Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Is Fukushima a Roadblock, or Just a Speed Bump? By MATTHEW L. WALD
Is Fukushima a Roadblock, or Just a Speed Bump?
By MATTHEW L. WALDINTERVIEW/ Tadashi Maeda: Japan should nationalize all nuclear power plants
INTERVIEW/ Tadashi Maeda: Japan should nationalize all nuclear power plants
BY NAOYUKI FUKUDA STAFF WRITERChina’s Energy Rise and the Future of U.S.-China Energy Relations
China’s Energy Rise and the Future of U.S.-China Energy Relations
IAEA Nuclear Safety Conference Concludes
16 June 2011 | On Monday, 20 June 2011, the IAEA convenes a five-day Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, following the 11 March 2011 nuclear accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan, caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, to learn lessons from the accident and to strengthen nuclear safety throughout the world. 
16 June 2011 | Who is responsible for nuclear safety and how does the international community ensure it? These questions are presented in this concise FAQ.
IAEA safety standards provide a system of fundamental safety principles, safety requirements and safety guides for ensuring safety. They reflect international consensus on what constitutes a high level of safety for protecting people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. 
A five-day Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, convened by the IAEA in Vienna commenced on Monday, 20 June 2011. In the wake of the 11 March 2011 nuclear accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan that was caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the Conference was called to identify the lessons learned from the accident and to strengthen nuclear safety throughout the world. 
Director General Yukiya Amano addressed the opening of the five-day Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, laying out his vision for the future of global nuclear safety and the IAEA's role in that future. 
Conference President Antonio Guerreiro addressed the five-day Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, and stated that, "it is incumbent on all of us to take stock of the Fukushima Daiichi accident and to learn the lessons it teaches us as we strive to enhance nuclear safety worldwide." 
In a message to the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, "To the people of Japan, I offer my deepest sympathies as well as my pledge to do all I can to ensure that no such tragedy ever happens again at a nuclear facility" and "I look forward to the Agency's development of concrete proposals, including for strengtehning cooperation among international organizations." 
The Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety adopted the Declaration on Nuclear Safety by acclamation. 
The first day of the five-day Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety concluded with the adoption of a declaration by IAEA Member States. The declaration called for a number of improvements to global nuclear safety, while stressing the need to receive from Japan and the IAEA a comprehensive and fully transparent assessment of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident to be able to act upon the lessons learned, including a review of the relevant IAEA safety standards, in particular those pertaining to multiple severe hazards. 
The second day of plenary sessions for the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety resumes with statements from the delegates of Chile and Malaysia. Statements from IAEA Member States will be delivered throughout the day in the Plenary Hall. In the afternoon, Working Session 2 on Emergency Preparedness and Response, will open at the M-Building at 3 p.m., and will be chaired by the Director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, A. de la Rosa. The 
In May, the IAEA sent an international fact-finding mission to Japan to make a preliminary assessment of the safety issues linked with the accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations, following the earthquake and tsunami in March. The purpose of this 10–day mission was to identify lessons from the Japanese nuclear accident that could improve global nuclear safety. The team was led by Michael Weightman, Chief Inspector of nuclear installations of the United Kingdom. He discusses the purpose of the mission, its findings and his visit to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. 
Statements of the delegates to the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety are posted online as they become available, and as received by the Conference Secretariat. Statements are available in pdf format only. 
Working Session 2 on Emergency Preparedness and Response of the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety resumes today at the M-Building of the Vienna International Centre. Plenary sessions ended yesterday with all statements from delegations having been delivered and will resume Friday to hear presentations from the working groups. The full text of selected 
The third working session of the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety opened at 3:00 p.m. today at Board Room A of the M-Building of the Vienna International Centre and will focus on the Global Nuclear Safety Framework. Richard Meserve, President of the Carnegie Institution in the US, is the session's Chairperson.
The third working session of the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety resumes today at Board Room A of the M Building of the Vienna International Centre. The session is focused on the Global Nuclear Safety Framework and is being chaired by Richard Meserve, President of the Carnegie Institution in the US. In the afternoon, preparatory work for the summaries of all three working session swill commence for presentation to the Plenary on Friday morning.
The report of the IAEA Expert Mission to Japan from late May to early June 2011 is an important input to the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety. This photo gallery highlights some of the activities of the team in the field. 
A Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna will end Friday, 24 June, with a final plenary session and a joint news conference featuring IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and Conference President Antonio Guerreiro of Brazil. Conference Highlights: Friday, 24 June 2011
Conference Holds Final Session
The Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety holds its final plenary session today at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna to discuss recommendations and summaries of the working sessions held during the week. In his concluding address to the conference, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said this week's deliberations will provide valuable guidance as the Agency prepares an Action Plan on the way ahead, which will then be submitted to the IAEA Board of Governors and the General Conference in September. Director General Statement → :: Video →Chairperson's Summaries
The conference today also considered the summaries from the three working sessions held throughout the week. These sessions were on preliminary assessment of the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Nuclear Power Station and actions for safety improvements; emergency preparedness and response; and the global nuclear safety framework. Summaries →Behind the Scenes at the Conference
The Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna concluded today, 24 June, with a final plenary session that considered recommendations and discussions related to improving nuclear safety around the world. Following are some images of what transpired "behind the scenes". View Gallery →IAEA Nuclear Safety Conference Concludes
The IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety concluded five days of deliberations at the organization's headquarters in Vienna on 24 June 2011. The Conference was called to identify lessons learned from the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan that was caused by an earthquake and tsunami on 11 March. Story →IAEA Ministers' Declaration Envisions Strengthened Nuclear Safety Regime
Ministers' Declaration Envisions Strengthened Nuclear Safety Regime
Delegates at the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)
- Photo Gallery: Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, Flickr
- Director General Statement, 20 June 2011
- A Safer System for Nuclear Power Operation, 20 June 2011
- Nuclear Safety Conference Opens in Vienna, 20 June 2011
- Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, 20 - 24 June 2011
- Conference Information
- Declaration on Nuclear Safety, 20 June 2011
- IAEA Expert Mission to Japan, Mission Report, 16 June 2011
- FAQs on Nuclear Safety, IAEA Factsheet, 16 June 2011
- Legal Framework for Nuclear Safety: At a Glance, 15 June 2011
- IAEA Activities in Response to Fukushima Accident, IAEA Board Report, 3 June 2011
- IAEA Expert Mission to Japan, Preliminary Summary, 1 June 2011
- International Fact-Finding Mission Updates
- Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log
- In Focus: Fukushima Nuclear Accident
- In Focus: Strengthening Safety at Nuclear Facilities
- In Focus: Nuclear Security
- Listen to this story
Story Resources
The declaration called for a number of improvements to global nuclear safety, while stressing the need to receive from Japan and the IAEA a comprehensive and fully transparent assessment of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident to be able to act upon the lessons learned, including a review of the relevant IAEA safety standards, in particular those pertaining to multiple severe hazards.
It also underlined the benefits of strengthened and high quality independent international safety expert assessments, in particular within the established IAEA framework. The Ministers expressed their commitment to strengthening the central role of the IAEA in promoting international cooperation to strengthen global nuclear safety.
The declaration also pointed to the need to improve national, regional and international emergency preparedness and response to nuclear accidents, and called for the IAEA to have a stronger role by promoting and possibly expanding existing IAEA response and assistance capabilities.
Ministers called for increased education and training for nuclear regulators and operators, and underscored the need for a truly global nuclear liability regime.
Finally, the Ministers asked that the Director General prepare and present a report on the Conference and a draft Action Plan. The Action Plan will address relevant issues related to nuclear safety, emergency preparedness and response and radiation protection of people and the environment, as well as the international legal framework. In their Declaration, the Ministers called upon the IAEA Board of Governors to fund the implementation of the Action Plan adequately.
High-level Participation
The conference was opened by its President, Ambassador Antonio Guerreiro of Brazil, who said, "It is incumbent on all of us to take stock of the Fukushima Daiichi accident and to learn the lessons it teaches us as we strive to enhance nuclear safety worldwide."
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's address to the Conference focused on five key areas which contribute to establishing a realistic and enhanced post-Fukushima nuclear safety framework. These included stronger IAEA Safety Standards, more frequent safety reviews at nuclear installations, more independent national nuclear regulation, enhanced global emergency preparedness and an expanded mechanism by which the IAEA receives and disseminates information to include providing analysis and possible scenarios on how a crisis might develop and the associated radiological impact.
A message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was presented by Sergio Duarte, High Representative for Disarmament, emphasizing the need for universal responsibility for nuclear safety. "Nuclear safety is widely viewed as a global public good; its success serves the interests of people everywhere, but its failure can lead to disasters that respect no national boundaries." The UN Secretary General noted that a UN system-wide study on the full implications of the Fukushima accident had been launched.
The statement was followed by national statements Ministers and high-level officials.
Working Groups
During the Ministerial Conference, three working groups are discussing the preliminary assessment of the Fukushima accident and actions for safety improvements, emergency preparedness and response, as well as possible ways to strengthen the global nuclear safety framework.
The first working group began discussions on 20 June, in which Chairperson Mike Weightman, HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations of the United Kingdom, presented the findings from the IAEA expert Mission to Japan, which he led.
Preliminary findings
The expert team made several preliminary findings and identified lessons learned, including: the tsunami hazard for several sites was underestimated. Nuclear plant designers and operators should appropriately evaluate and protect against the risks of all natural hazards, and should periodically update those assessments and assessment methodologies; nuclear regulatory systems should address extreme events adequately, including their periodic review, and should ensure that regulatory independence and clarity of roles are preserved; and the Japanese accident demonstrates the value of hardened on-site Emergency Response Centres with adequate provisions for handling all necessary emergency roles, including communications.
See Story Resources for more information.
Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes TVA’s basis for building Bellefonte
Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes
TVA’s basis for building Bellefonte
The New York Times cites critics calling it a “salvage heap.”Can We Believe Everything We've Heard About Shale Gas
Can We Believe Everything We've Heard About Shale Gas
Newly accessible natural gas from deep shale deposits around the world has been touted as a solution to everything from oil dependence to climate change. But our actual experience with shale gas extraction is telling another story.
The natural gas industry would like you to believe that newly accessible gas previously locked away in deep shale deposits is set to make natural gas the dominant fuel of the 21st century. Presumably, that's because natural gas is cleaner, produces fewer greenhouse gases, and will supposedly be widely available at reasonable prices. Therefore, we'll be using it to generate more of our electricity,
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The natural gas industry would like you to believe that newly accessible gas previously locked away in deep shale deposits is set to make natural gas the dominant fuel of the 21st century. Presumably, that's because natural gas is cleaner, produces fewer greenhouse gases, and will supposedly be widely available at reasonable prices. Therefore, we'll be using it to generate more of our electricity,
Read more...
Russia Invited to Join the IEA
Russia Invited to Join the IEA
Russia and other producer nations are invited into the International Energy Agency in response to high oil prices and uncertain global energy security.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) serves as a worldwide organization ensuring oil and energy security to its member nations. The IEA was developed in response to the OPEC oil crisis in the 1970s, to help member nations coordinate energy supply in case such a major market fluctuation ever occurs again. The organization is now looking to initiate Russia into its energy regime, setting aside the dissolved Cold War era issues that barred the nation from entering in the
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http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Russia-Invited-to-Join-the-IEA.html
The International Energy Agency (IEA) serves as a worldwide organization ensuring oil and energy security to its member nations. The IEA was developed in response to the OPEC oil crisis in the 1970s, to help member nations coordinate energy supply in case such a major market fluctuation ever occurs again. The organization is now looking to initiate Russia into its energy regime, setting aside the dissolved Cold War era issues that barred the nation from entering in the
Read more...
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Russia-Invited-to-Join-the-IEA.html
The Beginning of the Nuclear Renaissance Will Not be Televised
The Beginning of the Nuclear Renaissance Will Not be Televised
According to the United Nations energy organization (IAEA), statistics indicate that for 2009 and 2010, nuclear reactors in Sweden and Germany managed by the Swedish firm Vattenfall had the lowest capacity factors in the (nuclear) world. Fifty-five percent was the figure given by that organization for the average availability of Swedish equipment, which is very different from the up-beat impression I attempt to provide of Swedish nuclear efforts in my forthcoming energy economics textbook (2011).
‘My goodness, but how the mighty have fallen”, to paraphrase an observation by a high ranking German officer in Theodor Plievier’s brilliant war novel Stalingrad (1949).
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‘My goodness, but how the mighty have fallen”, to paraphrase an observation by a high ranking German officer in Theodor Plievier’s brilliant war novel Stalingrad (1949).
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Big Oil Sees the Future and it’s Biofuels
Big Oil Sees the Future and it’s Biofuels
The Earth is floating in hydrocarbons, yet the easy oil is in the hands of dictators, kleptocrats, and corrupt national oil companies. Oil is not only used for fuels, it is also used for feedstock in the chemicals, fabrics, plastics, and lubricants industries. When big international oil companies and big international chemical companies are being held hostage by corrupt tin-pot national oil companies, what do they do? They look for alternative sources and feedstocks. The most promising alternative feedstocks come from biology biomass and bio-oils from micro- and macro-organisms.
Many new companies and industries are sprouting up to exploit the
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Many new companies and industries are sprouting up to exploit the
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Russia Considers Importing Australian Uranium for Processing
Russia Considers Importing Australian Uranium for Processing
Russia’s Rosatom atomic state corporation director-general Sergei Kirienko told reporters that he and Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office head Robert Floyd have exchanged letters that effectively constitute a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in accordance with Article 12 of a bilateral Russian-Australian intergovernmental agreement on civilian use of atomic energy.
A source speaking on condition of anonymity said that the MoU allows Russia to export Australian uranium for processing at Russian enterprises, commenting, "By exchanging letters, we are setting the memorandum of understanding in motion. All this has created the legal basis for our cooperation," Russia’s news agency Interfax reported.
Floyd said that
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A source speaking on condition of anonymity said that the MoU allows Russia to export Australian uranium for processing at Russian enterprises, commenting, "By exchanging letters, we are setting the memorandum of understanding in motion. All this has created the legal basis for our cooperation," Russia’s news agency Interfax reported.
Floyd said that
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Russia Tests Aerial Spent Nuclear Fuel Transport Containers
Russia Tests Aerial Spent Nuclear Fuel Transport Containers
The Russian Federal Nuclear Center in Sarov has completed successful tests of the world's first aerial transport container for spent nuclear fuel from research reactors.
The Russian Federal Nuclear Center in Sarov in Nizhnii Novgorod oblast undertook the reportedly successful tests, the Press Center of Nuclear Energy and Industry reported.
The tests involved transport packaging containers for transporting spent nuclear fuel from TUK-145/S research reactors by air and were undertaken in order ascertain that the containers met the requirements of Russian and international regulations applied for S-type containers used for transporting research reactors’ spent nuclear fuel by air.
The spent nuclear fuel TUK-145/S
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The Russian Federal Nuclear Center in Sarov in Nizhnii Novgorod oblast undertook the reportedly successful tests, the Press Center of Nuclear Energy and Industry reported.
The tests involved transport packaging containers for transporting spent nuclear fuel from TUK-145/S research reactors by air and were undertaken in order ascertain that the containers met the requirements of Russian and international regulations applied for S-type containers used for transporting research reactors’ spent nuclear fuel by air.
The spent nuclear fuel TUK-145/S
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A Clean Way to Use the United States Abundant Coal Reserves
A Clean Way to Use the United States Abundant Coal Reserves
The US has roughly 1 trillion barrels of oil equivalent in coal resources, or more. It has twice that amount in kerogen resources, but we are looking at coal specifically. The challenge has been to find ways to burn this massive coal resource cleanly, so as to provide abundant and inexpensive electrical power and heat to what should have been a healthy economy if not for a government policy of planned energy starvation.
Georgia Tech. researchers have
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Georgia Tech. researchers have
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How to Incinerate the Entire U.S. Stockpile of Nuclear Waste Within 20 Years
How to Incinerate the Entire U.S. Stockpile of Nuclear Waste Within 20 Years
Many billions of dollars have been spent on large scale fusion efforts such as the National Ignition Facility in Livermore or ITER in France. But if the best use of fusion in the intermediate term is to burn up non-recyclable nuclear waste from fission reactors, perhaps the smaller-scale, cheaper approaches might be better? Small efforts such as Bussard IEC fusion, Focus Fusion, General Fusion, Tri Alpha etc. are the sentimental favourites, because they are the work of relatively small groups with low budgets. Their reactors would be small enough to mass produce in factories. And maybe they could even provide
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Public Support for Nuclear Energy Outlined in New Poll
Public Support for Nuclear Energy Outlined in New Poll
Ipsos MORI, one of the United Kingdom’s largest and best known research companies, has released a new public opinion survey of citizens in 24 countries on their view of nuclear energy.
According to the survey 62 percent of citizens in the 24 countries surveyed worldwide now oppose the use of civilian nuclear facilities to generate electricity, with a startling quarter of those having changed their minds in the wake of the March Fukushima accident.
The most anti-nuclear nations in the poll, at about 80 percent against, Included Italy and Germany, both of which have decided to shutter their nuclear programs, along with
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According to the survey 62 percent of citizens in the 24 countries surveyed worldwide now oppose the use of civilian nuclear facilities to generate electricity, with a startling quarter of those having changed their minds in the wake of the March Fukushima accident.
The most anti-nuclear nations in the poll, at about 80 percent against, Included Italy and Germany, both of which have decided to shutter their nuclear programs, along with
Read more...
Environment Ministry sets radiation limit for swimming areas
Environment Ministry sets radiation limit for swimming areas
IAEA director general presented proposals for strengthening nuclear safety
IAEA director general presented proposals for strengthening nuclear safety
TEPCO Press Releases 6/25
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