste storage facility in Cumbria

Jackie Turley, reporting on the pages of Isle of Man Today, sets her sights on the Cumbrian coast.

Strong opposition from the Isle of Man Government has met plans for an underground nuclear waste storage facility, near Sellafield.

Local Government and the Environment Minister John Shimmin MHK announced a new policy in relation to the nuclear power station to include opposition to underground disposal of radioactive waste in West Cumbria. His announcement comes after Copeland Council became the first community in the British Isles to express an interest in being considered as a potential site.

In Tynwald on Tuesday, Mr Shimmin said the government would be opposed to the development 'until and unless Tynwald is convinced that an underground repository is safe, and presents no identifiable danger to the Isle of Man population, environment or economy'.

The UK Government has announced it plans to bury higher level nuclear waste in vaults between 200 metres and 1,000 metres underground.

Mr Shimmin explained: 'After the vaults are sealed, the rocks combined with engineered barriers will - so the experts tell us - prevent radioactivity returning to the surface for a very long time. A repository may even be expected to survive a future ice age.' He added: 'There may well be detrimental impacts as yet unknown, if the Sellafield area is chosen as a site for all of the UK's nuclear waste.’(26/3/10)

New Mexico Navajo Nation still fighting Uranium mining

Carol Berry writing for the Indian Country Today web pages brings us this environmental tale.

Uranium mining, banned on the Navajo Nation, advanced closer to tribal boundaries when the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing of in situ leach uranium mining at four sites near Crownpoint and Church Rock in New Mexico.

The split decision by a three-judge panel March 8 also denied a request for review of one of the sites near Church Rock where Hydro Resources, Inc. has a joint venture with Itochu, a Tokyo-headquartered transnational, to begin producing an estimated six to nine million pounds of uranium annually from New Mexico.

Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining, a Navajo community organization; Southwest Research and Information Center, a nonprofit environmental education organization; and two local ranchers were joined by the Navajo Nation in a friend-of-the-court brief asserting that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated atomic energy and environmental laws in granting the license.

Navajo residents of the Church Rock area told the federal appeals court two years ago that they were concerned about increases in airborne radiation. They were also concerned that the drinking water supply could be contaminated by the in situ leach (ISL) process, which involves the removal of uranium by pumping water and bicarbonate into the groundwater aquifer, withdrawing the solution, and removing the uranium.

The NRC cannot grant a license application if, in its opinion, the license would adversely affect the health and safety of the public. (22/3/10)

Exelon's tritium leaks upset local residents in Illinois

Kim Smith reporting for the Herald News web pages in Chicago, brings us this update on Tritium leaks in Illinois.

Some people are questioning whether or not a $1 million settlement to spend on some environmental projects makes up for the damage caused by numerous tritium leaks discovered on and around nuclear power plants reported through the years.

After the discovery of multiple leaks, Exelon began a company-wide monitoring of the problem and a plant cleanup. Exelon officials say that to date, more than 90% of the tritiated water from Braidwood has been removed. A $1 million settlement was reached in Will County Circuit Court as the result of civil complaints stemming from numerous leaks. The problems at the Braidwood Nuclear Power plant were first reported by Exelon in November 2005. Later, it was revealed that there had been numerous leaks reported over a ten-year span at Braidwood and others at similar facilities at Dresden and Byron.

In a press release following the announcement, Exelon's Chief Nuclear Officer Charles Pardee said the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have gone on record stating that the tritium concentration levels were never a public health of safety issue.(19/3/10)

Canada considers foreign investment for uranium industry

The Star Pheonix and Rueters bring us this. Canada's revival of a plan to relax foreign ownership rules in its uranium industry could draw more investment from foreign miners such as France's Areva and help restore Canada's decreasing share of global production.

Canada, long the world's top producer of uranium, will be eclipsed this year by Kazakhstan, where several mines have been started after the country opened up its sector more than a decade ago. Australia, which has the world's biggest reserves, is also catching up after recently relaxing its own uranium mining bans.

Canada's move - outlined briefly in the throne speech Wednesday - comes as countries such as China and India embark on ambitious nuclear-power building programs that are predicted to stretch uranium demand beyond current supply capacity. Both countries could clamber for access to Canadian uranium, particularly with India having recently signed an agreement to reopen nuclear technology trade with Canada.

Current rules restrict foreign ownership of Canadian uranium mining assets to 49 per cent, meaning producers have to seek joint-venture partners and essentially cede control of the assets to the local partner.(12/3/10)

How much did you say that scanner cost?

Robert O’Harrow Jr, reporting for the Washington Post, crunches some numbers for us.

The Department of Homeland Security office responsible for protecting the nation from nuclear and radiological terrorism is largely scrapping plans for new high-tech detectors for screening vehicles and cargo, saying they cost too much and do not work as effectively as security officials once maintained.

In a Feb. 24 letter to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the acting chief of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office said officials will possibly use the machines only for secondary screening, at no more than about a third of the cost originally planned.

The development virtually ensures the collapse of one of the most prominent national security initiatives in the Bush administration, which aggressively touted the machines as a high-tech front-line defense against the importation of nuclear materials.

Bush administration officials in 2006 committed to spending at least $1.2 billion on the development and deployment of Advanced Spectroscopic Portal machines, saying they would dramatically improve screening of vehicles and cargo containers over existing equipment. They estimated that each machine would cost about $377,000.

But officials from the Government Accountability Office, Congress's investigative agency, turned up evidence that the machines did not work as well as billed. They later discovered that the machines cost far more than DNDO officials had told Congress - as much as $822,000 each. (5/3/10)

Workers fear reprisals for speaking out at San Onofre

Yet another tale they didn’t really want you to know, this time courtesy of The Santa Maria Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Workers at the San Onofre nuclear power plant fear retaliation if they report a safety concern, according to a leaked internal company memo.

The plant, in northwest San Diego County, has been under increased scrutiny by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for safety problems. Over the last two years, the plant operated by Southern California Edison has increased training, changed top managers and replaced a contractor.

A survey of workers conducted by a commission inspector shows workers fear for their jobs if they report safety issues. The findings were included in a Feb. 3 company memo leaked this week to the environmental group San Clemente Green. According to the memo, the commission received 63 allegations of safety concerns at the plant between 2008 and 2009, and 25 of the people making the allegations feared retaliation. San Onofre workers report safety violations 10 times more often than the industry average, the memo states.

Ross Ridenoure, chief nuclear officer, said the plant is working on improving the safety culture, and company surveys show progress. "We have zero tolerance for any type of retaliation," he said.

Similar allegations have previously been leveled at plant officials. In November, two plant workers filed federal whistle-blower complaints against the plant, saying managers retaliated against them after they disciplined an employee who violated regulations while welding a nuclear waste canister. Ridenoure would not comment on pending litigation.

Gary Headrick, a founder of San Clemente Green, said a plant manager leaked the memo. Headrick said it was important to shed light on the issue because the plant is scheduled to restart a reactor that he believes may have been rushed back into service.(26/2/10)

US students may have been exposed to radiation on campus

Found on a blog spot called Driven News, this is written by NY Scribe.

Students, faculty and administrators at New York University, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, SUNY at Stony Brook and over a dozen universities in the United States may have been exposed to cancer causing radiation, beryllium, plutonium, silica and other highly toxic substances while attending school or working at universities holding contracts with the Department of Energy from 1941 through the present. 

The universities on a list from Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act  (EEOICPA) website provided by the Office of Health, Safety and Security were listed as “Atomic Weapons Employers”, “Beryllium Vendors” and  “Weapons Research and Development Facilities” doing work such as  “nuclear research involving plutonium and uranium” at the universities’ laboratories.   

Over 400 contaminated DOE sites, or their contractors and subcontractors, are listed by the EEOICPA. Persons at listed DOE sites may be compensated for their exposure to toxic and radioactive substances in the course of their work and research but if the exposed person is already deceased, surviving relatives could be entitled to monetary compensation

Any person who worked or studied at the university sites listed, during the specified time periods, are entitled to a free medical screening, medical benefits and lump sum payments from $150,000 to $400,000 dollars if they have cancers or other illnesses presumed to be caused by their exposure to carcinogenic and radioactive substances when the DOE was working on early nuclear weapons creation and testing at many American colleges; including several in the New York area.(24/2/10)

Progress Energy's extra payment demand is 'unconstitutional'

Ivan Penn and the pages of the St Petersburg Times bring us news on Progress Energy.

A group protesting charges by Progress Energy for its planned nuclear plant in Levy County has filed suit against the utility, claiming the advance fees for the plant are unconstitutional.

The five plaintiffs who are part of the Citizens for Ratepayers Rights Inc. state that Progress Energy has been allowed to collect money from customers without providing any benefits or services and to enrich itself even if the plant is never built.

As part of the complaint, the plaintiffs are seeking class-action status for their claim, filed in the Circuit Court for Sumter County. "We truly believe this is unconstitutional," said Suzan Franks, one of the plaintiffs and president of the Citizens for Ratepayers Rights. "We really have tried every avenue possible to get them to understand. This was the only way we could do it."

Progress Energy plans to build a $17 billion nuclear plant on a 5,000-acre site 4 miles north of the nearest town, Inglis. The utility had planned to start producing power in 2016 but announced a 20-month delay in its plans to at least March 2018. As part of Progress Energy's effort to recoup cost of construction of the facility, customers pay $5.86 a month per 1,000 kilowatt hours toward up-front costs. (19/2/10)

Test delays worry remaining 176 workers at Bruce Power (don't worry, we're processing 2 a day!)

Paul Jankowski, writing for the Owen Sound Sun Times, brings us up to date with the events at Bruce Power.

The 195 workers at Bruce Power who are being tested for exposure to alpha radiation are understandably concerned and frustrated with the slow pace of the process, a company spokesman said last week.

"We've had 19 people go through testing (so far). It's urine sampling. It's a slow process and that's the frustrating thing for our workers and for us," John Peevers said. He went on to say that there is only one place accredited by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to do the tests, an Atomic Energy of Canada lab at Chalk River, and it can only process two samples a day.

The discovery of alpha radiation came as a surprise during work on refurbishing Bruce A Unit 1, which the company hopes to return to power generation in 2011. The first hint came during a routine air sample test on Nov. 26, while crews were working on feeder tubes inside the Bruce A Unit 1 nuclear vault. Two days later a similar radiation spike was found. "We initially thought it was cobalt," Peevers said. But the samples were sent out for testing and in December, we find out that it's alpha (radiation), which we weren't expecting.”

Nuclear power plant operators tend only focus on beta and gamma radiation: Alpha is different as it's a larger particle so it's not as penetrating. If it's inhaled or ingested that's the potential hazard.(15/2/10)

450kg of uranium ore found in Brasil rainforest

We found this little gem on the pages of RIA Novosti - Police in the north Brazilian state of Amapa have unearthed a cache with 450 kg of enriched uranium ore, a dangerous mineral used for nuclear arms production.

The operation to seize radioactive material was a result of four-month work by investigators, who found a bag of pitchblende on Friday in a remote area of tropical rainforest.

Pitchblende, or uraninite, is an extremely radioactive mineral used as a major component for the production of fuel for nuclear power plants and nuclear arms. An investigation is underway.

Brazil's nuclear capabilities are considered the most advanced in Latin America. The country runs its sole nuclear power plant, Angra, with two reactors, and a third is under construction.(25/1/10)

Standing down at Erwin

Bill Jones, writing for the Greenville Sun in Tennessee, starts off the New Year with this.

After a fire in November, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., announced that it is "standing down" some operations at its Erwin plant while "implementing organizational, facility, and management changes that will enhance existing stringent safety controls and processes."

NFS spokesman Lauri Turpin said "all areas of the plant are currently idle." She noted that NFS normally suspends operations for one week during the Christmas-New Year's holiday period.

Turpin said this year the normal shutdown took place the week of Christmas, but NFS officials chose to continue that shutdown while beginning implementation of new safety measures.

She continued that NFS officials are "not ready to commit" to a specific date for restarting full operations and that some areas of the plant will remain operational, but declined to specify which areas.

A press release issued by NFS said the company "developed these changes following consultation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Both NFS and the NRC are committed to ensuring that the highest level of safety commitment, culture and compliance are in place for licensed operational processes." (4/1/10)

Change of heart in Denmark over nuclear power

Thanks to the pages of CPH Post for this. A new study on Danish attitudes towards nuclear power counterclaims one published two weeks ago, which demonstrated a majority support the use of the energy source, reports trade publication Ingeniøren.

Two weeks ago, a Gallup/Berlingske Tidende newspaper poll claimed a majority of people supported the use of nuclear power. The new A&B Analyse poll, conducted for political news website Altinget.dk, shows there is considerable resistance to atomic energy.

The discrepancy in the two polls can be explained by the questions asked. The latest one asks respondents if they are in favour of, or against, the construction of nuclear power plants in Denmark, to which 60 percent said no and 25 percent answered yes.

In the Gallup poll, however, people were asked whether atomic power could be ‘an important part of the solution to the climate problem’. It therefore did not ask respondents about the actual placement of nuclear power plants in Denmark nor whether it was their preferred source of energy.

According to Altinget.dk, there is still broad agreement across political parties not to introduce nuclear power in Denmark. The website indicated that only the tiny Liberal Alliance party is in favour of the move.

Is this what you want to see in the New Forest? Thought not..

We found this report by Peter Law writing for the Southern Daily Echo and bring it to you in its entirety. Radioactive waste from the controversial Sellafield nuclear plant is set to be disposed of in Hampshire, the Southern Daily Echo can reveal.

Under a proposal out to consultation last week, ten trucks a year would make the 350- mile journey from Cumbria to an incinerator in Fawley, on the edge of the New Forest.

Each truck would carry about 40 barrels of low-level radioactive waste oil to the Spanish-owned facility. Up to 100 cubic metres of radioactive waste would be sent to Hampshire each year, a spokesman for Sellafield said.

Java going nuclear? Good question..

Today we travel to Indonesia, thanks to Tom Allard and the Sydney Morning Herald. Indonesia could formally embrace nuclear power as early as next year as senior Government members push to revive a proposal to build up to four reactors just 30 kilometres from a volcano in Central Java.

The country is beset by regular blackouts that are crimping industrial production and deterring investors, and nuclear energy is being resurrected as a means to meet the country's growing electricity needs while also capping carbon emissions.

But serious concerns remain about the viability of the plan, not least because Java is one of the most densely populated areas in the world and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that could cause catastrophic radioactive leaks.

''There are pros and cons on the nuclear power issue but if you ask my personal opinion, of course I want to use it,'' Agusman Effendi, a member of the council, said. ''The building should begin in 2010 because our fossil fuel resources are decreasing from time to time.''

Mr Effendi suggested it could take 10 years to build the reactor.

Uranium prices are falling - time to start shopping!!

Stuck for a present idea for that hard-to-buy-for person? Well, Pratima Desai, reporting for Reuters, has a gift idea for you.

A supply glut could see uranium prices tumble over coming months, but that will be a buying opportunity as demand from nuclear reactors over coming years is expected to surge.

Governments around the world are sizing up nuclear energy as an alternative to expensive fossil fuels such as crude oil and coal, which pollute the atmosphere when burned.

Uranium on the stock market could fall to $35 a lb over the next quarter, to its lowest since late 2005 from around $45 a lb currently and $136 a lb in June 2007. Over the next year it is likely to be capped at $55 a lb, but beyond 2011 some analysts expect it to rebound to $80 a lb.

"Uranium will be oversupplied in the short term, utilities have more than they need for this year," said John Wong, portfolio manager at New City Investment Managers. "Next year the uranium market (estimated at about 180 million lbs) will be oversupplied by about 10 million lbs."

Pickering gets wash and brush-up to extend working life

Tyler Hamilton, writing for The Star’s web pages, brings us this from Canada.

The Pickering nuclear station, near Toronto, Canada (minus 1 degree C at the moment!) is under the microscope. Its four Pickering B reactors, built in the mid-1980s, will within a few years come to the end of their safe operating lives. Ontario Power Generation is expected to decide before year's end whether it makes sense to mothball the Candu reactors or spend billions of dollars extending their life beyond 2050. One stop-gap being considered is a quick tune-up and short life extension.

The clock is ticking. Pickering B's reactors contribute more than 2,000 megawatts to the province's power mix, enough electricity over a year to supply 1.6 million homes. If they are to be shut down as early as 2012, then Ontario must make sure it has another source of power to take their place. Those who argue against refurbishment cite the high cost of operating the Pickering station and the poor performance of two Pickering A reactors that were renewed between 2003 and 2005.

But risks related to safety are what most concern the former head of Canada's nuclear safety regulator. Linda Keen, president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission between 2001 and 2007, told the Star during an exclusive series of interviews that the rate of population growth around Pickering isn't being taken seriously enough. "Population growth means the risk has increased," Keen said. "To be honest, I don't know how you'd vacate the Pickering area alone in the event of an emergency."

Need a quick clean-up? Just send it all to Oak Ridge!

Frank Munger dons his marigolds and mop and heads to Oak Ridge for a massive clean-up job. The U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River nuclear facility in South Carolina is using a wealth of Recovery Act funding to accelerate cleanup activities and reduce its Cold War stockpile of radioactive waste.

Some of that waste, containing radioactive tritium and other contaminants, is coming to Oak Ridge for treatment and packaging before being shipped west to Nevada or Utah for disposal. Two local facilities owned by Perma-Fix Environmental Services Inc have been hired to treat the so-called mixed waste, which contains both radioactive elements and hazardous chemicals.

"Not only is it radioactive for its tritium content, it is hazardous for mercury, which can make treatment of this waste challenging," Jacob Nims, project engineer with the government's contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, said in a statement released to the news media.

DOE's original plan was to let the legacy waste remain in South Carolina and allow the radioactive tritium to decay before shipping the waste off-site for disposal. The decay process, however, would have taken another 10 to 50 years, and the actual cleanup project wasn't scheduled to start until 2053. Now, with money from the Recovery Act, Savannah River has put the waste disposal on a "fast track," the agency said.

Sizewell wants dry storage tank for spent waste: but not until 2015

Thanks to the Lowestoft Journal for this. Highly radioactive spent fuel from the Sizewell B nuclear power station could be housed in containers in a massive new building on the site under plans outlined by British Energy.

The company is consulting on proposals to build a new dry storage building to manage the power station's spent fuel from 2015 ahead of submitting a final planning application to the Department of Energy and Climate Change in January next year.

Under the current arrangements spent fuel from the reactor is stored in a fuel storage pond, which is expected to provide capacity until around 2015. In the longer term it is expected that there will be a national underground repository to house high level waste but this is not expected to be ready for many years. British Energy says it has reviewed the options for the interim management of spent fuel after 2015 and dry storage was chosen as the most suitable option.

British Energy is holding a public exhibition to present its proposals for the new facility at the United Church Hall, High Street, Leiston, on Tuesday, November 24, between 1pm and 7.30pm, and Saturday, November 28, between 9.30am and 2pm.

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Walmart tritium exit sign disposal scandal

Our grateful thanks to the pages of the NRC’s web site for the following report.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., with four violations concerning improper disposal and transfer of tritium exit signs at its stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The violations, issued Oct. 28, concerned the improper transfer or disposal of 2,462 signs from Wal-Mart stores in states under NRC jurisdiction between 2000 and 2008, and the improper transfer of an additional 517 signs between various Wal-Mart facilities.

Exit signs containing tritium pose little threat to public health and safety and do not constitute a security risk. However, the NRC requires proper record keeping and disposal of the signs because a damaged or broken sign could cause minor radioactive contamination of the immediate vicinity, requiring environmental clean up.

The improper transfer or disposal of the 2,979 signs and failure to appoint a responsible official were determined to be a Severity Level III problem under NRC’s enforcement policy, and the failure to report damaged signs is a Severity Level IV violation, the lowest on the NRC’s enforcement scale.

The Severity Level III problem could have incurred a civil penalty of $369,300. However, the NRC decided to exercise enforcement discretion and waive a civil penalty based on Wal-Mart’s prompt, comprehensive, and extraordinary corrective and preventive actions.

Not so much a one-eyed yellow idol - more a small nuke plant in Nepal - maybe...

This comes form the English pages of China View. The International Atomic Energy (IAEA), the world's centre of cooperation in the nuclear field, has urged the Nepali government to enact nuclear law and establish an atomic energy commission as soon as possible to deal with nuclear issues in Nepal.

The IAEA's call to Nepal for membership came at the end of a fact-finding mission, which visited Nepal on Oct. 19-23. The mission's visit followed the first-ever visit of IAEA Director General Dr Mohamed Elbaradei to Nepal in September, said Science Secretary Ram Hari Aryal.

There is no legislation and regulation to oversee nuclear activities, including licensing and inspecting. The IAEA can help Nepal in many areas of development like health, agriculture and energy if it enacts nuclear law. Besides, IAEA will not be authorized to provide Nepal with radioactive sources for medical and other purposes till it enforces nuclear laws.

Nepal currently lacks mechanism to notify any nuclear accident to IAEA though it is required to have such mechanism as a member state. Nepal became IAEA member in August, 2008.

Potential 'criticality' at Oak Ridge - time to knock it down, we think

Frank Munger (Hi, Frank) dons hard hat and goggles for a report on the state of the K-25 plant out at Oak Ridge on behalf of Knox News.

The government contractor in charge of the massive K-25 demolition project at Oak Ridge has acknowledged there is potential for a nuclear criticality in parts of the old building bearing deposits of enriched uranium, but said it is highly unlikely.

"There is a potential for criticality on the north and east sides, but the probability of such an event happening is very low," said Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs. Hill was responding to questions about the deteriorated condition of the 65-year-old facility and whether a collapsed structure could trigger a criticality event, involving an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction and release of radiation.

Before demolition began, the processing equipment in the west wing was injected with foam to stabilize old systems and keep the residual deposits of uranium in place. According to Jack Howard, DOE's former project manager at K-25, the roof leaks like a sieve, the upper floors are too fragile to walk on, and the overall deterioration has accelerated since 2004.

$1.8m for tank cleaning/hose removal? That's cheap...

Hello again to our old friend Annette Cary, reporting for the Tri-City Herald. Today, she  gets the shovels out.  Hanford workers have finished removing 11 obsolete transfer lines contaminated with high-level radioactive waste in the Hanford tank farms.

The flexible lines were used to transfer waste from leak-prone single-shell tanks into sturdier double-shell tanks, but the lines were past their design life. Some were buried in shallow trenches and others were above ground and covered with shielding to protect workers from radiation.

"Removal of these lines allows workers to focus on retrieving the sludge-like waste remaining in the single-shell tanks without these obstacles and interferences," Stacy Charboneau, DOE assistant manager for the tank farms, said in a statement. It also reduces risk to workers and the environment.

Washington River Protection Solutions committed to the Department of Energy and the Washington State Department of Ecology, a Hanford regulator, to remove the six lines in the U Tank Farm when the new tank farm contractor began work a year ago.

Because the work was done for less money than budgeted and some additional money was appropriated by Congress, five more lines in the C Tank farms also were removed. The total cost was $1.8 million.

Officials take to the skies to search for radioactive waste

Annette Cary and the Tri-City Herald take to the air for this one.  A helicopter was scheduled to fly low over the centre of Hanford last week looking for hot spots where animals have spread radioactive contamination in hundreds of places among the sagebrush.

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. will be conducting an aerial radiological survey of the "BC controlled area," 13.7 square miles that have had little human intrusion.

But it is just south of the BC cribs and trenches that 50 million gallons of liquid waste contaminated with radioactive salts were discharged during the Cold War. Animals attracted to the salts spread the waste across miles of the Hanford desert.

During the 10 days that a specially equipped helicopter for aerial radiological surveys will be at Hanford, it also will survey one of Hanford's other unusual contaminated areas - a vernal lake that was at Hanford long before the U.S. government started making plutonium for its nuclear weapons programme. Although no radiological work was done at West Lake near Gable Mountain, contaminated ground water rose to fill the lake during the Cold War and left behind slightly radioactive salts.

The helicopter, which has pods of equipment mounted on each side, will do work in a few days that would take crews walking the rugged shrub steppe land with hand instruments six to eight months.

IAEA concerned about Cobalt-60 smuggling rise

The security of nuclear and other radioactive materials and the detection of nuclear and radiological smuggling activities is improving but there are issues with the transportation, storage and disposal of radioactive sources, experts from the IAEA reported yesterday.

Speaking at a press briefing on the latest statistics from the IAEA´s Illicit Trafficking Database (ITDB), Nuclear Security Officer Viacheslav Turkin (pictured) said that the numbers, although still at a high level, point to improvements in nuclear security.

"Some States show a considerable decrease in the number of reported cases, and this can be an indication of improved security arrangements in those countries," he said. "Certainly, we have seen success in the efforts to locate and secure orphaned radioactive sources, as the deployment of detection and monitoring equipment has increased detection at borders and within States."

However, Mr. Turkin also said that in the past three years, more cases involving metal products contaminated with Cobalt-60 have been reported. "This is a disturbing development," he commented.

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Possible delays in Olkiluoto reactor construction

Ed Crooks, writing for The Financial Times takes us north to Finland for this. Construction work at the new Olkiluoto reactor in Finland, being built by Areva of France, continues apace; anyone hoping that the reactor will be such a huge commercial disaster that it will deter all other investment in nuclear power is likely to be disappointed.

The Olkiluoto OL3 project has been dogged by problems, most recently the dispute between Areva and TVO, the Finnish electricity company that will own and run the reactor.

As Areva put it in its results statement at the end of last month: ‘Areva has sent the client documents detailing the methods of execution for the final phases of the project that are in accordance with standard industry practices for the construction of turnkey power plants. Areva will only commence the final phases of the construction when TVO has agreed upon the proposals that have been made.’

That did not mean that work was coming to a halt immediately, but it faced the prospect of an indefinite delay. For now, though, important progress is still being made, with the fitting of the vast dome on top of the reactor hall.

Indian Point goes 'White' after yet another shutdown

This may have passed you by so thanks to A James reporting on the pages of the Record Online. Another unplanned shutdown at the Indian Point nuclear plant is drawing increased attention from federal officials.

Reactor Unit 3 automatically shut down after a turbine tripped. Plant officials said the root of the problem was an oil leak in a safety system.

”It's not oil used for lubrication,” said plant spokesman Jerry Nappi. The oil is part of a pressurized system designed to detect problems within the turbine. The leak caused the system to lose pressure and trigger an emergency response. “All equipment responding to the shutdown performed as designed. There were no safety threats or release of radioactivity.”

This malfunction is the fourth since May, which concerned officials with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the industry's federal oversight body. More than three unplanned shutdowns during a 7,000-hour operating span will change a nuclear reactors' Performance Indicator status. Indian Point's Unit 3 was operating under a “green” status, or the highest level. Thursday's problem will likely downgrade the reactor to a “white” status. (There are two stages below that: yellow and red.)

Whatever you do, DO NOT drop that sub!

The following article seems to be doing the rounds at the moment – it comes from the Sunday Herald via the pages of Rob Edwards.

A huge and virtually unknown crane poses the biggest risk of a nuclear disaster at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, according to newly released safety assessments by the Ministry of Defence.

Plutonium from up to 48 nuclear warheads could escape and cause widespread contamination and cancers if there was an accident while a Trident submarine was in the shiplift, the reports say. But the MoD has been accused by experts and anti-nuclear campaigners of playing down the real dangers. The amounts and risks of the radioactivity that could be released have been underestimated, they say.

The biggest risk is 'societal contamintation' according to a report written in 2000 by expert scientists at Aldermaston in Berkshire. But the numbers indicating how far the contamination would spread, how many cancers it might cause and how probable it might be have all been blacked out.

Australia's opposition party calls for nuclear 're-think'

Pia Akerman and Matthew Franklin, reporting for The Australian report on a debate that’s rumbling down under.

Serious splits have emerged within the Coalition on nuclear power, with outspoken Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce yesterday calling for a referendum on the issue, while Liberal senate leader Nick Minchin declared any discussion "utterly futile".

Senator Joyce demanded Australia abandon its Cold War mindset and end its ban on nuclear power, telling the Nationals federal council meeting it made no sense to continue to take the "peculiar" position of selling uranium overseas, while pretending domestic nuclear energy generation was immoral.

"We either say it's immoral and we won't use it at all or, quite obviously, we should be trying to use it ourselves," Senator Joyce told the meeting in Canberra. "Do we live in 1954? We are stuck back in the Cold War while the rest of the world runs ahead of us."

His comments follow similar recent calls for a rethink on Kevin Rudd's ban on nuclear power from mining giant Rio Tinto and Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howes.

But Senator Minchin (who voted at the South Australian Liberal annual general meeting this weekend against a resolution calling for debate on the use of nuclear power to reduce carbon emissions) said nuclear power was raised at the last federal election with obvious results. "Clearly, there was no appetite in the community whatsoever for the consideration of nuclear power," he said. "We've had that debate and let's move on."

Yucca closure could mean the start of NIMBY recycling issues for US

Geof Koss, writing for Water World’s web pages brings us up to date with events at Yucca Mountain. The decision by President Obama to shelve the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, has revived a vexing, decades-old question: what to do with tens of thousands of tons of radioactive nuclear waste. Obama 's fiscal 2010 budget request, sent to Congress in May, eliminates virtually all funding for the controversial project.  But the decision also leaves the U.S. without a disposal strategy more than 25 years after President Ronald Reagan signed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, in which the government agreed to dispose of spent nuclear fuel. In return, nuclear plants agreed to pay for the project through ratepayer fees.

The rapid demise of Yucca comes as interest in greenhouse-gas-free nuclear plants is surging amid global warming concerns. The move is sparking debate over what to do with the huge quantities of waste that were destined for Nevada but instead are piling up at nuclear plants nationwide.

There is revived interest in efforts to recycle nuclear waste, which would require building reprocessing plants around the country. Such plants similarly could be a boon for local economies, but this move will ultimately raise security and environmental concerns.

USAF launches new Global Strike Command - result of 2 previous "major mis-haps"

The following comes courtesy of AFP and Google News. The US Air Force has launched a new Global Strike Command responsible for nuclear forces after two major mishaps raised doubts about the supervision of the country's atomic weapons. (You may remember that we wrote about this some time ago).

The opening of the command marks a shake-up that followed the botched handling of nuclear weapons and the subsequent sacking of the air force's top civilian and military leaders last year. The command, located at Barksdale Air Force base in the southern state of Louisiana, will combine nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 bombers as well as the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force - which had previously been under the Air Force Space Command in Colorado.

"We needed to refocus on the nuclear mission and not lose sight of that," Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley told reporters ahead of last Friday's ceremony. He said there had been some "painful lessons" but the new command would "reinvigorate our nuclear enterprise."

An outside panel headed by former defence secretary James Schlesinger concluded that the US Air Force had for years given the nuclear forces a lower priority and failed to manage the mission with rigor. The panel found "an unambiguous, dramatic and unacceptable decline in the air force's commitment to perform the nuclear mission and, until very recently, little has been done to reverse it."

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Don't press the button, Bill!

Joseph Berger, reporting for The New York Times web site takes a trip to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

One of those infamous buttons of the Cold War  - the switch that could fire a nuclear missile at a Soviet bomber and possibly lead to an apocalypse - can be found in a rust-eaten trailer in the scrub pine and oak on a sandbar a long swim from Staten Island.

Bill Jackson was a sergeant in his early 20s when he led one of the crews responsible for the 24 nuclear-armed Nike Hercules missiles then housed here. Mr. Jackson and others can remember that atomic missiles were stationed not just in desolate landscapes out West, but also in the midst of New York’s crowded suburbs and resorts. There were 21 such sites guarding New York City, and relics from that era (like Mr. Jackson’s rusty trailer) still linger in places like Livingston, N.J., and Westhampton, on Long Island.

Decades ago, residents near these military outposts were often aware that there were missiles behind the fences, but relatively few knew that they were armed with nuclear warheads, experts say. Even today, some suburbanites find it haunting to learn that they lived so near.

New reactors planned for Georgia, due to start 2011 - maybe..

Those nice people at World Nuclear News take us to Georgia, USA, for this one.

Southern Nuclear has given notice to its main contractors to proceed towards two new reactors at Vogtle, Georgia. Permissions already in place allow some construction work to begin. The reactors in question are two Westinghouse AP1000 units which Southern's subsidiary Georgia Power contracted Westinghouse and Shaw to build in April exactly one year ago.

Southern's application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission reached a certain point in February at which limited construction work would be permitted at the site when the NRC released the final safety evaluation related to Southern's application for an Early Site Permit. The full result of the ESP application should be known by the end of this year. Full construction, however, can only start once a combined construction and operating license is issued for the project, expected in mid-2011.

It's all stop at Bruce Power - thanks to the recession

This snippet may have passed you by, so thanks to the pages of the London Free Press in Canada for this.

The Bruce Power nuclear generating station has shut down one of its reactors. The problem isn't mechanical - it's because there isn't enough demand for the electricity generated by the station.

Spokesperson Steve Cannon says the manufacturing slowdown caused by the recession and a cooler summer have left Bruce Power with a surplus.

Cannon says a 795-megawatt reactor will be offline for at least a few more days and follows a brief shutdown in June for similar reasons. He says it's not something they like to do because nuclear plants are designed to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Cannon says the shutdown doesn't affect any jobs and that all other units at Bruce Power remain online and available for service.

Whadya mean, we're on a list? What list?

Karen Dillon, reporting for The Kansas City Star, reports on a list no one wants to be on. Kansas City is on the short list to become the Yucca Mountain for mercury.

A new law requires that all of the nation’s waste mercury - now estimated at about 10,000 tons - must be stored in one facility, or at most, just a few facilities by 2013. So the Department of Energy has selected seven potential sites to be the national facility for mercury just as Nevada’s Yucca Mountain was once designated to become the storage location for radioactive waste.

The Energy Department has pinpointed the Kansas City Plant, formerly AlliedSignal, on Bannister Road. The massive plant, with its thick concrete walls and floors and 500-year flood protections, has manufactured non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons for half a century.

“To even propose that it could be used for the storage of toxic metals is mind-boggling,” said Kansas City Councilman John Sharp. “It would certainly cause irreparable harm or kill our economic development efforts for that area.”

Local, state and federal officials did not know Kansas City was on the list until contacted by a reporter.

Level 2 alert at Dungeness - only 2? - that's not much to worry about, now, is it?

Those nice people at Reuters bring us another of those ‘non-event’ tales we all know and love: this time, though, it’s from right here in the UK.  An incident in late June at the Dungeness B power station has been provisionally rated at level two on the seven-tier International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), the EDF-owned operating company said on Tuesday.

While connecting new fuel to a fuel plug unit on June 29, a piece of rubber was found to have become trapped, threatening the integrity of the connection.

"The coupling did not fail, there was no plant damage, no staff were injured and there was no release of radioactivity," plant operator British Energy said in a statement. "There was no impact on the safety of our workforce or the public at large and there was no damage to the plant. Both units continue to operate as normal."

Operations in the fuel building at the power station in southeast England ceased immediately and foam was injected under the fuel assembly as a precaution. A subsequent review confirmed that the foam used was not permitted under the rules.

The load has since been secured by fitting clamps and plant engineers are working on a plan to return the fuel handling equipment to full service safely. British Energy is investigating the cause of the event with UK nuclear safety authorities.

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New York, New York, so good they zapped it twice!

Our thanks to Christine Kearney and Reuters for this piece.

Thousands of additional law enforcement officers within 50 miles of New York City will have access to radiation detectors for dirty bombs and nuclear devices, New York police said recently.

The detectors, including cell phone-sized devices that officers wear on their belts, could help uncover a dirty bomb that might be assembled outside New York and smuggled in, police said at a security conference. New York Police Department officers have used such devices for several years.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said thousands of law enforcement officers would be using the devices in areas surrounding New York City, including state police and sheriff's departments in New Jersey and Connecticut.

New York remains the top target for terrorist groups planning attacks on the United States, police and lawmakers said, and the possibility of a radiological attack on a public transport system remained high. "We know that terrorists come here and we know that they are surveying here," said Captain Michael Riggio of the NYPD counter-terrorism division. The belt devices, which buzz when they detect radiation, are the "first line of defence" against a possible dirty bomb or a small-scale nuclear device.

IMalaysia should 'look seriously' at tapping into nuclear energy

 According to a news report we found tucked away on the pages of the New Straits Times online pages, Malaysia has the expertise to build its own nuclear power plant and earlier than scheduled.

Atomic Energy Licensing Board chairman, Prof Datuk Dr Noramly Muslim, said the country had around 80 PhD holders with expertise in nuclear engineering technology. "Some of these people who are nuclear trained are now chief executive officers in banks and big companies. "This is because we have put our (nuclear) programme on the back burner."

Noramly said only about 10 to 15 per cent of this expertise was required to operate a nuclear plant.

Prof Jong Hyun Kim, of the Nuclear and Quantum Engineering Department at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, said while it took his country some 20 years to build a nuclear power plant, Malaysia would need only half of that time.

According to Jong, Korea had only three nuclear scientists with PhDs when it embarked on building its first nuclear power plant but Malaysia today has so much more expertise and better technology and newer processes.

Jong said Malaysia should seriously look into tapping nuclear energy as a source of electricity in the long run. Tenaga Nasional Berhad had announced earlier in the week that it would start its nuclear power plant by 2025, once it got the green light from the government.

Energy Fuels want to change the rules at Pinion Ridge mill

Found recently on the pages of The Examiner, this report is by Ben Williams. Energy Fuels is trying to alter its special use permit application for their proposed uranium mill at Pinon Ridge, Colorado.  They want to open up the restriction, imposed by the Montrose Planning Commission, that states, “only raw uranium ore processed on-site may be stored in the tailings cells.”

The Montrose Daily Press reports that Energy Fuels CEO, George Glasier, brought up the proposed change for discussion late at the June 10 meeting. In testimony at the May 19 meeting in Nucla, before a large crowd in the high school gymnasium, Energy Fuels had publicly stated they had “no plans to process any material other than uranium ore.”

It now appears that Energy Fuels, facing an unstable uranium market, is scrabbling to increase profits by processing waste materials from other sites. The ability to accept, and dispose of, ‘source material’ would increase radioactive dumping at the proposed site, Energy Minerals Law Center attorney Travis Stills believes. “I think that we are looking at a special use permit for a mill that cannot make a decent profit on uranium ore and instead wants to get permitted as an industrial uranium-hazardous materials recycler.”

This “false recycling”, as it is known, uses waste streams from other contaminated sites to increase output of yellowcake at the mill, thus sparing producers expensive containment fees.  Meanwhile, tailings at the mill fill up faster.  The mill is paid to convert this waste, while avoiding fees from accepting product from mines and sites they do not own. 

Spanish watchdog gives Garona go-ahead for next 10 years

Martin Roberts, writing for Reuters, brings us this from Madrid. Spain's nuclear watchdog has made a non-binding recommendation that the ageing Garona power is safe enough to stay open for another 10 years. The government - which has pledged to phase out nuclear power - has the final say in deciding whether to renew an operating permit for the 500-megawatt plant in northern Spain, which expires on July 5.

The Nuclear Safety Council is not due to make public its recommendations until Monday, but it has handed them to the government and several newspapers reported them on their web sites. "The Council has unanimously concluded that it (the plant) complies with the minimum safety standards needed to extend its years of service by another decade," El Mundo reported without citing sources.

Garona is first of seven nuclear plants whose permits are up for renewal in the next two years, or well within the mandate of the Socialist government, which has pledged to gradually replace them with sources of renewable energy.

Prime Minister Jose Rodriguez Zapatero's government has not, however, ruled out extending the working lives of Spain's nuclear plants, which generate about 20 percent of electricity consumed in the country.

You couldn't make it up - confidential documents go public

This has been doing the rounds on various sites and so we had a look for you. Thanks to The New York Times.

The US federal government mistakenly made public a 266-page report, its pages marked “highly confidential,” that gives detailed information about hundreds of the nation’s civilian nuclear sites and programs, including maps showing the precise locations of stockpiles of fuel for nuclear weapons.

The publication of the document was revealed Monday in an online newsletter devoted to issues of federal secrecy. That set off a debate among nuclear experts about what dangers, if any, the disclosures posed. It also prompted a flurry of investigations in Washington into why the document had been made public. On Tuesday evening, after inquiries from The New York Times, the document was withdrawn from a Government Printing Office Web site.

Several nuclear experts argued that any dangers from the disclosure were minimal, given that the general outlines of the most sensitive information were already known publicly. “These screw-ups happen,” said John M. Deutch, a former director of central intelligence and deputy secretary of defence who is now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It’s going further than I would have gone but doesn’t look like a serious breach.”

But David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington that tracks nuclear proliferation, said information that shows where nuclear fuels are stored “can provide thieves or terrorists inside information that can help them seize the material, which is why that kind of data is not given out.”

The information, considered confidential but not classified, was assembled for transmission later this year to the International Atomic Energy Agency as part of a process by which the United States is opening itself up to stricter inspections in hopes that foreign countries, especially Iran and others believed to be clandestinely developing nuclear arms, will do likewise.

As of Tuesday evening, the reasons for that action remained a mystery. On its cover, the document referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed. But Lynne Weil, the committee spokeswoman, said the committee had “neither published it nor had control over its publication.”

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Slovakia plans new reactor build with a little help from their friends

Susan Houlton brings us this from Deutsche World web site.

When Slovakia joined the European Union five years ago, one of the terms of accession was that it shut down a Soviet-era nuclear plant by 2008.

But recent spats between gas supplier Russia and transit country Ukraine have left some European countries in the cold. Some nations, including Slovakia and its neighbour the Czech Republic, now think nuclear power may free them from their dependence on Russian natural gas.

State-run companies from the Czech Republic and Slovakia announced plans last week to build a new nuclear reactor in Jaslovske Bohunice on the site of the old Soviet power generator that was shut down last December.

The deal that was signed between Czech energy company CEZ AS and Slovak state energy firm JAVYS AS will set up a joint-stock company to construct a new U$5.2 billion reactor. JAVYS AS will have a 51 percent stake while CEZ will control 49 percent.

No further details were provided, but a feasibility study, due to be completed by 2010, will provide a timetable for the project.

New reactor test due at Volgodonsk in two weeks

Hydro testing of the new reactor at Russia's Volgodonsk nuclear power plant is to start in the next two weeks. The unit is set to start up in October according to a report carried by World Nuclear News.

The reactor is a V-320 type VVER pressurized water reactor which will produce 1000 MWe. Its construction had been stalled for some time but was kick-started again in 2007 as part of a major Russian initiative to maximise domestic nuclear power production in order to maximise the value of gas reserves.

Current activities include preparation for the washing-out of the water coolant lines as well as hydrostatic testing to confirm their integrity. The Volgodonsk plant is sometimes known as Rostov after its region. Four 1000 MWe VVER pressurized water reactors were planned there in the early 1980s and some construction took place before work was stopped.

Valery Limarenko of main contractor Nizhniy Novgorod Atomenergo  said, "We are entering the final straight... The second unit of Rostov is the starting point of the large scale construction of new nuclear reactors in our country. "

Test veterans get their own stretch of US Highway 400

Beccy Tanner, reporting for The Wichita Eagle, brings us this well-deserved report.

More than 50 atomic veterans were expected to attend a dedication for the Atomic Veterans Memorial Highway recently in Leon, Kansas. The 18 ½-mile stretch of U.S. 400 west of Leon is the first in the nation to earn the designation in tribute to U.S. military veterans exposed to radiation during atomic weapons testing from 1945 to 1963.

Gary Thornton of Leon and his friend Lawrence Halloran of Mulvane began a grassroots effort to gain national recognition for atomic test veterans in 2004. Thornton was exposed to alpha, beta and gamma radiation during four atomic tests in 1962, when he was a 19-year-old sailor on a minesweeper stationed 500 yards off Johnson Island, a nuclear test site.

The majority of veterans attending the ceremony were from Kansas, which has about 130 aging atomic veterans. Thornton and Halloran started a petition and wrote letters to politicians seeking additional benefits to help atomic veterans deal with illness caused by radiation.

The stretch of U.S. 400 -- from U.S. 77 in Augusta east to the Butler County line -- received the designation in a bill introduced by Reps. Ed Trimmer of Winfield and Dave Crum of Augusta. It became law last year.

The ceremony comes one day after U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, introduced companion legislation called the Atomic Veterans Service Medal Act. The bill would authorize a Department of Defence Service Medal to recognize members of the military who were exposed to radiation as a result of atomic weapons tests or patrolling ground zero at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Kirksanton nuke plans stall over prison evac plans

We found this interesting tale on the archive pages of the North West Evening Mail and thought you’d like to read this.

The proposal by RWE npower to construct a plant at Layriggs Farm in Kirksanton hangs in the balance unless Haverigg prison bosses agree to cooperate with the evacuation plan. Nuclear development manager for the project, Stuart Dagnall, revealed an emergency evacuation procedure must be agreed between the prison and nuclear bosses before any plans can be set in stone.

The prison, which stands less than a kilometre from the proposed 180-acre site, houses a population of 622 inmates and more than 300 staff – and all would have to be safely evacuated. A similar plan would be drawn up for any occupied building within a kilometre radius of the plant.

Mr Dagnall released the information while under fire from outraged Kirksanton residents at a heated public meeting. He said: “We are not saying there is going to be any problems but if we couldn’t provide one, we wouldn’t be able to build. An emergency plan would involve how we can affect an evacuation during an emergency. How readily can they be evacuated?”

The prison already has a fire evacuation procedure in place but new prison governor Martin Farquhar has admitted a full scale evacuation would be a difficult feat to achieve. “If they said we have to do it in an hour it is unlikely. For any evacuation plan we would need to meet initially with the relevant people. Nobody has been in touch with us at this time but if at some stage someone does approach us I will be happy to talk to them about it.”

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Jamaica: it would take 15 years to establish nuclear reactor on island

Daraine Luton, reporting for the pages of the Jamaica Gleaner brings us this report. Portia Simpson Miller's suggestion that Government consider nuclear energy as a source to support the national grid has been rejected by the Jamaican Government. Prime Minister Bruce Golding told Parliament on Tuesday that the proposal has been ruled out for a number of reasons.

"... Environmental concerns, extremely high capital costs, long lead time and the challenges involved in operations, maintenance, waste disposal and decommissioning," Golding said as he listed negatives.

The prime minister was making his contribution to the Budget Debate. According to Golding, for countries that do not already have nuclear facilities, it would take 15 years to establish a nuclear power reactor. "The siting of such plant would also be hazardous in a country of Jamaica's size and population density ... where would you put it?" the prime minister asked.

Both the Opposition and the Government have said that the development of the Jamaican economy will depend on the country's ability to source cheaper energy.

Russia's first floating power station nears completion - revisited

We noticed this in Sunday’s Observer – reported by John Vidal - but for those of you who have actually kept up with all our various ‘Nuggets’, you will remember that we have featured this tale once or twice in the last three years. So, whilst this is not exactly new news, here is an update.

A prototype floating nuclear power station (possibly the Lomonosov, but don’t quote me) being constructed at the SevMash shipyard in Severodvinsk is due to be completed next year. Agreement to build a further four was reached between the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, and the northern Siberian republic of Yakutiya in February.

The 70-megawatt plants, each of which would consist of two reactors on board giant steel platforms, would provide power to Gazprom, and would allow them to power drills needed to exploit some of the remotest oil and gas fields in the world in the Barents and Kara seas. The self-propelled vessels would store their own waste and fuel and would need to be serviced only once every 12 to 14 years.

Bellona, a leading Scandinavian environmental watchdog group, yesterday condemned the idea of using nuclear power to open the Arctic to oil, gas and mineral production. "It is highly risky. The risk of a nuclear accident on a floating power plant is increased. The plants' potential impact on the fragile Arctic environment through emissions of radioactivity and heat remains a major concern. If there is an accident, it would be impossible to handle," said Igor Kudrik, a spokesman.

There's a hole in my containment building, dear Liza, dear Liza..

It’s been a busy time for the NRC lately. Bill Vidonic, writing for Times Online, fills us in.

The recent discovery of a small hole in the steel lining of the reactor containment building of Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station’s Unit 1 in Pennsylvania, wasn’t the first time a breach has been found there, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman said Saturday.

Before Thursday’s discovery, no radiation was released from the building, and there was “no impact to the public health or safety of any employees,” FirstEnergy spokesman Todd Schneider said.

The Unit 1 reactor has been shut down since Monday for scheduled refuelling and maintenance. As part of that routine work, the containment building around the reactor was inspected. The containment building has concrete walls that are 4 feet thick and there’s a 3/8-inch-thick steel lining on top of that concrete in the building’s interior. The lining is a vapour barrier and would only be used to contain gases and radiation if there’s a serious problem with the nuclear reactor.

An inspection showed a blister in some of that coating: once the coating was cleaned workers found that the steel underneath had corroded through to the concrete wall. The affected area of the steel is a rectangle,  just under the size of a standard paper clip.

Hanford gets a case of bats in the belfry - I mean, water tank!

Annette Cary, writing for the Tri-City Herald web pages goes a bit, well, batty with this tale. The largest known colony of bats in Eastern Washington will keep its underground home at Hanford, the Department of Energy has determined.

A colony of about 2,000 Yuma myotis bats roosts from mid-March to mid-October in an underground concrete structure once used in north Hanford to hold water from the Columbia River before it was used at F Reactor.

The clearwell was scheduled to be demolished by the end of September as part of cleanup and restoration of the Hanford nuclear reservation. But that was before DOE contractor Washington Closure Hanford discovered the colony of bats using the clearwell in 2006.

As Washington Closure launched a study to find out more about the bats, DOE began to receive letters from other public agencies and wildlife groups urging it to find a way to let the bats remain. The Environmental Protection Agency, the regulator on the project, also agreed that the structure should be saved as a home for the bats.

"We didn't want to disturb such great bat habitat," said Craig Cameron, an EPA scientist. EPA concluded the structure had no chemical or radioactive contamination that would require it to be cleaned up, and DOE agreed the clearwell remained structurally sound.

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