Energy companies seek electricity storage San Francisco Chronicle Technology developers are shuttling between caves and mountaintops to build a market for utilities set to attract $25 billion in annual investment within a decade. To store surplus electricity from power plants, they're trying to squeeze air into salt ... | |
Energy Independence and Electricity Storage Energy Collective ... States to achieve energy independence by 2020. That plan is explained in a little more detail in a document entitled “A Romney Plan for A Stronger Middle Class: Energy Independence”, which was released earlier this week by the Romney-Ryan campaign. | |
Weapons Plant Security Issues Are Described in US Audit New York Times The government skimped on security hardware before the storage building was finished in 2008, the report said, and the National Nuclear Security Agency, a part of the Energy Department formed to handle weapons security after a previous scandal, told ... | |
|
Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire
Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Energy Storage News update 9/1
Former NRC Chairman Jaczko travels to Japan and urges transparency of nuclear regulators
Former NRC Chairman Jaczko travels to Japan and urges transparency of nuclear regulatorshttp://enformable.com/2012/08/former-nrc-chairman-jaczko-travels-to-japan-and-urges-transparency-of-nuclear-regulators/
Nuclear News Update 9/1
| ||
Calvert Cliffs nuclear power project facing 60-day deadline Baltimore Sun Once promoted as the vanguard of a "nuclear renaissance," a proposed new reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland now faces a major new roadblock, with federal regulators threatening to shelve the troubled $9.6 billion ... | ||
Nonaligned nations back Iran on nuclear power, but not on Syria Bend Bulletin TEHRAN — The 120-nation Nonaligned Movement handed its host Iran a diplomatic victory Friday, unanimously decreeing support for the disputed Iranian nuclear energy program and criticizing the U.S.-led attempt to isolate and punish Iran with unilateral ... | ||
| ||
India should deprioritise Nuclear Energy Moneycontrol.com The book looks at the history of nuclear power in India. The Department of Energy had made a series of projections for how much nuclear power would contribute to India's energy production over the past 60 years. These projections have not come through. | ||
Fuel loading in Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project likely next week Economic Times CHENNAI: A day after the Madras High Court cleared decks for the commissioning of unit-1 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, a senior official at the plant today said they would commence loading real fuel in the Indo-Russian venture by the end of next ... | ||
| ||
Georgia Power says cost of new nuclear units up $116 mil since February Platts Georgia Power's share of costs for the 2,200-MW Vogtle nuclear plant expansion has risen by $116 million since February to $6.2 billion and is now above what state regulators said the utility could recover from ratepayers, according to a filing Friday ... | ||
Why Do We Hold Renewable Energy to a Different Standard than Fossil Fuels ... CleanTechnica Now that renewables are receiving some of the same incentives that fossil fuels have enjoyed for nearly one hundred years, we're suddenly being inundated with calls for a purely “free-market” approach to energy development from politicians on the right ... | ||
The GOP is wrong to say Obama cut nuclear weapons budget Washington Post “The United States is the only nuclear power not modernizing its nuclear stockpile,” the platform warns. “It took the current administration just one year to renege on the President's commitment to modernize the neglected infrastructure of the nuclear ... |
DOE finds more evidence of leak in Hanford double-shell tank
DOE finds more evidence of leak in Hanford double-shell tank Mid Columbia Tri City Herald "We just have got to think it's not encouraging to find another spot that clearly was not there in 2006," said Cheryl Whalen, cleanup section manager for the Department of Ecology's Nuclear Waste Program. The state is the regulator of the tank waste ...http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/09/01/2082638/doe-finds-more-evidence-of-leak.html More evidence that Hanford double shell waste tank may be deteriorating
Yakima Herald-Republic -
By Annette Cary. Tri-City Herald. RICHLAND — Early steps in an
investigation into whether one of Hanford's double shell tanks may have a
leak from its inner shell have turned up troubling results. More
unknown material has been found in a third place ...
DOE confirms 2nd leak at Hanford as state threatens legal action
KING5.com -
A second leak of suspected radioactive material at the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation was recently detected, the U.S. Department of Energy
confirmed Friday. As with the first leak revealed last month, the new
material was found in a gap between the walls of a ...
|
Energy Independence and Electricity Storage
Energy Independence and Electricity Storage
by Jim Greenberger
At
the end of 16 years, of course, you have a problem. Either you have
discovered a lot more technically recoverable domestic petroleum or you
are right back to where you started—but this time having used up all
your reserves. While past experience may support the assumption that
more recoverable reserves will be discovered, if we have learned
anything over the last few years in the energy space it is to be a bit
wary of technological assumptions.http://theenergycollective.com/jim-greenberger/108476/energy-independence-and-electricity-storage?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=The+Energy+Collective+%28all+posts%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Does declining gas exploration indicate a price "explosion" or just a new equilibrium?
Does declining gas exploration indicate a price "explosion" or just a new equilibrium?
by Steve Skutnik
A few interesting points came out of the follow-up discussion on my prior post, in which I argued that, contra Rod Adams, natural gas prices are not set to "explode" anytime soon.
Meredith Angwin of Yes Vermont Yankee made a keen observation that over the last year, the number of new natural gas exploratory wells is collapsing. Why is this happening? Namely because of the cratering current price of natural gas.http://neutroneconomy.blogspot.com/2012/09/does-declining-gas-exploration-indicate.html
Geoengineering is 'comparatively inexpensive'
Geoengineering is 'comparatively inexpensive'
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2012/aug/31/geoengineering-is-comparatively-inexpensive
Russia’s Gazprom Tightens Its Stranglehold On Europe, France Falls: The Natural Gas War Gets Dirty
Russia’s Gazprom Tightens Its Stranglehold On Europe, France Falls: The Natural Gas War Gets Dirtyhttp://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-08-31/russia%E2%80%99s-gazprom-tightens-its-stranglehold-europe-france-falls-natural-gas-wa
Non-Proliferation Treaty
is the fact that, as of the year 2000, there were fewer than 10 and
only North Korea was added to the total since then. But we know that the A Q Khan network
was selling nuclear weapons technology to anyone with a checkbook –
we’re still not sure exactly who his clients were, but even one would be
too many. And we also know that the US developed a nuclear weapon with
1940s-era technology – every nation on Earth now has access to the level
of knowledge and technology adequate to design their own nuclear
weapons.
Uranium enrichment is one way to produce fissionable materials, but it’s not the only method – plutonium also explodes quite nicely and plutonium production is not very hard to do. In fact, every operating nuclear reactor produces plutonium; a significant fraction of the power produced by our nuclear reactors comes from the fission of plutonium that’s produced in the core during normal operations. This means that, with very few exceptions, every nuclear reactor on Earth produces plutonium and the spent fuel from these reactors contains this plutonium – with some chemical processing this plutonium can in theory be extracted and made into a nuclear weapon. This is one of the downsides of nuclear energy – the spent fuel is not only intensely radioactive, but the plutonium it contains must also be safeguarded. This is one of the trade-offs of nuclear energy – carbon-free baseload power and plutonium. One of the advantages of the thorium fuel cycle is that is it more proliferation-resistant than the more typical uranium cycle – let’s see why.
A quick recap – in a “conventional” nuclear reactor the uranium fuel holds in the neighborhood of 5% fissionable U-235 and the other 95% or so is U-238. In the neutron-rich environment of the reactor core the U-238 atoms capture a neutron to become U-239 and, a few days to weeks later, the U-239 decays to form Pu-239 – the stuff of which bombs can be made. This means that 95% of “conventional” reactor fuel has the potential to become plutonium and the plutonium can be chemically separated from the uranium to be made into weapons. By comparison, a thorium-powered reactor uses neutron capture to turn Th-232 into U-233, which is what fissions. And this is where things get a little interesting.
First, U-233 is about as fissile as Pu-239 – there’s no getting around the fact that a thorium-cycle nuclear reactor produces material that can be made into nuclear weapons. What makes the thorium cycle more proliferation-resistant is that there are some kickers.
One of these is that the thorium cycle not only produces U-233, but also U-232 and over time U-232 decays to stability through a slew of other nuclides. Some of these nuclides emit gamma radiation and one, the thallium-208 gamma – is a whopper with an energy of 2.6 million electron volts (by comparison, visible light photons have energies of several electron volts, x-ray energies are typically in the tens of thousands of eV (keV), and even most gamma rays have energies of in the hundreds of keV). As the U-232 ages, the radiation from its progeny will increase – it can actually become increasingly dangerous to work with as time goes on. Not only that, but these high-energy gammas are hard to hide – they are so penetrating that they’ll punch through standard radiation shielding.
OK – so why not just separate the U-233 a nuclear weapons program would want from the U-232 that they don’t want? The big reason is that U-232 and U-233 are chemically identical (unlike plutonium) so removing the U-232 poses the same challenges as uranium enrichment – in effect, a nation trying to use the thorium cycle to produce nuclear weapons would have to face the technical challenges of both uranium enrichment and running nuclear reactors. It just doesn’t make sense to pursue this route to a nuclear weapon. It’s possible, of course, to chemically remove the decay products that produce the gamma radiation, but it’s just going to keep coming back as long as there’s any U-232 present; with a half-life of nearly 70 years the U-232 is just not going to go away anytime soon. Another easy-to-take step can help to reduce the proliferation threat even further – adding some U-238 to the mix to make it even more difficult to produce something that will go boom. And, again, the fact that U-232, U-233, and U-238 are both chemically identical means that separating the U-238 and U-232 from the U-233 still requires uranium enrichment. The bottom line is that using the thorium cycle to produce the material for nuclear weapons is dangerous and difficult, it’s easy to thwart, and it’s hard to hide the weapons that are produced.
Of course there’s another route from thorium to a nuclear weapon – trying to breed U-235 or Pu-239 by successive neutron capture. The problem here is that a single neutron capture is not necessarily a likely event; the odds that an atom to capture the six neutrons required to turn into Pu-239 is vanishingly small. Of course it’s easier (and more plausible) to capture two neutrons to become U-235 but, again, there’s the same problem with separating U-235 from the rest of the uranium. So this route is also a non-starter.
So let’s put this together with some other things that have been happening. In spite of the concerns raised by the Fukushima accident, many nations are continuing to go forward with their nuclear energy plans, in addition to the reactors being built by Iran and North Korea. To some extent it doesn’t matter whether these nations are friendly or not – conventional nuclear reactors produce plutonium as a byproduct of normal operation. Nations we don’t trust (e.g. Iran and North Korea) can separate the plutonium from their spent fuel (and terrorist groups can try to seize the spent fuel to separate the plutonium). The bottom line is that any reactor fueled with low-enriched uranium poses a potential proliferation risk and that the risk from reactors fueled with U-233 that has been bred from Th-232 is far lower.
Finally, I have to admit that when I first started looking into this particular topic I was somewhat dubious that thorium would live up to the claims of the pro-thorium crowd in this particular area. I should add that I wasn’t necessarily dubious that thorium posed a lower proliferation hazard than uranium, I just wasn’t sure that it would live up to the hype. But as I looked into it – especially as I dug into the likelihood of multiple neutron capture and the gamma radiation emitted by the U-232 decay series nuclides – I realized that thorium-cycle reactors are every bit as proliferation-resistant as claimed. In a world in which we worry about both nuclear weapons detonated in anger and about global warming it seems that thorium-cycle reactors offer a viable approach to addressing both of these concerns.
At one point John Kennedy predicted there might be over 20 nuclear powers by the mid-1970s – one of the triumphs of the
Uranium enrichment is one way to produce fissionable materials, but it’s not the only method – plutonium also explodes quite nicely and plutonium production is not very hard to do. In fact, every operating nuclear reactor produces plutonium; a significant fraction of the power produced by our nuclear reactors comes from the fission of plutonium that’s produced in the core during normal operations. This means that, with very few exceptions, every nuclear reactor on Earth produces plutonium and the spent fuel from these reactors contains this plutonium – with some chemical processing this plutonium can in theory be extracted and made into a nuclear weapon. This is one of the downsides of nuclear energy – the spent fuel is not only intensely radioactive, but the plutonium it contains must also be safeguarded. This is one of the trade-offs of nuclear energy – carbon-free baseload power and plutonium. One of the advantages of the thorium fuel cycle is that is it more proliferation-resistant than the more typical uranium cycle – let’s see why.
A quick recap – in a “conventional” nuclear reactor the uranium fuel holds in the neighborhood of 5% fissionable U-235 and the other 95% or so is U-238. In the neutron-rich environment of the reactor core the U-238 atoms capture a neutron to become U-239 and, a few days to weeks later, the U-239 decays to form Pu-239 – the stuff of which bombs can be made. This means that 95% of “conventional” reactor fuel has the potential to become plutonium and the plutonium can be chemically separated from the uranium to be made into weapons. By comparison, a thorium-powered reactor uses neutron capture to turn Th-232 into U-233, which is what fissions. And this is where things get a little interesting.
First, U-233 is about as fissile as Pu-239 – there’s no getting around the fact that a thorium-cycle nuclear reactor produces material that can be made into nuclear weapons. What makes the thorium cycle more proliferation-resistant is that there are some kickers.
One of these is that the thorium cycle not only produces U-233, but also U-232 and over time U-232 decays to stability through a slew of other nuclides. Some of these nuclides emit gamma radiation and one, the thallium-208 gamma – is a whopper with an energy of 2.6 million electron volts (by comparison, visible light photons have energies of several electron volts, x-ray energies are typically in the tens of thousands of eV (keV), and even most gamma rays have energies of in the hundreds of keV). As the U-232 ages, the radiation from its progeny will increase – it can actually become increasingly dangerous to work with as time goes on. Not only that, but these high-energy gammas are hard to hide – they are so penetrating that they’ll punch through standard radiation shielding.
OK – so why not just separate the U-233 a nuclear weapons program would want from the U-232 that they don’t want? The big reason is that U-232 and U-233 are chemically identical (unlike plutonium) so removing the U-232 poses the same challenges as uranium enrichment – in effect, a nation trying to use the thorium cycle to produce nuclear weapons would have to face the technical challenges of both uranium enrichment and running nuclear reactors. It just doesn’t make sense to pursue this route to a nuclear weapon. It’s possible, of course, to chemically remove the decay products that produce the gamma radiation, but it’s just going to keep coming back as long as there’s any U-232 present; with a half-life of nearly 70 years the U-232 is just not going to go away anytime soon. Another easy-to-take step can help to reduce the proliferation threat even further – adding some U-238 to the mix to make it even more difficult to produce something that will go boom. And, again, the fact that U-232, U-233, and U-238 are both chemically identical means that separating the U-238 and U-232 from the U-233 still requires uranium enrichment. The bottom line is that using the thorium cycle to produce the material for nuclear weapons is dangerous and difficult, it’s easy to thwart, and it’s hard to hide the weapons that are produced.
Of course there’s another route from thorium to a nuclear weapon – trying to breed U-235 or Pu-239 by successive neutron capture. The problem here is that a single neutron capture is not necessarily a likely event; the odds that an atom to capture the six neutrons required to turn into Pu-239 is vanishingly small. Of course it’s easier (and more plausible) to capture two neutrons to become U-235 but, again, there’s the same problem with separating U-235 from the rest of the uranium. So this route is also a non-starter.
So let’s put this together with some other things that have been happening. In spite of the concerns raised by the Fukushima accident, many nations are continuing to go forward with their nuclear energy plans, in addition to the reactors being built by Iran and North Korea. To some extent it doesn’t matter whether these nations are friendly or not – conventional nuclear reactors produce plutonium as a byproduct of normal operation. Nations we don’t trust (e.g. Iran and North Korea) can separate the plutonium from their spent fuel (and terrorist groups can try to seize the spent fuel to separate the plutonium). The bottom line is that any reactor fueled with low-enriched uranium poses a potential proliferation risk and that the risk from reactors fueled with U-233 that has been bred from Th-232 is far lower.
Finally, I have to admit that when I first started looking into this particular topic I was somewhat dubious that thorium would live up to the claims of the pro-thorium crowd in this particular area. I should add that I wasn’t necessarily dubious that thorium posed a lower proliferation hazard than uranium, I just wasn’t sure that it would live up to the hype. But as I looked into it – especially as I dug into the likelihood of multiple neutron capture and the gamma radiation emitted by the U-232 decay series nuclides – I realized that thorium-cycle reactors are every bit as proliferation-resistant as claimed. In a world in which we worry about both nuclear weapons detonated in anger and about global warming it seems that thorium-cycle reactors offer a viable approach to addressing both of these concerns.
The OIG Report on the -12 security breach
The OIG Report on the -12 security breach - dismaying. Go to: http://energy.gov/node/387253 If you are unable to access this report, please call (202) 586-4128 for assistance.
Inquiry into the Security Breach at the National Nuclear Security... energy.gov
Inquiry into the Security Breach at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Y-12 National Security Complex, IG-0868
We
initiated this inquiry to identify the circumstances surrounding the
Y-12 National Security Complex breach because of the importance of
ensuring the safe and secure storage of nuclear materials. Our review
found that the Y-12 security incident represented multiple system
failures on several levels. We identified troubling displays of
ineptitude in responding to alarms, failures to maintain critical
security equipment, over reliance on compensatory measures,
misunderstanding of security protocols, poor communications, and
weaknesses in contract and resource management. Contractor governance
and Federal oversight failed to identify and correct early indicators of
these multiple system breakdowns. When combined, these issues directly
contributed to an atmosphere in which the trespassers could gain access
to the protected security area directly adjacent to one of the Nation's
most critically important and highly secured weapons-related
facilities. We noted that following the incident, Y-12 and the National
Nuclear Security Administration took a number of actions designed to
improve security at the site. However, the successful intrusion at Y-12
raised serious questions about the overall security approach at the
facility.
Given the unprecedented nature of this security event, prompt and effective corrective actions are essential. Accordingly, we made several recommendations for corrective actions in the report. NNSA management agreed to implement the report's recommendations and outlined a number of corrective actions it had initiated or completed. Management's comments were responsive to the report and its recommendations.
Given the unprecedented nature of this security event, prompt and effective corrective actions are essential. Accordingly, we made several recommendations for corrective actions in the report. NNSA management agreed to implement the report's recommendations and outlined a number of corrective actions it had initiated or completed. Management's comments were responsive to the report and its recommendations.
NRC Finalizes Guidance Documents for Post - Fukushima Requirements
NRC Finalizes Guidance Documents for Post - Fukushima Requirements
NRC: Home Page nrc.gov
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, protecting people and the environment.
NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov
August 31, 2012
NRC FINALIZES GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS FOR POST-FUKUSHIMA REQUIREMENTS
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) to U.S. nuclear power plants to ensure proper implementation of three Orders the agency issued in March, in response to lessons learned from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident.
The ISGs represent acceptable approaches to meeting the Orders’ requirements before their Dec. 31, 2016, compliance deadline. The ISGs are not mandatory, but U.S. nuclear power plants would have to seek NRC approval if they wanted to follow a different compliance approach. The NRC issued draft versions of the ISGs on May 31 and asked for public input; the final ISGs reflect information gained from the month-long comment period and subsequent public meetings.
The first Order requires all U.S. plants to better protect portable safety equipment put in place after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and to obtain sufficient equipment to support all reactors and spent fuel pools at a given site simultaneously. The ISG for this Order endorses the industry’s updated guidance for dealing with a scenario that knocks out all of a plant’s alternating current electric sources. The updated approach includes the use of backup power supplies for devices that would burn off accident-generated hydrogen before it could accumulate to explosive levels. The staff concludes the updted approach will successfully implement the Order. The ISG is available in the NRC’s electronic document database, ADAMS, under accession number ML12229A174; the associated industry document is available under accession number ML12242A378.
The second Order applies only to U.S. boiling-water reactors that have “Mark I” or “Mark II” containment designs. Mark I reactors must improve installed venting systems that help prevent core damage in the event of an accident; Mark II reactors must install these venting systems. The ISG for this Order provides more detailed technical information on the vents, as well as how vent designs and operating procedures should avoid, where possible, relying on plant personnel taking actions under hazardous conditions. The second ISG is available in ADAMS under accession number ML12229A475.
The third Order requires all plants to install enhanced equipment for monitoring water levels in each plant’s spent fuel pool. The ISG for this Order largely endorses an industry document that the staff concludes will successfully implement the Order. The ISG defines in
No. 12-097
more detail the water levels the new equipment must accurately report, as well as standards for equipment mounting, powering and testing, personnel training and other criteria. The final ISG notes several areas, including instrument qualifications and instrument protection from falling debris, where the industry revised its initial approach. An exception in the staff’s endorsement sets specific seismic criteria to ensure the instruments will survive an earthquake. This ISG is available in ADAMS under accession number ML12221A339; the associated industry document is available under accession number ML12240A304.
###
News releases are available through a free Listserv subscription or by clicking on the EMAIL UPDATES link on the NRC homepage (www.nrc.gov). E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website. For the latest news, follow the NRC on www.twitter.com/NRCgov.
NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov
August 31, 2012
NRC FINALIZES GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS FOR POST-FUKUSHIMA REQUIREMENTS
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) to U.S. nuclear power plants to ensure proper implementation of three Orders the agency issued in March, in response to lessons learned from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident.
The ISGs represent acceptable approaches to meeting the Orders’ requirements before their Dec. 31, 2016, compliance deadline. The ISGs are not mandatory, but U.S. nuclear power plants would have to seek NRC approval if they wanted to follow a different compliance approach. The NRC issued draft versions of the ISGs on May 31 and asked for public input; the final ISGs reflect information gained from the month-long comment period and subsequent public meetings.
The first Order requires all U.S. plants to better protect portable safety equipment put in place after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and to obtain sufficient equipment to support all reactors and spent fuel pools at a given site simultaneously. The ISG for this Order endorses the industry’s updated guidance for dealing with a scenario that knocks out all of a plant’s alternating current electric sources. The updated approach includes the use of backup power supplies for devices that would burn off accident-generated hydrogen before it could accumulate to explosive levels. The staff concludes the updted approach will successfully implement the Order. The ISG is available in the NRC’s electronic document database, ADAMS, under accession number ML12229A174; the associated industry document is available under accession number ML12242A378.
The second Order applies only to U.S. boiling-water reactors that have “Mark I” or “Mark II” containment designs. Mark I reactors must improve installed venting systems that help prevent core damage in the event of an accident; Mark II reactors must install these venting systems. The ISG for this Order provides more detailed technical information on the vents, as well as how vent designs and operating procedures should avoid, where possible, relying on plant personnel taking actions under hazardous conditions. The second ISG is available in ADAMS under accession number ML12229A475.
The third Order requires all plants to install enhanced equipment for monitoring water levels in each plant’s spent fuel pool. The ISG for this Order largely endorses an industry document that the staff concludes will successfully implement the Order. The ISG defines in
No. 12-097
more detail the water levels the new equipment must accurately report, as well as standards for equipment mounting, powering and testing, personnel training and other criteria. The final ISG notes several areas, including instrument qualifications and instrument protection from falling debris, where the industry revised its initial approach. An exception in the staff’s endorsement sets specific seismic criteria to ensure the instruments will survive an earthquake. This ISG is available in ADAMS under accession number ML12221A339; the associated industry document is available under accession number ML12240A304.
###
News releases are available through a free Listserv subscription or by clicking on the EMAIL UPDATES link on the NRC homepage (www.nrc.gov). E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website. For the latest news, follow the NRC on www.twitter.com/NRCgov.
Letter from Pakistan: How an unfair non-proliferation regime undermines nuclear security
Letter from Pakistan: How an unfair non-proliferation regime undermines nuclear security
By Zahir Kazmi | 30 August 2012Article Highlights
- The positive elements of the Nuclear Security Summit process pale in comparison with the selective application of the global nuclear nonproliferation regime to developing states that seek to create nuclear power industries.
- Despite their failures to fully support nonproliferation efforts, India, Iran, and North Korea have been treated well under the global nonproliferation regime, but Pakistan, which vigorously supports the regime, has been denied membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
- If the overall nonproliferation system is to become equitable and therefore effective, it must allow the nuclear weapon states outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to participate in nuclear export-control cartels, so long as they contribute to controlling proliferation.http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/letter-pakistan-how-unfair-non-proliferation-regime-undermines-nuclear-security
International Experts' Meeting to Discuss Protecting Nuclear Power Plants from Natural Hazards
International Experts' Meeting to Discuss Protecting Nuclear Power Plants from Natural Hazards
The IAEA's Real Time Tsunami Forecasting System is now in development
and could be used to alert nuclear power plant operators when a Tsunami
may arrive and its wave height. (Photo: N. Bekiri/IAEA)
- Meeting Information
- IAEA Expert Team Concludes Mission to Onagawa NPP, Press Release, 10 August 2012
- International Seismic Safety Centre (ISSC)
- Site and Seismic Safety
- IAEA Safety Standards
- In Focus: IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety
- In Focus: Strengthening Safety at Nuclear Facilities
- IAEA Department of Nuclear Safety and Security
- Listen to this story
Story Resources
This meeting will take place in Vienna, Austria from 4 to 7 September 2012. More than 120 experts and government officials from 37 countries, from regulatory bodies, utilities, technical support organizations, academic institutions, vendors and research and development organizations will participate in the meeting.
The IEM will discuss technical developments and research programmes in site evaluation and nuclear plant safety, particularly as they relate to extreme natural hazards such as earthquake and tsunamis.
The IEM will provide an opportunity to share lessons learned from recent extreme natural events, including the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 11 March 2011. This earthquake and associated tsunami affected the Fukushima Daiichi, Fukushima Daini, Tokai and Onagawa NPPs in Japan and triggered the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
This was the first NPP accident to arise from the combined hazards of ground motion and flooding. It highlighted the importance of preparing not only for a single external hazard, but also the combined effect of multiple external hazards, in the safety assessment of NPPs, and the measures for defence in depth.
The IEM will be chaired by Antonio Godoy of Argentina. The IEM will consist of a plenary session and four technical sessions dealing with seismic hazard, tsunami hazard, seismic safety and tsunami safety, respectively. The plenary session will include keynote presentations by the chairpersons of all the technical sessions. At the technical sessions, international experts will make presentations focusing on seven main thematic areas. These include: databases, hazard assessment, characterization of loading effects, event warning systems, safety assessment, protective measures and lessons learned.
There will be a closing session on the final day, when the Co-chairpersons of the technical sessions will present their conclusions. The Chairperson of the IEM will provide an overall summary of the meeting.
Background
The IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, consisting of 12 actions and 39 sub-actions, outlines a programme of work to strengthen global nuclear safety. Activities include enhancing and strengthening IAEA expert peer reviews, developing more robust and effective national regulatory bodies, and strengthening emergency preparedness and response. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident highlighted the importance of protecting nuclear power plants against extreme natural hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
Valuable experience and many lessons have been and are being learned by Member States and operators in managing NPPs under adverse conditions. At the IAEA, seismic safety activities are coordinated through the International Seismic Safety Centre (ISSC). It plays a leading role in supporting nuclear safety globally. Its work and research on external events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes and flooding offers the sound, scientifically-proven basis for the effective implementation of best practices in seismic safety.
The ISSC also compiles a data bank on external hazards and their impact on NPPs as a resource base for Member States. The latest addition to the data bank will be the findings from a recent seismic expert mission to the Onagawa nuclear power station in Japan.
-- By Rodolfo Quevenco, IAEA Division of Public Information
Thorium reactors could hold the key to safer cheaper nuclear power
Thorium reactors could hold the key to safer cheaper nuclear powerhttp://inpowano.blogspot.com/2012/08/thorium-reactors-could-hold-key-to.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Inpo-WanoNewsAndReport+%28INPO+-+WANO+News+and+Report%29
INPO-WANO News Update 8/31
INPO - WANO News and Report
|
- Thorium reactors could hold the key to safer cheaper nuclear power
- Conn. nuclear power plant back at full service 13 days after unit closed with too-warm water
- San Onofre Power Plant To Empty Radioactive Fuel From One Reactor
- IAEA Report Finds Fukushima Didn't Cripple Nuclear Future
- Calvert Cliffs-3 Reactor License Denied; NRC Licensing Board Rules In Favor Of Intervenors, Says Atomic Energy Act
Friday, August 31, 2012
IAEA Report Finds Fukushima Didn't Cripple Nuclear Future
IAEA Report Finds Fukushima Didn't Cripple Nuclear Future energybiz Six months after the Fukushima accident, the IAEA developed a 12-point “action plan” in September 2011 to strengthen nuclear safety worldwide. The plan, which also includes numerous sub-actions, focused on: safety assessments ('stress tests'); agency ...http://www.energybiz.com/article/12/08/iaea-report-finds-fukushima-didnt-cripple-nuclear-future |
What happened to the idea of a President introducing a bold initiative to win an election?
What happened to the idea of a President introducing a bold initiative to win an election?
ANS Update: ANS's Nuclear Technology journal for September
ANS’s Nuclear Technology journal for September
By rmichal on Aug 30, 2012 01:00 amThe September 2012 edition of the technical journal Nuclear Technology is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others. Nuclear Technology is an international journal of the American Nuclear Society and is edited by Dr. Nicholas … Continue reading →
Read in browser »
Startup NuScale holds its own in game of nuclear giants
Startup NuScale holds its own in game of nuclear giants Reuters CORVALLIS, Oregon (Reuters) - Nuclear power startup NuScale Power LLC is competing against some of the biggest names in the business for a U.S. federal grant to develop the next generation of nuclear reactors -- and it is playing the safety card.http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-nuclear-smallmodular-nuscale-idUSBRE87U0RC20120831 |
Growing Seoul-Washington Tension on Nuclear Pact
Growing Seoul-Washington Tension on Nuclear Pact
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4783&Itemid=194
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4783&Itemid=194
Fukushima Updates 8/30
Here's the topic summaries for today's Fukushima Updates. Click the link for the full reports...
After three days of close inspection, the two fuel bundles from #4
Spent Fuel Pool at F. Daiichi have shown no visible damage... Nuclear
energy cutbacks in Japan present a harsh economic reality... Fukushima
Prefecture attacked an environmentalist for an unrealistic threat to
young adults... Tepco reports that the decay heat from F. Daiichi’s
damaged fuel cells caused them to reduce cooling water flows... The
recent results of a nation-wide voluntary survey on nuclear opinion
continue to draw criticism... Finally, the Japanese Press has gone
public with the financial and material drawbacks of replacing nukes with
renewables.
NRC Doings in the News 8/30
Southern Expects First Nuclear Milestone After NRC Review Businessweek Southern Co. (SO) expects to pour the first “nuclear concrete” for its $14 billion atomic construction project in October, a milestone it can reach only if federal regulators condense into two months a license amendment review that normally takes about ... | ||||
NRC denies license for 3rd reactor in Maryland Businessweek ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission can't issue a license to a French company to build a new nuclear power plant in Maryland as long as the company is completely foreign owned, a panel of judges ruled Thursday. The 29-page ... | ||||
Nuclear plant returning to full power Detroit Free Press It has received more attention since February, when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission labeled it one of the nation's four worst-performing nuclear plants. The increased scrutiny followed performance and equipment failures. One lapse was an electrical ... | ||||
Calvert Cliffs-3 Reactor License Denied; NRC Licensing Board Rules In Favor Of ... U.S. Politics Today TAKOMA PARK, Md., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A three judge Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) today denied a license for the proposed Calvert Cliffs-3 nuclear reactor on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. | ||||
Post-Fukushima requirements for US nuclear power plants finalized Power Engineering Magazine The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on August 31 issued Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) to U.S. nuclear power plants to ensure proper implementation of three orders the agency issued in March, in response to lessons learned from the March 2011 ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||
Unraveling the Nuclear Renaissance New York Times (blog) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission might well have approved the site over these objections, but the company said the economics were not favorable. On Thursday, a panel of administrative law judges ruled that Electricite de France could not proceed with ... | ||||
Sempra Energy Releases Latest Corporate Responsibility Report Equities.com ... political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ...
|
Molten Salt Battery Company Changes Name to Ambri, Seeks to Revolutionize
Molten Salt Battery Company Changes Name to Ambri, Seeks to Revolutionize ...
The Green Optimistic
If you remember, there was a certain company founded by a certain Professor Don Sadoway, who invented a molten salt battery designed specifically for the power grid. The battery had two liquid metal electrodes with molten salt as the electrolyte.http://www.greenoptimistic.com/2012/08/31/molten-salt-battery-company-changes-name-to-ambri-seeks-to-revolutionize-grid-storage/#.UEEzZkQVcVk
The Green Optimistic
If you remember, there was a certain company founded by a certain Professor Don Sadoway, who invented a molten salt battery designed specifically for the power grid. The battery had two liquid metal electrodes with molten salt as the electrolyte.http://www.greenoptimistic.com/2012/08/31/molten-salt-battery-company-changes-name-to-ambri-seeks-to-revolutionize-grid-storage/#.UEEzZkQVcVk
Liquid Metal Battery Company is Now "Ambri" This startup is developing the battery based on liquid metal electrodes to be stable. www.ibtimes.co.uk/.../liquid- |
Liquid Metal Battery Company is Now “Ambri” | Environment Molten salt sandwiched between two layers of liquid metal constitutes the inside of a new battery developed by Ambri, a company founded in Cambridge. beforeitsnews.com/.../liquid- |
Bill Gates-backed Liquid Metal Battery is now called Ambri Liquid Metal Battery -- a promising battery startup backed by Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and oil giant Total... Topics: Batteries, Bill Gates, Cleantech Industry, ... www.newfuelist.com/.../bill- |
Anticipated nuclear rebirth faces tough challenges
Anticipated nuclear rebirth faces tough challenges Charlotte Business Journal When the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last month it would stop issuing licenses for nuclear plants until it addresses a court ruling on waste disposal, it appeared to be the latest in a series of recent reversals for the industry. The high ...http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2012/08/31/anticipated-nuclear-rebirth-faces.html |
Wash. state seeks answers about Hanford delays
Wash. state seeks answers about Hanford delays
Seattle Post Intelligencer
The biggest questions center on construction of a massive waste treatment plant to convert highly radioactive waste into a stable, glass form. The $12.3 billion project has encountered numerous technical problems and delays in the past decade and costs ...http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Wash-state-seeks-answers-about-Hanford-delays-3829028.php
Seattle Post Intelligencer
The biggest questions center on construction of a massive waste treatment plant to convert highly radioactive waste into a stable, glass form. The $12.3 billion project has encountered numerous technical problems and delays in the past decade and costs ...http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Wash-state-seeks-answers-about-Hanford-delays-3829028.php
Bechtel Responds to DOE Criticism on $13bn Nuclear Waste Plant
Bechtel Responds to DOE Criticism on $13bn Nuclear Waste Plant Waste Management World According to a the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) the current plant is the fourth attempt to build a treatment facility to convert radioactive waste into glass at the Hanford site. The ANA said that the facility is currently a decade behind ...http://www.waste-management-world.com/index/display/article-display/6752106236/articles/waste-management-world/markets-policy-finance/2012/08/Bechtel_Responds_to_DOE_Criticism_on__13bn_Nuclear_Waste_Plant.html |
US NRC Blog Update: Expanding Public Outreach in California
U.S. NRC Blog |
|
B&W's Matt Miles on the mPower SMR
Atomic Power Review
B&W's Matt Miles on the mPower SMR
Recently,
Will Davis had the opportunity to ask Matt Miles of
Babcock & Wilcox some questions about the Generation mPower SMR
effort. These questions and answers, as well as technical details, some
great illustrations, and links are available at APR now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)