This week on Nuclear Green, I offered a three part interview with Sherrell Greene a recently retired senior ORNL reactor researcher. In the first part of the interview, Greene discusses his ORNL accomplishments, and his contributions to nuclear safety.
http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/2011/11/sherrell-greene-on-his-accomplishments.html

The second part of the Greene Interview, Sherrell Greene discusses Fluoride Salt Reactors including AHTRs, SmAHTRs and MSRs,
http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/2011/11/sherrell-greene-on-ahtrs-smahtrs-and.html

Finally in the third part of his interview, Dr. Greene discusses Liquid Chloride Reactors, the problem that "business as usual" will pose for the future of the nuclear industry, and the possibility of a new Manhattan Project. http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/2011/11/sherrell-greene-on-liquid-chloride.html

- Charles Barton

IAEA Publication: Stress Corrosion Cracking in Light Water Reactors: Good Practices and Lessons Learned

IAEA Nuclear Energy Series NP-T-3.13
Available here: http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/P1522_web.pdf

New IAEA Publications on Emergency Preparedness and Response

http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/8699/EPR-Research-Reactor-Attachment-1-Generic-Procedures-for-Response-to-a-Nuclear-or-Radiological-Emergency-at-TRIGA-Research-Reactors ;

http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/8698/EPR-Research-Reactor-Generic-Procedures-for-Response-to-a-Nuclear-or-Radiological-Emergency-at-Research-Reactors ;

http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/8697/Generic-Procedures-for-Response-to-a-Nuclear-or-Radiological-Emergency-at-Research-Reactors-Training-Material ;

http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/8735/Cytogenetic-Dosimetry-Applications-in-Preparedness-for-and-Response-to-Radiation-Emergencies

Presentations from the EUROSAFE Forum

The EUROSAFE Forum 2011 has taken place on November 7th and 8th, 2011 in Paris, France.
The main topic of the forum was "Nuclear Safety: New Challenges, Gained Experience and Public Expectations".
Presentations are available here: http://www.eurosafe-forum.org/eurosafe-forum-2011

A New Source of Vital Energy for Australia

A New Source of Vital Energy

ExxonMobil Is Betting $30 BILLION That They Can Push 9.9 Billion Cubic Feet Per Day Of Natural Gas Into The World Energy Market

Friday, November 18, 2011

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Options: DOE Needs to Enhance Planning for Technology Assessment and Collaboration with Industry and Other Countries -- GAO

from PEN-e from Pace Law School Library by Pace Law School Library

This Government Accountability Office Report (GAO-12-70 October 17, 2011) finds that the (DOE) issued a research and development (R&D) plan to select nuclear fuel cycles and technologies, some of which reprocess spent fuel and recycle some nuclear material, such as plutonium. These fuel cycles may help reduce the generation of spent fuel and risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism. GAO was asked to review (1) DOE's approach to selecting nuclear fuel cycles and technologies, (2) DOE's efforts to reduce proliferation and terrorism risks, and (3) selected countries' experiences in reprocessing and recycling spent fuel. GAO reviewed DOE's plan and met with officials from DOE, the nuclear industry, and France and the United Kingdom.

Energy Innovation Summit -- DOE

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) will hold its third annual Energy Innovation Summit from February 27–29, 2012 at the Gaylord Convention Center just outside Washington, D.C.

"Now in its third year, the Summit is designed to unite key players from all sectors of the nation’s energy innovation community to share ideas for developing and deploying the next generation of clean energy technologies. The event is co-hosted by ARPA-E and Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI).

DOE Auditor Calls for Restructuring National Labs

IAEA Board Reproaches Iran on Nuclear Efforts

Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes The next generation of nuclear engineers will be raised on games

Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes

The next generation of nuclear engineers will be raised on games

Massive multi-player experiences, and social media, are formative experiences the nuclear industry should leverage to recruit new talent

Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes French nuclear fleet could be sunk by Socialists

Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes

French nuclear fleet could be sunk by Socialists

Idaho Samizdat: Nuke NotesDucks on the pond - the uncertain path of the nuclear renaissance

Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes

Ducks on the pond - the uncertain path of the nuclear renaissance

Southern Co. Assembling 4,000 Acres in Fla. Panhandle for Power Plant, Possibly Nuclear

Nuclear Plant Construction Likely to Restart in China, Although New Projects on Hold

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Weekly Review (With Video)

Waste Management” in Nuclear News

Second Japanese Utility Submits Stress Test Results to Regulator

TEPCO Reports Water in Reactor Vessel Remains Below Boiling Point

The Real Nuclear Deal

India's Future Nuclear Energy Plans Hit Protest Snags

from OilPrice.com Daily News Update by admin@namecake.com (John Daly)

It seems hard to believe, but less than a year ago the world’s nuclear energy companies seemed on a roll, as rising concerns about global warming, allied with a lack of major nuclear incidents since the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster, indicated that nuclear energy with its carbon-free emission track record, could benefit countries seeking both power expansion and winning plaudits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Then came the 11 March destruction of Japan’s six-reactor Daichi Fukushima nuclear power complex by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Since then, a number of countries have stepped back from the nuclear brink, most notably Germany, which
Read more...

China’s Anti-Access Missile

from The Diplomat by Harry Kazianis

China’s much discussed anti-ship missile, the DF-21D, is a dangerous weapon. It’s also at the heart of the People’s Liberation Army’s anti-access/access denial (A2/AD) strategy, aimed at denying an enemy surface fleet command of the high seas. Fired from a mobile truck-mounted launcher into the atmosphere, with assistance from over-the-horizon radar, satellite tracking and possibly unmanned aerial vehicles, a warhead is delivered to its target at a speed greater than sound. Currently, the system utilizes a single warhead per missile. But could the system be expanded to fire multiple warheads from one missile – so-called “MIRV” capability, with two or even three warheads per missile? Its been done before. Back in the 1970s, the Soviet Union developed an intermediate range ballistic missile to target NATO strategic and tactical forces, the SS-20. The missile system was mobile and could strike with three independently targeted warheads. The United States regarded the system as ... Read More...

Will 21st Century Be China’s?

from The Diplomat by Edward Friedman

The big question in international affairs is how much clout will China have in the 21st century? One way to get at this unknowable future is to put China’s rise in comparative perspective. By the mid-1990’s, pundits in China began to call the 21st century China’s century. This prediction was premised on the idea that the 20th century was the American century and that U.S. predominance would be replaced by that of China. To be sure, as World War II drew to an end, the United States became a hyper power. Given the devastation of Europe and Japan, the U.S. suddenly had industry, gold, money, military, education opportunities and more that far exceeded any other power. To avoid a repeat of the depression horrors that followed World War I, the United States helped establish win-win international institutions, with the Bretton Woods system, nourished by an open American market, helping post-war Europe and Japan ... Read More...

Christine Todd Whitman: “Nuclear Needs to Remain Central”

from AREVA North America: Next Energy Blog by AREVA North America Blog

In Attack on AP-1000, Anti-Nuke Gundersen Hits a New Low

The buck stops at Secretary Chu

Energy Secretary Chu should bear full responsibility for the non-development of the molten salt reactor approach.

TEDx New England – Nuclear entrepreneurs aiming to use waste for fuel

Into the Pea Ridge with Thorium

Arabs push nuke energy despite Fukushima

Fukushima rice banned by Japan

Tests on rice from Onami district found it had elevated levels of radioactive caesium

N-fuel conditions unclear

The latest timetable for bringing a nuclear fuel meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control shows the situation is no longer in the critical condition it was immediately following the accident, but many issues remain unsolved.

atomic power review Radioactive water at Fukushima Daiichi - new video

atomic power review

Radioactive water at Fukushima Daiichi - new video

TEPCO has released the fourth, and final, video in its series covering the handling of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi. This series has been of particular interest to this writer; after the gravity of the entire accident scenario had become clear (or clear enough) one of the first real races against time was that involved with finding enough storage capacity for the water that was being used to cool the three damaged reactors, since it clearly was leaking out of the reactors and not only entering the reactor buildings but the turbine buildings and even outside pipeways ("trenches" in TEPCO's parlance.) From that point on, a number of simultaneous plans were launched to secure storage and to process this water and for quite some time it seemed as if the company were only a step or less ahead of the water buildup.

Quite the opposite is now the case, and in fact, even with the early growing pains that the water cleanup systems had, TEPCO appears to have mastered the situation.

Shell's China Moves

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant and state-owned PetroChina have teamed up to get gas out of the ground in China—and to tap new sources of energy worldwide

Money Is The Lynchpin In Energy Development

By Amelia Timbers, November 18, 2011
Money, money, money, money! Energy!That's not how the O Jays' song goes. But it may as well, and its my mental soundtrack whenever I engage in discussions of green finance. Financing and funding is a key holdup in renewable development, and indeed, in almost ever sustainability policy effort I can think of.What's frustrating is that it's not that the ROI hasn't been proven for most mainstream... » Continue...

Government Energy Innovation: Well Worth It

By Walter Frick, November 18, 2011
The Washington Post ran a piece in its Outlook section this weekend on government investments in energy that is rightly getting significant push back. The piece ran under the provocative headline: Before Solyndra, a long history of failed government energy projects. (It was, unfortunately, one of a few negative stories from the weekend.) Here’s the Post’s lede:... » Continue...

China rolls out its first 1000mw nuclear reactor

Plant Vogtle expansion will create jobs

India, US review nuclear safety

Davis-Besse to stay shut until probe ends

Ted Quinn: No Fukushima-type disaster for California, U.S.

WisBusiness: Legislator looks to end Wisconsin's nuke moratorium next year

WisBusiness: Legislator looks to end Wisconsin's nuke moratorium next year

India Limits Liability Of Nuclear Power Equipment Suppliers

UK nuclear builders say unfazed by Fukushima delays

Who will foot the bill to compensate Fukushima victims?

Oversight board questions adequacy of LANL efforts to protect against quake

No Alternative to Yucca Mountain for Waste Found Yet

NRC responds to concerns over Entergy strontium statements

What Is STUXNET

What Is STUXNET
http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/what-is-stuxnet/

Did STUXNET Cause the Fukushima Disaster?

Actions taken by regulatory bodies following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident

U.S. NRC Blog Free Doughnuts — NOT

U.S. NRC Blog

Free Doughnuts — NOT

by Moderator

If we could send doughnuts electronically, we would, but we haven’t figured out how to do that to entice you to help us shape our agency to be more open. We need to hear from you on the following:

• How well are we doing on transparency, participation and collaboration? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges?

• How can we help more people to participate in our regulatory process?

• What new initiatives should we pursue in our Open Government Plan over the next two years?

• Has our work to date been useful to you? Take a look at our Open Government Accomplishments in 2010 – 2011, the High-Value Datasets we’ve published, and the goals in our Flagship Initiative and let us know if you think we’ve been working on the right things.

• How can we better serve the public?

The NRC’s Open Government Advisory Council is reaching out by hosting an event—

What: A public webinar

When: December 6, 10:00 am to 12 noon (Eastern time)

How: See the meeting notice

Can’t make December 6? Send us your thoughts at open@nrc.gov.

Your voice is important for our next update of our Open Government Plan.

Francine F. Goldberg

CoChair, NRC Open Government Advisory Council

Hungary likely source of elevated radioactivity levels: IAEA

Protests delay India’s nuclear renaissance

Posted on November 17, 2011 by dyurman| 3 Comments

Projects in Koodankulam and Jaitapur will be set back
By Dan Yurman

Analysts predict $1B cost for Keystone XL oil pipeline delay

Analysts predict $1B cost for Keystone XL oil pipeline delay
The Keystone XL pipeline project is expected to cost a total of 8 billion dollars upon completion.
Full Article
http://www.pennenergy.com/index/petroleum/display/0752275721/articles/pennenergy/petroleum/pipelines/2011/11/analysts-predict_.html?cmpid=EnlDailyPetroNovember142011&cmpid=EnlWeeklyPetroNovember182011

Making Nuclear Power Safer Initial Progress In Implementing 12-Point Action Plan

Making Nuclear Power Safer

Initial Progress In Implementing 12-Point Action Plan

The Action Plan is a comprehensive program utilizing all nuclear safety tools to strengthen the global nuclear safety framework at the national, regional and international levels. (Photo Credit: D. Calma/IAEA)

Story Resources

Listen to this story

Developing the Action Plan
Following the nuclear accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano dispatched an International Experts Fact-Finding Mission to the site of the accident, and convened a Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety in Vienna in June 2011. The Fact-Finding Mission delivered its report to the Ministerial Conference, which also adopted a Ministerial Declaration that requested the Director General to develop a draft Action Plan on Nuclear Safety. In September 2011, the Action Plan on Nuclear Safety was adopted by the IAEA's Board of Governors and subsequently unanimously endorsed by the IAEA General Conference. Developed in intensive consultation with Member States, the Action Plan is informed by advice from the IAEA's International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG).
Work Plan
Immediately following the General Conference's endorsement, the Director General established a dedicated Nuclear Safety Action Team under the Deputy Director General of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security to coordinate and assist all activities for the prompt and full implementation of the Action Plan. "By adopting the Action Plan on Nuclear Safety on 22 September, the IAEA General Conference took a historical step. This is the first time in the life of the Agency that its 151 Member States gather all nuclear safety tools in a comprehensive program to strengthen the global nuclear safety framework at the national, regional and international levels. The implementation of all these tools opens a new period in the quest for a continuous strengthening of nuclear safety worldwide. The IAEA, its 151 Member States, are at the heart of this work," said Deputy Director General Denis Flory.
The Nuclear Safety Action Team is developing the strategy to respond to the 12 major action items that are set out in the Plan. Led by Gustavo Caruso, the Nuclear Safety Action Team ensures coordination among all stakeholders and oversees the Action Plan's prompt implementation. In assessing the Action Plan, the Team categorized the 12 actions into 84 sub-actions, which they further divided into about 200 activities that will be implemented in the short, medium and long term. "A year from now we will be updating this Action Plan based upon the further lessons we will derive from the Fukushima Daiichi accident," Caruso said.
Initial Progress
The IAEA's 151 Member States and Secretariat are now implementing the Nuclear Safety Action Plan to make nuclear power production safer. The Agency's and Member States' work focuses on reviewing, improving and strengthening IAEA peer reviews and emergency preparedness and response; the effectiveness of national regulatory bodies and operating organizations; the IAEA Safety Standards and their implementation; the international legal framework's effectiveness; capacity building; transparency in communication and information dissemination; and nuclear safety research and development. Initial progress in the Action Plan's implementation includes an international expert fact-finding mission to Japan to assess remediation methods of large contaminated areas around TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, whose final report was issued on 15 November 2011. The methodology for assessing the safety vulnerabilities of a nuclear power plant will also be issued in November 2011.
Highlights
Among these activities, several highlights have emerged, such as developing a complementary safety assessment methodology or "stress test", for nuclear power plants as well as improving the IAEA safety peer reviews and encouraging Member States to voluntarily request these peer reviews. The end result of these activities is "to make nuclear safety stronger than before", said Caruso.
Working Together
Comprising an extensive work programme, the Action Plan requires concerted implementation by the IAEA's Secretariat, the Member States and all of the stakeholders responsible for nuclear safety. The IAEA's Senior Strategy Officer, Zef Mazi, said "the Action Plan's implementation will require the Member States' full cooperation and participation, as well as the involvement of many other stakeholders, each of whom must play their part to ensure that the measures agreed in the Action Plan are implemented fully and promptly". Mazi highlighted the IAEA Secretariat's role in promptly providing "the expert technical support and services that the Member States request to achieve the Action Plan's aims of strengthening the global nuclear safety framework".
The report on initial progress in the Action Plan's implementation is now available online as a pdf download.
Emergency preparedness and response
The IAEA Response Assistance Network, or RANET, and the Secretariat initiated a review of its capabilities and arrangements in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency.
Strengthening national regulatory bodies
To help enhance the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in cooperation with the Secretariat, hosted a workshop on the lessons learned from IRRS missions. Held in Washington, D.C. from 26 to 28 October 2011, the senior regulators from 22 Member States concluded that IRRS missions are a powerful tool for regulatory improvement, disseminating good practices, increasing public confidence and initiating international exchange of experience. It was also noted that all IRRS reports have been made available to the public and that they will continue to be accessible through the Action Plan website. A Fukushima module was incorporated into the scope of IRRS missions to take account of the initial regulatory implications of the accident.
Strengthening operating organizations
The IAEA and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) cooperate in pursuing their joint goal of maximizing the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants worldwide. While attending the WANO Biennial General Meeting in Shenzhen, China, in October 2011, the Director General welcomed greater WANO participation in IAEA activities, particularly in the area of the development of the IAEA Safety Standards, where WANO, as a representative of the operating organizations, is in a position to provide valuable input. He also stated that the two organizations should continue to exchange information regarding the results of their respective peer review activities, where confidentiality constraints permit, and improve the coordination of these missions to avoid scheduling WANO Peer Reviews and Agency OSART missions too close together.
Strengthening the IAEA Safety Standards
The Secretariat established a Safety Standards Review Task Force that developed a draft Safety Standards Action Plan to review the IAEA Safety Standards. The review will cover, as a first priority, the set of Safety Requirements, particularly those applicable to nuclear power plants and the storage of spent fuel. The draft Safety Standards Action Plan was adopted by the Commission on Safety Standards in November 2011, which noted that the Safety Standards Action Plan will be a 'living' document, continuously updated to reflect new lessons learned from the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, relevant conclusions from the Extraordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety and initiatives taken by other international organizations in this regard.
Improving the international legal framework's effectiveness
Both the General Committee of the fourth Review Meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, and the Sixth Meeting of Representatives of the Competent Authorities identified under the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, will be considering the effectiveness of these Conventions at their forthcoming meetings in March and April 2012, respectively.
The Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety will hold a five-day Extraordinary Meeting from 27 to 31 August 2012 "... to enhance safety through reviewing and sharing lessons learned and actions taken by Contracting Parties in response to events at Fukushima and to review the effectiveness and, if necessary, the continued suitability of the provisions of the Convention on Nuclear Safety".
The Secretariat and the International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX) recently undertook an initial review that will provide a basis for developing a future IAEA-INLEX strategy for the period from November 2011 to July 2012.
The first annual session of the Nuclear Law Institute (NLI) is being organised by the Office of Legal Affairs in Vienna from 19 November to 3 December 2011. The two-week course helps meet the increasing demand for legislative assistance by Member States, addressing all areas of nuclear law, including, the conventions identified in the Action Plan, as well as those on nuclear security and liability.
Developing infrastructure for Member States embarking on a nuclear power programme
The Secretariat is updating the nuclear power national infrastructure evaluation methodology, which will incorporate lessons learned from Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions, as well as from the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station. An annual workshop on nuclear power infrastructure is planned for 24-27 January 2012 for countries embarking on a nuclear power programme.
Strengthening and maintaining capacity building
The Secretariat has launched a working group to assist Member States in strengthening and maintaining their capacity building programmes in education, training, human resources, knowledge management and knowledge networks. It is developing a self-assessment methodology for capacity building programmes.
Protecting people and the environment from ionizing radiation
Upon the request of the Japanese Government, the Agency dispatched an International Expert Mission on remediation of large contaminated areas around TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The mission, a follow-up of the fact finding mission held earlier in the year, comprised 12 international and Agency experts from several countries, who were in Japan from 7 to 14 October 2011. A preliminary summary report was submitted to the Japanese authorities on 14 October 2011. The final report was provided to the Japanese authorities on 15 November 2011 and shared with Member States and the public.
Enhancing transparency and communication effectiveness
The Unified System for Information Exchange in Incidents and Emergencies (USIE), a new streamlined, web based tool for communication that has been in operation since June 2011. The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale's (INES) application during the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is being reviewed by the Secretariat with the support of the INES Advisory Committee. The development of the additional guidance on the application of INES will begin in February 2012.
Promoting nuclear safety research and development
The Secretariat is developing a strategy to identify existing research and development activities that have arisen from the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, to facilitate information sharing, to identify any gaps in these activities, and to define, in consultation with Member States, future research and development needs.
-- by Peter Kaiser, IAEA Division of Public Information. Staff members of the IAEA's Department of Nuclear Safety and Security contributed to this report.

Research Centre for Radwaste and Decommissioning

The Dalton Nuclear Institute has launched the Research Centre for Radwaste and Decommissioning RCRD for research and training in all aspects of the safe geological disposal of radioactive wastes

Research Centre for Radwaste and Decommissioning

The Dalton Nuclear Institute has launched the Research Centre for Radwaste and Decommissioning RCRD undertaking research and training in all aspects of the safe geological disposal of radioactive..

An email from Rod Adams Climate CoLab winner favors nuclear solution

Climate CoLab winner favors nuclear solution

The winners of the annual Climate CoLab competition (http://climatecolab.org/web/guest) have the opportunity to present their brief at the United Nations and the US Congress in late January 2012.

The national category winner this year was "Cycling Carbon" (http://climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/5/planId/15204) by Dennis Peterson.

It includes the following plank in the plan:
__________________
4: Advanced nuclear power

Economic incentives are all well and good, but if we don't have the physical ability to radically reduce emissions at reasonable cost, our incentives won't make it happen. There are limits to efficiency and sequestration. Transitioning to carbon-free energy sources is the only long-term solution. To accomplish this, we can't afford to take options off the table. Many experts are skeptical that renewables can do the job, due to intermittency and storage issues. While this proposal supports renewables, it also advocates an aggressive program to develop advanced nuclear energy, including integral fast reactors and liquid thorium reactors. In addition, it advocates modest additional investment in alternative nuclear fusion projects.

Advanced nuclear technologies can destroy nuclear waste, produce little waste of their own, are resistant to proliferation, and are extremely safe. The U.S. has a large inventory of nuclear waste that could jumpstart an ambitious program.
______________________

This entry in the contest received 56% of the votes cast, more than 2 times the number by the second place finisher.

Fukushima media visit - USA Today slants positive news into source of worry

http://atomicinsights.com/2011/11/fukushima-media-visit-usa-today-slants-positive-news-into-source-of-worry.html

Fukushima media visit - USA Today slants positive news into source of worry

On November 12, 2011, USA Today published an article titled Media allowed in tsunami-hit nuke plant that contained some classic elements of slant by selectively highlighting certain facts while ignoring others. The situation was a good news story. Tepco, the electric power utility company that owns the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station has reached a stage in their recovery efforts where they could comfortably allow the news media to come into the station and have a first hand look around.

Public Square debates nuclear energy

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Thorium: World's greatest energy breakthrough?

Energy Diplomacy

from The Diplomat by John Yi

Russia-South Korea relations appear to be reaching new heights. While Moscow and Seoul have been in talks concerning a $2.5 billion inter-Korean gas pipeline, a potentially even more lucrative venture has appeared. The project is a $30 billion undertaking by the Russian state-owned North Caucasus Resorts Company (NCRC). The goal is to develop a sprawling system of five ski resorts, five modern seaside resorts, and health spas, spanning from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. This enormous project would include nearly 550 miles of ski routes, a railway system, and a transportation system connecting nine airports, two of which have yet to be constructed. And in all of this, South Korea has earned first dibs to provide the energy and delivery systems for this ambitious tourist mega cluster. The first foreign investors—Korea Western Power (KOWEPO), a South Korean state-owned gas company and CHT Korea—announced last week a $1 billion investmentin ... Read More...

Saudi Arabia and Korea agree to cooperate

from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon

Saudi Arabia and South Korea have signed a cooperation agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The agreement covers areas including research and development, the design, development and operation of a nuclear power plant and nuclear safety and security issues, as well as laying the legal foundations for the export of nuclear items. The pact is the third such agreement signed by Saudi Arabia this year, following agreements with Argentina and France. The text was signed by South Korean foreign minister Kim Sung-Hwan and Hashim Yamani, president of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy. Saudi Arabia is also working on developing nuclear cooperation with China, Russia, the Czech Republic, the UK and the USA, according to a statement published through the Saudi Press Agency.

IAEA on Fukushima clean-up

from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon

Japan has been advised not to be overly conservative in its decontamination of areas affected by the Fukushima accident. Its work so far has been good but it should focus squarely on effective reduction of radiation dose.

Nuclear has role in sustainable mix

from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon

A new report by the World Energy Council into countries' energy policies has determined that a mixture of generating technologies and strategies is best for ensuring sustainable energy production.

Driving on with Fukushima roadmap

from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon

Six of ten stabilisation goals at Fukushima Daiichi are complete, with official recognition of cold shutdown still outstanding despite low core temperatures.

Small reactors planned for Zhangzhou

from World Nuclear News by Warwick Pipe

A demonstration nuclear power plant featuring small, modular reactors is to be constructed at Zhangzhou in China's Fujian province. The plant will provide the city with electricity, heat and water desalination.

European iodine mystery solved

from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon

The cause of trace detection of radioactive iodine-131 in Europe has been identified as 'most probably' a release from a Hungarian factory making medical isotopes.

Who's a weapons scientist?

from Web Edition | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Sharon K. Weiner

In its most recent report on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) argues the country may be close to being able to develop a nuclear weapon. The agency also claims that important technical help was provided by an outside expert, identified by other sources as Vyacheslav Danilenko, a researcher who, until 1989, had worked for three decades at a leading Soviet nuclear weapons research and design institute.

France must improve nuke plants 'without delay'

France must improve nuke plants 'without delay'
France must immediately improve safety at its nuclear power plants so they can deal with natural disasters in the wake of Japan's Fukushima accident, an industry body said Thursday.

Fukushima radiation 'mostly fell in sea': study

Fukushima radiation 'mostly fell in sea': study
Most of the radioactive fallout from the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant dropped into the ocean and began circling the planet, Japanese researchers said Thursday.

Power plants taxing water resources

French nuclear safety agency urges more protection

Preliminary Reports Show Little Radiation Exposure in Fukushima

Exelon, Constellation shareholders OK merger

State faults Vermont Yankee licensing

Will the South be forced to pay for the lessons of Fukushima?

Ohio nuclear plant won't open until cracks studied

India, US review nuclear safety

What Will China's Energy Demand Be In 20 Years?

Renewable energy value to equal $460bn in 2030: Report

Charlotte looks to China to energize its economy

Lightbridge developing larger surface area fuel and all metal nuclear fuels for uprating Pressure Water Reactors by 17 to 30%

Two ACP100 modular reactors have been given construction go ahead

Sarkozy Defends Nuclear Industry Against Opposition Plans

Sarkozy Defends Nuclear Industry Against Opposition Plans
Wall Street Journal
By Gabriele Parussini and William Horobin PARIS (Dow Jones)--French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged Thursday to defend and bolster France's nuclear sector, and warned that an opposition-backed proposal to wind down nuclear power production would shut ...

France needs to upgrade all nuclear reactors

France needs to upgrade all nuclear reactors
Reuters
General view of the EDF Bugey nuclear power plant in Saint-Vulbas, near Lyon, April 20, 2011. Photo taken April 20, 2011. By Muriel Boselli PARIS (Reuters) - France needs to upgrade the protection of vital functions in all its nuclear reactors to avoid ...

German minister wants new fossil-fuel plants at old nuclear reactor sites

German minister wants new fossil-fuel plants at old nuclear reactor sites
Platts
Germany's minister for the economy, Philipp Roesler, said he envisages new fossil-fuel power plants at the sites of decommissioned old nuclear power facilities, as the country needs to fill the gap left following its decision to phase out nuclear power ...

India Limits Liability of Nuclear Power Equipment Suppliers

India Limits Liability of Nuclear Power Equipment Suppliers
Wall Street Journal
The rules, called Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Rules 2011, were posted late Wednesday by the Department of Atomic Energy on the website of Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd., a state-run company which operates civilian nuclear power plants. ...

Small reactors planned for Zhangzhou

Small reactors planned for Zhangzhou
World Nuclear News
A demonstration nuclear power plant featuring small, modular reactors is to be constructed at Zhangzhou in China's Fujian province. The plant will provide the city with electricity, heat and water desalination.

Two ACP100 modular reactors have been given construction go ahead

Two ACP100 modular reactors have been given construction go ahead
Next Big Future
CNNC has astrong research interest in larger reactors as well (ACP600/1000 600 MWe and 1000 MWe units), in addition to an ACP100 modular small reactor for electricity, heating and desalination. It appears that the ACP600 is developed from the CNP-600 ...

The IFR vs the LFTR: An Exchange of Emails

Energy Subsidies in a Free Market

By John Wilson, November 17, 2011
Bob Inglis’ call to “simultaneously eliminat[e] all subsidies” for energy is another way that he believes we can use the “power of free markets” to make better choices about energy use. Although “subsidies” are often discussed, it is a concept that is hard to pin down. The World Trade Organization definition of a subsidy amounts to, “a financial contribution by a government, or agent of a... » Continue...

Protests Delay India's New Nuclear Build

By Dan Yurman, November 17, 2011
A series of protests that began in October have delayed the hot start of two Russian 1000- MW VVER reactors in the Tamil Nadu state on India’s southernmost coastline. Additional protests, some of them violent, have set back the start of construction of two French 1650-MW EPR reactors in the Maharashtra state on India’s west coast some 400 km (250 miles) south of Mumbai.In Koodankulam in... » Continue...

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Coupling repositores with fuel cycles by Charles Forsberg

Coupling repositores with furel cycles by Charles Forsberg
Siting a reprocessing plant with a waste disposal facility can improve the economics, efficiency, and
acceptance of both.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=133ad2d4dfad7580&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3Daf338169f3%26view%3Datt%26th%3D133ad2d4dfad7580%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbRC5hvs0_0h-r2vjpXXycfx-P8bdA

Nuclear power is an option for future Gulf Coast plant

US power plants turn to ‘uprates’

Billions of ambitious people will welcome nuclear energy

Developing world wants lots of power and will not accept the argument that it remains the right of rich nations

State, NEC contest Vermont Yankee license in federal court

Are Wind and Solar Cheaper Than Nuclear?

Nuclear Advocacy Network

Nuclear advocates, we have already generated over 3,000 comment letters to DOE. If have not already done so, please submit your comment letter before the December 7 deadline!

Proposed DOE Regulation Will Impair the Ability of U.S. Nuclear Industry to Export & Create Jobs

The U.S. Department of Energy has recently proposed a change to 10 CFR 810, a regulation that governs the export of peaceful nuclear technology, including for the production of electricity, to the multi-billion dollar global market. This proposed change could:

Adversely impact competitiveness of U.S. nuclear suppliers
Disrupt existing commercial arrangements between U.S. manufacturers and their overseas customers
Create additional administrative burdens

Specifically, the proposed rule would:

Require an additional bureaucratic authorization (which can take a year or longer to receive) for trade with 73 countries that do not require this export authorization today.
Significantly expand the numbers of activities which require this type of authorization for export.
Further bog down an already slow process by increasing the number of authorizations required for export.
Significantly slow down the number of jobs created and brought in to U.S. manufacturers because of these delays and new bureaucratic requirements.

TAKE ACTION

The comment period closes December 7, 2011. Nuclear advocates please send your comment letter to the Department of Energy today and express your concerns. For more background information, click here. Thank you nuclear advocates for helping protect the American nuclear energy industry!

Facing Nuclear Fear

Holes in Iran nuke report

IAB issues report on UAE’s nuclear energy program

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

IEA World Energy Outlook: “If We Don’t Change Direction, We’ll End Up Where We’re Heading”

from The Energy Collective - The world's best thinkers on energy & climate by BigGav

SP at TOD ANZ has a look at the latest IEA report - “If we don’t change direction soon, we’ll end up where we’re heading”.That is the prominent quote headlining the English language executive summary of the World Energy Outlook Report of the International Energy Agency released Wednesday.

Energy Policy: Facts Must Prevail Over Dogma

from AREVA North America: Next Energy Blog by AREVA North America Blog

by Luc Oursel, Chairman of AREVA’s Executive Board

On Energy Production, U.S. Isn’t Keeping up with the Joneses

Oil's Grip on Our Energy Future Is Strong

from RealClearReligion - Homepage by Tom Zeller, Huffington Post

Tom Zeller, Huffington Post
When the State Department moved Thursday to postpone a decision on whether the Keystone XL oil pipeline serves the national interests of the United States -- a question it has been weighing in one form or another for more than three years -- environmental groups found much to celebrate.

Engineers Knew Fukushima Might Be Unsafe, But Covered It Up … And Now the Extreme Vulnerability of NEW U.S. Plants Is Being Covered Up

from Washington's Blog by WashingtonsBlog

Engineers and Scientists Knew Fukushima Might Be Unsafe

Radioactive Iodine Blankets Much of Europe … Everyone Points Fingers

from Washington's Blog by WashingtonsBlog

Are Fukushima Reactors 5 and 6 In Trouble Also?

from Washington's Blog by WashingtonsBlog

Are All 6 Fukushima Reactors In Trouble?

Radiation Spreads to France

from Washington's Blog by WashingtonsBlog

France Hit with Radiation

Energy Storage Discussion Thread from BraveNewClimate.com by Barry Brook

Energy Storage Discussion Thread

from BraveNewClimate.com by Barry Brook

5 Misconceptions About Peak Oil from Clusterstock by The Oil Drum

5 Misconceptions About Peak Oil

from Clusterstock by The Oil Drum

atomic power review Xenon at Fukushima Daiichi No. 2 - Gone!

atomic power review

Xenon at Fukushima Daiichi No. 2 - Gone!

TEPCO has released its latest analysis of gases sampled from the primary containment of the Unit 2 plant... and Xenon (all isotopes tested for) is not present. Below is the TEPCO table showing this very latest data.

Time to talk

Time to talk

PRAFUL BIDWAI

The Kudankulam protesters must not be maligned as misguided by ‘foreign' interests. Dialogue with them on nuclear hazards remains an imperative.

Scientific mind meltdown By TAKAMITSU SAWA

Scientific mind meltdown

By TAKAMITSU SAWA

The next generation of nuclear engineers will be raised on games

Massive multi-player experiences, and social media, are formative experiences the nuclear industry should leverage to recruit new talent

Mountains limited spread of fallout from Fukushima

Mountains limited spread of fallout from Fukushima
A map of radioactive contamination across Japan from the Fukushima power plant disaster confirms high levels in eastern and northeastern areas but finds much lower levels in the western part of the country, thanks to mountain ranges, researchers say.

First controlled experiments on ocean acidification in the deep sea

First controlled experiments on ocean acidification in the deep sea
(PhysOrg.com) -- After six years of design and testing, MBARI scientists have a sophisticated new tool for studying the effects of ocean acidification on deep-sea animals. This complex system, the Free-Ocean Carbon Enrichment (FOCE) experiment, is the only experiment in the world that allows researchers to study ocean-acidification impacts on deep-sea animals in their native habitat, using free-flowing seawater.

Some land in Japan too radioactive to farm: study

Some land in Japan too radioactive to farm: study
Farmland in parts of Japan is no longer safe because of high levels of radiation in the soil, scientists have warned, as the country struggles to recover from the Fukushima atomic disaster.

Uncertainty lingers for China’s power policy

"Groups Ask NRC to Delay Certification of Flawed AP1000 Reactor"

U.S. NRC Blog The Reactor Safety Study: The Birth, Death and Rebirth of PRA

U.S. NRC Blog

The Reactor Safety Study: The Birth, Death and Rebirth of PRA

by Moderator

It almost died at birth. The granddaddy of all probabilistic risk assessments (PRA), the 1975 Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400), was greeted with such withering criticism that the Commission disavowed the report’s executive summary -- a public humiliation that seemed to consign its work to irrelevancy. However, this accident study was rescued by a major reactor accident.

WASH-1400’s origins and troubles were rooted in the Atomic Energy Commission’s role as a promoter of nuclear power. AEC officials wanted to convince the public that reactor accidents were very unlikely, but until the late 1960s, engineers lacked useable data and accepted risk-assessment methodologies to prove it.

By 1971, NASA and aircraft manufacturers had developed “fault-tree analysis” tools that could be applied to reactor systems to calculate the probability of complex chains of equipment malfunctions. Fault trees were adept at uncovering unexpected system vulnerabilities, but the numerical odds that they produced of core meltdowns were realistic only with sufficient data and imaginative engineers who could identify the many important malfunction sequences that could lead to a meltdown. And that was a tall order for an accident that had never happened before.

Nevertheless, some AEC officials wanted to use fault trees to prove reactor safety by comparing meltdown frequency and consequences to other human-made and natural catastrophes.

MIT professor Norman Rasmussen and AEC staffer Saul Levine directed the $3 million, three-year project. They improved fault-tree methodology far beyond previous efforts, but limited data made its calculations uncertain. Nevertheless the WASH-1400 team presented the very low accident probabilities in the executive summary with an assurance that belied its underlying uncertainty.

Critics attacked the study’s calculations with such vigor that in 1977 the NRC created an outside review committee under Professor Harold Lewis, a physicist at University of California Santa Barbara. The Lewis report praised WASH-1400’s methodology but excoriated some of its “indefensible” calculations, “incoherent” language, and an executive summary whose “soothing tones” ignored the uncertainty in its probability estimates. The Commission accepted the findings and cautioned the NRC staff to apply PRA techniques with caution. Tom Murley, later the director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, recalled the decision “had a chilling effect on the staff.”

PRA was dead. For two months. The 1979 Three Mile Island accident destroyed a reactor, but it saved a report. WASH-1400 had foreseen small loss-of-coolant accidents and operator error as significant contributors to a meltdown risk, as had occurred at TMI. Post-accident blue-ribbon commissions called for greater use of risk assessment, and PRA slowly returned to the regulatory conversation.

By 1982, NRC Chairman Nunzio Palladino observed that PRA was important to licensing reviews, regulatory requirements, new reactor designs, and establishing priorities for research and inspections. Freed from the promotional pressure of proving reactors the safest of all technologies, PRA could simply focus on making reactors safer – something it is still doing today.

Tom Wellock

NRC Historian

Chu: Will He Stay or Will He Go?

ENERGY

Chu: Will He Stay or Will He Go?

Burgeoning Solyndra controversy could put Energy secretary on the ropes.

By Coral Davenport and Amy Harder

Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Saturday, November 19, 2011

NRC responds to concerns over Entergy strontium statements

China may restart suspended nuclear power plant construction by end of 2011

Israel: time running out to stop a nuclear Iran

U.N. nuclear watchdog board rebukes defiant Iran

Petroleum Pigs Underreporting Pipeline Decay

iPhone geiger counters are big in Japan

US firms must work within our N-liability law: PM

Research and Markets: Nuclear Safeguards, Security and Nonproliferation. Achieving Security with Technology and Policy

China advocates dialogue in solving Iranian nuclear issue

Iran and the I.A.E.A.

IAEA Urges North Korea To Comply With NPT Obligations

Obama’s Trip Emphasizes Role of Pacific Rim

Promises and U-turns of the nuclear kind

IAEA Publication: Stress Corrosion Cracking in Light Water Reactors: Good Practices and Lessons Learned

New IAEA Publications on Emergency Preparedness and Response

Presentations from the EUROSAFE Forum

A New Source of Vital Energy

ExxonMobil Is Betting $30 BILLION That They Can Push 9.9 Billion Cubic Feet Per Day Of Natural Gas Into The World Energy Market

Friday, November 18, 2011

Energy Innovation Summit -- DOE

DOE Auditor Calls for Restructuring National Labs

IAEA Board Reproaches Iran on Nuclear Efforts

The next generation of nuclear engineers will be raised on games

French nuclear fleet could be sunk by Socialists

Ducks on the pond - the uncertain path of the nuclear renaissance

Southern Co. Assembling 4,000 Acres in Fla. Panhandle for Power Plant, Possibly Nuclear

Nuclear Plant Construction Likely to Restart in China, Although New Projects on Hold

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Weekly Review (With Video)

Waste Management” in Nuclear News

Second Japanese Utility Submits Stress Test Results to Regulator

TEPCO Reports Water in Reactor Vessel Remains Below Boiling Point

TEDx New England – Nuclear entrepreneurs aiming to use waste for fuel

Into the Pea Ridge with Thorium

Arabs push nuke energy despite Fukushima

Fukushima rice banned by Japan

N-fuel conditions unclear

Radioactive water at Fukushima Daiichi - new video

Shell's China Moves

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant and state-owned PetroChina have teamed up to get gas out of the ground in China—and to tap new sources of energy worldwide

China rolls out its first 1000mw nuclear reactor

Plant Vogtle expansion will create jobs

India, US review nuclear safety

Davis-Besse to stay shut until probe ends

Ted Quinn: No Fukushima-type disaster for California, U.S.

India Limits Liability Of Nuclear Power Equipment Suppliers

UK nuclear builders say unfazed by Fukushima delays

Oversight board questions adequacy of LANL efforts to protect against quake

No Alternative to Yucca Mountain for Waste Found Yet

NRC responds to concerns over Entergy strontium statements

Actions taken by regulatory bodies following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident

U.S. NRC Blog

Protests delay India’s nuclear renaissance

Making Nuclear Power Safer

Initial Progress In Implementing 12-Point Action Plan

Story Resources