Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

TEPCO Press Releases 5/14

1. New!(May 14,2011)Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 3:00 pm, May 14)
2. New!(May 14,2011)Out flow of fluid containing radioactive materials to the ocean from areas near intake canal of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (for the data taken on May 13)
3. New!(May 14,2011)Detection of Radioactive Materials from Subsurface Water near the Turbine Buildings of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
4. New!(May 14,2011)Detection of Radioactive Materials from Seawater near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (52nd release)
5. New!(May 14,2011)The results of nuclide analyses of radioactive materials in the air at the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (50th release)
6. New!(May 14,2011)Status of TEPCO's Facilities and its services after the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake (as of 3:00 PM, May 14)
7. New!(May 14,2011)Plant Status of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station (as of 3:00 pm, May 14th)
8. New!(May 14,2011)Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 10:00 am, May 14)
9. New!(May 14,2011)Status of TEPCO's Facilities and its services after the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake (as of 9:00 AM, May 14)
10. New!(May 14,2011)Bad Health of a Worker of a Sub-Contractor in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Indian Point and Arkansas Nuclear One Receive NEI Awards

Blog Post: Indian Point and Arkansas Nuclear One Receive NEI Awards

The 2011 Top Industry Practice awards were given by the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington D.C. with Entergy garnering national recognition in two categories: excellence in plant operations by the Indian Point Energy Center in New York for an equipment hatch plug and to Arkansas Nuclear One for materials and services excellence for the creation of the tungsten shielding and vest.

Commercial Nuclear Waste: Effects of a Termination of the Yucca Mountain Repository Program and Lessons Learned -- GAO

Commercial Nuclear Waste: Effects of a Termination of the Yucca Mountain Repository Program and Lessons Learned -- GAO

This report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO-11-229), dated April 2011, finds that "terminating the Yucca Mountain repository program could bring benefits, such as allowing DOE to search for a more acceptable alternative, which
could help avoid the costly delays experienced by Yucca Mountain. However,
there is no guarantee that a more acceptable or less costly alternative will be
identified; termination could instead restart a costly and time-consuming
process to find and develop an alternative permanent solution. It would also
likely prolong the need for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel at reactor
sites, which would have financial and other impacts. For example, the federal
government bears part of the storage costs as a result of industry lawsuits
over DOE’s failure to take custody of commercial spent nuclear fuel in 1998,
as required. These costs exceed $15.4 billion and could grow by an additional
$500 million a year after 2020."
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China's Energy and Carbon Emissions Outlook to 2050

China's Energy and Carbon Emissions Outlook to 2050

China keeps nuclear power target unchanged at 70 mln kw by 2020, but access threshold to be raised

China keeps nuclear power target unchanged at 70 mln kw by 2020, but access threshold to be raised



Xinhua Economic News Service

China Targets 70 gW Of Nuclear Power Capacity

China Targets 70 gW Of Nuclear Power Capacity

IAEA to probe safety of Malaysia rare earth plant

IAEA to probe safety of Malaysia rare earth plant

Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown Confirmed

Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown Confirmed

WEEK 3 Author's fiction turns horribly real By TOMOKO OTAKE Staff writer

WEEK 3

Author's fiction turns horribly real


Staff writer

Slovenia joins OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

Slovenia joins OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

The Republic of Slovenia has become the 30th member country of the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). The country, which obtains some 25% of its electricity from the Krsko nuclear power plant which it co-owns with Croatia, has been an observer on NEA standing committees since 2002 and joined the OECD in 2010. The NEA describes its mission as to assist its members in maintaining and developing the scientific, technological and legal bases required for a safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy through international cooperation.

Nuclear Catastrophe: How the lack of fundamental research on alternative energy led to a wrong energy policy

Nuclear Catastrophe: How the lack of fundamental research on alternative energy led to a wrong energy policy

The expansion of nuclear power during the past 60 years was dominated by the opinion that there is no alternative to nuclear energy. Presently it provides about 14% of the total energy. The policy makers even envisioned that this would be the energy of the future. The dangerous consequences, however, were not correctly predicted

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/05/14/nuclear-catastrophe-how-the-lack-of-fundamental-research-on-alternative-energy-led-to-a-wrong-energy-policy/

US nuclear power generators fail during tests news

US nuclear power generators fail during tests news

China's Nuclear Safety Review Impact 'Small,' Official Says

China's Nuclear Safety Review Impact 'Small,' Official Says

Nascent Anti-Nuclear Movement?

Nascent Anti-Nuclear Movement?

Fukushima Deadlier than Chernobyl? By Arthur Hu

Fukushima Deadlier than Chernobyl?

A Hole at Fukushima, and Problems with U.S. Reactors

Potential Energy

A Hole at Fukushima, and Problems with U.S. Reactors

The situation at Fukushima may be worse than thought, and the disaster response plans of U.S. plants are found wanting.
Kevin Bullis 05/13/2011
In the days following the dis

U.S. Needs To Be More Proactive In Protecting Our Nuclear Power

U.S. Needs To Be More Proactive In Protecting Our Nuclear Power

Fukushima reactor has a hole, leading to leakage

Fukushima reactor has a hole, leading to leakage

By Yoko Kubota and Scott DiSavino TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of the reactors at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has a hole in its main vessel following a meltdown of fuel rods, leading to a leakage of radioactive water, its operator said on Thursday.
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The Importance of the Nuclear Option

The Importance of the Nuclear Option

Greenpeace Co-Founder Remains Supporter

 

Plan to flood Fukushima reactor could cause new blast, experts warn

Plan to flood Fukushima reactor could cause new blast, experts warn

Plant operator Tepco reveals meltdown and breach of pressure vessel, with Greenpeace warning against pumping water in

Understanding the complete meltdown at Fukushima unit 1 - May 13, 2011

Understanding the complete meltdown at Fukushima unit 1 - May 13, 2011

Nuclear watchdog points to gaps in U.S. safety regulations

Nuclear watchdog points to gaps in U.S. safety regulations

Nuclear-Plant Emergency Equipment Flaws Cited by US After Inspections

Nuclear-Plant Emergency Equipment Flaws Cited by US After Inspections

Nuclear Expert Warns Congress U.S. Power Plants Not Safe

Nuclear Expert Warns Congress U.S. Power Plants Not Safe
Congressional lawmakers were warned today that U.S. nuclear power plants are by no means safe and that government agency and nuclear industry representatives have not been telling the whole story. 

52nd Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers

52nd Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers

Japan moves to secure 'too big to fail' TEPCO

Japan moves to secure 'too big to fail' TEPCO Tokyo (AFP) May 13, 2011 Stricken Tokyo Electric Power is "too big to fail", analysts say, not only because it powers Japan's economic heart but also because its collapse would create turmoil for the country's financial system. Asia's biggest power company, TEPCO supplies electricity for the megacity of Tokyo and the wider Kanto region, an area that accounts for more than a third of the nation's gross domestic product. The firm at the centre of the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years is also Japan's largest corpora ... read more
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Top DOE official: US “had difficulty grasping what was actually happening” at Fukushima (VIDEO)

Top DOE official: US “had difficulty grasping what was actually happening” at Fukushima (VIDEO)


May 13, 2011, 10:32 pm EST - Energy Dept: US will help contain Fukushima crisis, NHK, May 13, 2011: A high-ranking official at the US Energy Department says the United States will continue helping Japan to put the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant under control. Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman is the US government’s contact for the ongoing accident at the plant. [...] Referring to information offered by Japan right after the accident, Poneman said the US side had difficulty grasping what was ...

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What Those Fukushima Radiation Counts Really Mean: Analysis

What Those Fukushima Radiation Counts Really Mean: Analysis

Radiation safety expert Andrew Karam has written for Popular Mechanics about what went wrong at Fukushima and how Japan reacted to the emergency. Now he's just back from a trip to Japan, where he took radiation detectors to assess the contamination levels himself. Not all radiation measurements are created equal, so Karam walks us through what the numbers, and the different radiation units, really mean.

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福島第1原発:1号機2階 1000ミリシーベルト

福島第1原発:1号機2階 1000ミリシーベルト

2011年5月11日 13時2分 更新:5月11日 13時20分
経済産業省原子力安全・保安院は11日、東京電力福島第1原発1号機の原子炉建屋2階で、1時間当たり1000ミリシーベルトを超える高濃度の放 射性物質を測定したと発表した。1号機は冷却装置の設置に向けた準備を進めている。この数値は短時間での作業すら難しくする高い線量で、保安院の西山英彦 審議官は「冷却のための配管のつなぎこみ作業に影響するかもしれない」との見方を示した。
高かったのは、炉心を緊急に冷却するための装置の弁付近。10日午後0時45分から5分間計測したところ、床から1.6メートルの高さ付近では、計測器が振り切れたという。
1号機では9日にも同建屋1階で1時間当たり600~700ミリシーベルトが検出されている。【足立旬子】
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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Radiation on 2nd Floor of Reactor 1 Exceeded 1,000 Millisieverts/Hour

#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Radiation on 2nd Floor of Reactor 1 Exceeded 1,000 Millisieverts/Hour

Or more than 1 sievert/hour.

Fukushima Reactor 1 Radiation Levels Max Out Instruments, Hit Over 1,000,000 uSv per hour

Fukushima Reactor 1 Radiation Levels Max Out Instruments, Hit Over 1,000,000 uSv per hour

Tepco will install giant polyester covers over the Fukushima reactors

Australia predicts uranium production to double

Australia predicts uranium production to double

OECD nuclear generation 10 TWH ahead of 2010 for first two months and Australia talks about doubling Uranium production

OECD nuclear generation 10 TWH ahead of 2010 for first two months and Australia talks about doubling Uranium production

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Draft Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission



The draft recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission are now online.  These are PDF files accessible at the cited URL.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Operator of Japan's Stricken Nuclear Plant Has Been "Going Round and Round in Circles" Using the Wrong Approach

Operator of Japan's Stricken Nuclear Plant Has Been "Going Round and Round in Circles" Using the Wrong Approach

THREE Nuclear Containment Vessels Leaking in Japan ... But U.S. Law Is Based on Assumption that It Is Impossible for Containment Vessels to Leak

Fukushima - One Step Forward and Four Steps Back as Each Unit Challenged by New Problems

Fukushima - One Step Forward and Four Steps Back as Each Unit Challenged by New Problems

Gundersen says Fukushima's gaseous and liquid releases continue unabated. With a meltdown at Unit 1, Unit 4 leaning and facing possible collapse, several units contaminating ground water, and area school children outside the exclusion zone receiving adult occupational radiation doses, the situation continues to worsen. TEPCO needs a cohesive plan and international support to protect against world-wide contamination.
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At Reactor, Damage Worse Than Feared Unit at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant Came Closer to Meltdown Than Previously Revealed;

At Reactor, Damage Worse Than Feared

Unit at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant Came Closer to Meltdown Than Previously Revealed; Questions Over Quake's Role

Report seeks restart of Yucca Mountain project

Report seeks restart of Yucca Mountain project

Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes TEPCO concedes severe fuel damage at Fukushima

Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes

TEPCO concedes severe fuel damage at Fukushima

For the first time utility says fuel has "melted" and may be "crumbled" at bottom of the reactor pressure vessel for reactor

UPDATE 1-Bulgaria opens dry spent nuclear fuel depot

UPDATE 1-Bulgaria opens dry spent nuclear fuel depot

Pakistan opens China-backed nuclear power plant

Pakistan opens China-backed nuclear power plant

US NRC rules on backup power, fuel inadequate, lawmaker says

US NRC rules on backup power, fuel inadequate, lawmaker says

Bloomberg Japan Reactor Core Damage Worse Than Feared, Delaying Cleanup

Bloomberg

Japan Reactor Core Damage Worse Than Feared, Delaying Cleanup

NRC task force: US nuclear plants still safe

NRC task force: US nuclear plants still safe

Disaster Plan Problems Found at U.S. Nuclear Plants By MATTHEW L. WALD

Disaster Plan Problems Found at U.S. Nuclear Plants

The Future of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Can LWRs Meet Post-Carbon Energy Demands?

The Future of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Can LWRs Meet Post-Carbon Energy Demands?

Nuclear fission can help solve George Monbiot’s environmentalist dilemma

Nuclear fission can help solve George Monbiot’s environmentalist dilemma

Al Qaeda planned attacks on US nuclear power plants after 9/11: WikiLeaks

Al Qaeda planned attacks on US nuclear power plants after 9/11: WikiLeaks

99 percent on siren test at NY's Indian Point nuke

99 percent on siren test at NY's Indian Point nuke

NRC:No Environmental Risks From Proposed Maryland Nuclear Reactor

NRC:No Environmental Risks From Proposed Maryland Nuclear Reactor

Planned nuclear reactor clears environmental review

Planned nuclear reactor clears environmental review

Staying the Course, Post-Fukushima By MATTHEW L. WALD

Staying the Course, Post-Fukushima

Fans of nuclear power neglect to list high risks and costs

Fans of nuclear power neglect to list high risks and costs

India Seeks Uranium Mines Overseas

India Seeks Uranium Mines Overseas

Bushehr N. Reactor on Threshold of Full Launch

Bushehr N. Reactor on Threshold of Full Launch
TEHRAN (FNA)- The main reactor of Iran's first nuclear power plant in the Southern port city of Bushehr will be launched within weeks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

Nuke plant may face 2nd violation

Nuke plant may face 2nd violation

The nuclear power plant near Omaha has been notified by federal regulators that it may face consequences for a second significant safety violation.

Giant Polyester Sheets To Cover Nuclear Reactor Buildings

Giant Polyester Sheets To Cover Nuclear Reactor Buildings

IEA: The world needs nuclear

IEA: The world needs nuclear

Japan, Germany curtail nuclear power plans, but industry moves forward in rest of the world

Japan, Germany curtail nuclear power plans, but industry moves forward in rest of the world

Update on Fukushima reactors from Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (10 pages)

Update on Fukushima reactors from Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (10 pages)

Panel on Nuclear Waste Disposal to Propose Above-Ground Storage By MATTHEW L. WALD

Panel on Nuclear Waste Disposal to Propose Above-Ground Storage

TEPCO Press Releases 5/13

1. New!(May 13,2011)The results of nuclide analyses of radioactive materials in the air at the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (49th release)
2. New!(May 13,2011)Commencement of a preparation work for the installation of a cover for the reactor building of Unit 1, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
3. New!(May 13,2011)Detection of trace amount of radioactive materials by the regular monitoring at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station (continued report)
4. New!(May 13,2011)Out flow of fluid containing radioactive materials to the ocean from areas near intake canal of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 (continued report 39)
5. New!(May 13,2011)Status of TEPCO's Facilities and its services after the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake (as of 3:00 PM, May 13)
6. New!(May 13,2011)Detection of Radioactive Materials from Seawater near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (51st release)
7. New!(May 13,2011)Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 3:00 pm, May 13)
8. New!(May 13,2011)Power Supply and Demand Outlook in This Summer and Measures(3rd Release)
9. New!(May 13,2011)Plant Status of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station (as of 3:00 pm, May 13th)
10. New!(May 13,2011)Status of TEPCO's Facilities and its services after the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake (as of 9:00 AM, May 13)
11. New!(May 13,2011)Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 10:00 am, May 13)
12. New!(May 13,2011)Comment of the president regarding the announcement on "Government support scheme for the damages caused by nuclear accident"
13. New!(May 13,2011)TEPCO's correspondences for pursuant to the government's decision regarding "Emergency support to the afflicted people with the nuclear accident"