Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Top IAEA Inspector Tours Iranian Atomic Facilities
Top IAEA Inspector Tours Iranian Atomic Facilities
Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011Earthquake Summary
Earthquake Summary
Tectonic Summary
The Virginia earthquake of 2011 August 23 occurred as reverse faulting on a north or northeast-striking plane within a previously recognized seismic zone, the “Central Virginia Seismic Zone.� The Central Virginia Seismic Zone has produced small and moderate earthquakes since at least the 18th century. The previous largest historical shock from the Central Virginia Seismic Zone occurred in 1875. The 1875 shock occurred before the invention of effective seismographs, but the felt area of the shock suggests that it had a magnitude of about 4.8. The 1875 earthquake shook bricks from chimneys, broke plaster and windows, and overturned furniture at several locations. A magnitude 4.5 earthquake on 2003, December 9, also produced minor damage.Previous seismicity in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone has not been causally associated with mapped geologic faults. Previous, smaller, instrumentally recorded earthquakes from the Central Virginia Seismic Zone have had shallow focal depths (average depth about 8 km). They have had diverse focal mechanisms and have occurred over an area with length and width of about 120 km, rather than being aligned in a pattern that might suggest that they occurred on a single causative fault. Individual earthquakes within the Central Virginia Seismic Zone occur as the result of slip on faults that are much smaller than the overall dimensions of the zone. The dimensions of the individual fault that produced the 2011 August 23 earthquake will not be known until longer-term studies are done, but other earthquakes of similar magnitude typically involve slippage along fault segments that are 5 – 15 km long.
Earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S., although less frequent than in the western U.S., are typically felt over a much broader region. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).
Earthquake Information for Virginia
Magnitude 5.8 - VIRGINIA
Magnitude 5.8 - VIRGINIA
2011 August 23 17:51:04 UTC
Earthquake Details
- This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
| Magnitude | 5.8 |
|---|---|
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 37.936°N, 77.933°W |
| Depth | 6 km (3.7 miles) |
| Region | VIRGINIA |
| Distances |
|
| Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 2.3 km (1.4 miles); depth +/- 3.1 km (1.9 miles) |
| Parameters | NST= 22, Nph= 23, Dmin=50 km, Rmss=0.44 sec, Gp= 79°, M-type=centroid moment magnitude (Mw), Version=B |
| Source | |
| Event ID | se082311a |
USGS Earthquake List for 10-degree Map Centered at 40°N, 80°W
Earthquake List for 10-degree Map Centered at 40°N, 80°W
Update time = Tue Aug 23 22:00:04 UTC 2011Here is a list of the earthquakes located by the USGS and contributing networks for the 10-degree Map Centered at 40°N, 80°W. Most recent events are at the top. (Some early events may be obscured by later ones on the map.) Click on the date portion of an earthquake record in the list below for more information.
| MAG | UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s | LAT deg | LON deg | DEPTH km | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAP | 2.8 | 2011/08/23 18:46:50 | 37.931 | -77.935 | 0.1 | VIRGINIA |
| MAP | 5.8 | 2011/08/23 17:51:04 | 37.936 | -77.933 | 6.0 | VIRGINIA |
From Hiroshima to Fukushima: Japan to Declare Wide Area 'Uninhabitable' Due to Radiation GREG MITCHELL | Examining the nuclear entrapment that is with us to this day.
GREG MITCHELL | Examining the nuclear entrapment that is with us to this day.
NRC MONITORING ALERT AT NORTH ANNA FOLLOWING VIRGNINIA EARTHQUAKE
NRC MONITORING ALERT AT NORTH ANNA
FOLLOWING VIRGNINIA EARTHQUAKE
No. 11-153
August 23, 2011
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission headquarters in Rockville, Md., is monitoring an Alert at the North Anna nuclear power plant in Virginia, following today’s earthquake in central Virginia. The NRC is also monitoring Unusual Events, the lowest emergency classification, declared at several other Eastern U.S. nuclear power plants. In accordance with agency procedures, the NRC’s regional offices in King of Prussia, Pa., and Atlanta have activated their incident response centers. NRC resident inspectors at the affected nuclear power plants will continue to monitor conditions for the duration of the event.
North Anna declared its Alert, the second-lowest of the NRC’s four emergency classifications, when the plant lost electricity from the grid following the quake just before 2 p.m. Tuesday. Power is being provided by onsite diesel generators and the plant’s safety systems are operating normally. Plant personnel and NRC resident inspectors are continuing to examine plant conditions.
NRC staff in the Maryland headquarters felt the quake and immediately began checking with U.S. nuclear power plants. The NRC is in direct communications with North Anna and is coordinating its response with other federal agencies.
Nuclear power plants are built to withstand environmental hazards, including earthquakes. Even those plants that are located outside of areas with extensive seismic activity are designed for safety in the event of such a natural disaster. The NRC requires that safety-significant structures, systems, and components be designed to take into account the most severe natural phenomena historically reported for the site and surrounding area.
Plants declaring Unusual Events, which indicate a potential decrease in plant safety, include Peach Bottom, Three Mile Island, Susquehanna and Limerick in Pennsylvania; Salem,
Safe shutdown achieved at Dominion’s North Anna site following 5.8 magnitude earthquake
Safe shutdown achieved at Dominion’s North Anna site following 5.8 magnitude earthquake
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake (USGS data) shook much of the east coast at 1:51 PM eastern time today. Dominion’s North Anna reactors went off line safely and are on emergency power using four diesel generators. (See full text of NRC press release below)The epicenter was reported the U.S. Geological Survey to be near Mineral, VA, (map) about 15 miles from the plant at a depth of about four miles below the surface. An aftershock was reported in the area at a magnitude of 2.8 on the Richter scale soon after.
Dominion reported its reactors shut down safely.
“We did lose on-site power, but all the diesel generators are up and running,” Dominion spokesman Richard Zuercher said 30 minutes after the quake. “Everything appears to be operating just fine.”
Zuercher said North Anna’s operators were preparing to manually shut down the units after the quake when the power station’s operating system automatically powered down both units.
Zuercher told local reporters that diesel generators started as expected to maintain cooling. Dominion’s two-unit Surry nuclear power plant, also in the region, was not affected and continues to operate. Reuters reports that Dominion’s two reactors at its Surry plant in Gravel, VA, continue to operate normally
Dominion is providing real time updates via its Twitter feed. @DomVAPower
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Roger Hannah told wire services the agency was not immediately aware of any damage at nuclear power plants in the southeast. The NRC reported that all other nuclear reactors in the northeast continued to operate normally.
The North Anna site is composed of two units that generate approximately 1,800 MW of power.
Unit 1 began commercial operation in June, 1978 and Unit 2 followed in December 1980.
NRC Press Release 2011 08 23; 1645 HRS eastern time
NRC MONITORING ALERT AT NORTH ANNA
FOLLOWING VIRGNINIA EARTHQUAKE
No. 11-153
August 23, 2011
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission headquarters in Rockville, Md., is monitoring an Alert at the North Anna nuclear power plant in Virginia, following today’s earthquake in central Virginia. The NRC is also monitoring Unusual Events, the lowest emergency classification, declared at several other Eastern U.S. nuclear power plants. In accordance with agency procedures, the NRC’s regional offices in King of Prussia, Pa., and Atlanta have activated their incident response centers. NRC resident inspectors at the affected nuclear power plants will continue to monitor conditions for the duration of the event.
North Anna declared its Alert, the second-lowest of the NRC’s four emergency classifications, when the plant lost electricity from the grid following the quake just before 2 p.m. Tuesday. Power is being provided by onsite diesel generators and the plant’s safety systems are operating normally. Plant personnel and NRC resident inspectors are continuing to examine plant conditions.
NRC staff in the Maryland headquarters felt the quake and immediately began checking with U.S. nuclear power plants. The NRC is in direct communications with North Anna and is coordinating its response with other federal agencies.
Nuclear power plants are built to withstand environmental hazards, including earthquakes. Even those plants that are located outside of areas with extensive seismic activity are designed for safety in the event of such a natural disaster. The NRC requires that safety-significant structures, systems, and components be designed to take into account the most severe natural phenomena historically reported for the site and surrounding area.
Plants declaring Unusual Events, which indicate a potential decrease in plant safety, include Peach Bottom, Three Mile Island, Susquehanna and Limerick in Pennsylvania; Salem,
Hope Creek and Oyster Creek in New Jersey, Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, Surry in Virginia, Shearon Harris in North Carolina and D.C. Cook and Palisades in Michigan. All these plants continue to operate while plant personnel examine their sites.
Please post links to the social media list. ANS will use same to post updates.
Dan Yurman
Email: dan.yurman@usa.net
Mobile: 216-264-9508
Japan Government, industry refocus on nuclear plant exports
Japan Government, industry refocus on nuclear plant exports
Gibson backs off promotion of nuclear plant for local area
Gibson backs off promotion of nuclear plant for local area
No threat seen from fire near Idaho nuclear complex
No threat seen from fire near Idaho nuclear complex
Toward Nuclear Disarmament
Toward Nuclear Disarmament
India has been consistent in its efforts at campaigning for a world free of nuclear weapons. From 1945 onwards, the country has expressed abhorrence for these weapons of mass destruction and presented several proposals and resolutions in the UN General Assembly on universal nuclear disarmament. One of the most prominent and comprehensive approaches aimed at achieving this was presented in 1988 by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi – the Action Plan for a Nuclear Weapons Free and Non violent World Order. It encapsulated a broad based, three phase schedule over a period of 22 years for reaching a world free of nuclear weapons by 2010. However, the world then was still mired in Cold War politics, and the Action Plan was ignored. Disappointed, and with increasing intelligence reports on the advances being steadily made in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme with Chinese help, India finally conducted its own nuclear tests in 1998 ... Read More...
emtech MIT. October 12-19, 2011. MIT Campus. Cambridge, MA.
Technology Review has announced this year's TR35 , our annual list of 35 men and women under the age of 35 whose inventions and research we find most exciting. Blazing new paths in a range of fields, including medicine, energy, communications, IT, consumer technology, and entertainment, the 2011 TR35 are developing software that can't crash, using fast DNA sequencing for medical tests, creating a cheap, safe material for electric-vehicle batteries, guaranteeing security in the cloud, and improving connectivity in poor nations.
The 2011 TR35 will present their work at the emtech MIT conference and also be honored onstage during a dedicated awards ceremony. Click here to view the agenda.
2011 Featured Speakers:
2011 emtech MIT Highlights
- PreView Sessions: Demo sessions that give you a first look at powerful emerging technologies in IT, energy, biomedicine, and the Web;
- Meet the 2011 TR35: Our annual selection of the top innovators under the age of 35 whose inventions and research we find most exciting;
- Expert speakers from organizations such as 1366 Technologies, DreamWorks Animation, Google, IBM, Ion Torrent, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, MIT Media Lab, Sakti3, and Qualcomm;
- Exclusive networking opportunities with 500 innovators and leaders in business and technology,including CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, policy leaders, entrepreneurs, venture investors, and more.
- New location. The MIT Media Lab, a brand new, expanded six-floor structure on MIT's campus is a showplace for new concepts in design, communications systems, and collaborative research.
Updates from ANS Nuclear Cafe
Updates from ANS Nuclear Cafe |
Mysteries and Thrillers in the Dog Days: Lessons for Nuclear CommunicationBy lscheele on Aug 23, 2011 01:00 amBy Meredith Angwin It’s the Dog Days of Summer (at least by some definitions). The Connecticut River Valley lies quiet and breezeless at midday. I eat buttery corn and heart-healthy tomatoes. To everything there is a season, and this is … Continue reading → Read in browser » |
Nuclear talks, energy to top Kim, Medvedev summit
Nuclear talks, energy to top Kim, Medvedev summit
Moscow (AFP) Aug 22, 2011 - North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia this week for rare talks expected to focus on energy cooperation, Pyongyang's nuclear programme and hunger in the isolated Communist state. The Kremlin said the summit will be the highlight of the reclusive Kim's week-long tour of Russia's Far East and Siberia, his second visit to the giant neighbour since 20 ... more
Moscow (AFP) Aug 22, 2011 - North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia this week for rare talks expected to focus on energy cooperation, Pyongyang's nuclear programme and hunger in the isolated Communist state. The Kremlin said the summit will be the highlight of the reclusive Kim's week-long tour of Russia's Far East and Siberia, his second visit to the giant neighbour since 20 ... more
Is oil pricing itself out of the market?
Is oil pricing itself out of the market?
Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Aug 23, 2011 - University of Alberta researcher Andrew Leach likes the way Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal thinks. A new paper by Leach, an associate professor in the Alberta School of Business, and fellow University of Alberta economics researcher Ujjayant Chakravorty, posits scenarios that parallel a statement Alwaleed made in May declaring that it is in the best interests of Saudi oil producers to keep oil ... more
Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Aug 23, 2011 - University of Alberta researcher Andrew Leach likes the way Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal thinks. A new paper by Leach, an associate professor in the Alberta School of Business, and fellow University of Alberta economics researcher Ujjayant Chakravorty, posits scenarios that parallel a statement Alwaleed made in May declaring that it is in the best interests of Saudi oil producers to keep oil ... more
NEI Interactive Graphic: How Nuclear Fuel is Produced, Used and Stored
Interactive Graphic: How Nuclear Fuel is Produced, Used and Stored
What Went Wrong In Fukushima: The Human Factor by Richard Harris
What Went Wrong In Fukushima: The Human Factor
Quantifying human and organizational factors in accident management using decision trees: the HORAAM method
Quantifying human and organizational factors in accident management using decision trees: the HORAAM method
'The Global Oil Shale Market is Worth $2.88bn in 2011' Says Visiongain Report
'The Global Oil Shale Market is Worth $2.88bn in 2011' Says Visiongain Report
LONDON, August 22, 2011/PRNewswire/ --
http://www.visiongain.com/report/673/the-oil-shale-market-2011-2021
Oil shale is not a newly discovered energy source; it has been utilised around the world in various places and at various times for more than 150 years. Oil shale is an organic-rich sedimentary rock, found in around 40 countries throughout the world. It can be utilised as an energy source by heating the shale - through either an in-situ or ex-situ process - to release a substance called kerogen, which can then be refined into oil.
However, the high costs of oil shale extraction, together with the ready availability of conventional oil reserves, have made the oil shale industry uneconomic for most of the 20th century. Over the past few years, a combination of high oil prices, improved extraction technologies, and increasing energy demands has reignited interest in the oil shale industry, and a number of countries are currently seeking to establish major domestic oil shale markets. Visiongain's The Oil Shale Market 2011-2021 report calculates the global oil shale market, defined as, spending on new infrastructure and upgrading of existing oil shale facilities plus spending on R&D, to be worth $2.88bn in 2011.
LONDON, August 22, 2011/PRNewswire/ --
http://www.visiongain.com/report/673/the-oil-shale-market-2011-2021
Oil shale is not a newly discovered energy source; it has been utilised around the world in various places and at various times for more than 150 years. Oil shale is an organic-rich sedimentary rock, found in around 40 countries throughout the world. It can be utilised as an energy source by heating the shale - through either an in-situ or ex-situ process - to release a substance called kerogen, which can then be refined into oil.
However, the high costs of oil shale extraction, together with the ready availability of conventional oil reserves, have made the oil shale industry uneconomic for most of the 20th century. Over the past few years, a combination of high oil prices, improved extraction technologies, and increasing energy demands has reignited interest in the oil shale industry, and a number of countries are currently seeking to establish major domestic oil shale markets. Visiongain's The Oil Shale Market 2011-2021 report calculates the global oil shale market, defined as, spending on new infrastructure and upgrading of existing oil shale facilities plus spending on R&D, to be worth $2.88bn in 2011.
SDE has Completed the Construction of a new Model of Sea Wave Power Plant - an Upgraded and More Efficient Model Than its Predecessors
SDE has Completed the Construction of a new Model of Sea Wave Power Plant - an Upgraded and More Efficient Model Than its Predecessors
TEL AVIV, Israel, August 22, 2011/PRNewswire/ --
The global warming in recent years showed the major need for green renewable energy. The heavy heat waves, floods, melting icebergs and the many natural disasters that struck all the continents have created a situation that does not allow us continue to produce energy in ways that pollutes the globe and there is an urgent need for implementation of alternative energy production systems.
TEL AVIV, Israel, August 22, 2011/PRNewswire/ --
The global warming in recent years showed the major need for green renewable energy. The heavy heat waves, floods, melting icebergs and the many natural disasters that struck all the continents have created a situation that does not allow us continue to produce energy in ways that pollutes the globe and there is an urgent need for implementation of alternative energy production systems.
NRC Issues Final SER For New Reactors At V.C. Summer
NRC Issues Final SER For New Reactors At V.C. Summer
As Westinghouse nears certification of new plant, NRC debates post-Fukushima impacts
As Westinghouse nears certification of new plant, NRC debates post-Fukushima impacts
Monday, August 22, 2011
NRC Outlines Phased Fukushima Review Timetable: 45 Days To 18 Months
NRC Outlines Phased Fukushima Review Timetable: 45 Days To 18 Months
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
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
US nuclear commission moving forward on sweeping safety changes after Japanese nuclear crisis
US nuclear commission moving forward on sweeping safety changes after Japanese nuclear crisis
Future of nation's nuclear waste buried in deficit
Future of nation's nuclear waste buried in deficit
Blue Ribbon Commission on Nuclear Waste: Missing Opportunity for Lasting Reform
Blue Ribbon Commission on Nuclear Waste: Missing Opportunity for Lasting Reform
Obama Likely to Stick With Nukes
Obama Likely to Stick With Nukes
Experts predict the US is likely to maintain its huge arsenal of nuclear weapons despite President Barack Obama's claim to support nuclear disarmament.
Nuclear Exclusion Zones Arise Around Fukushima
Nuclear Exclusion Zones Arise Around Fukushima
TIME (blog)
For those in Japan who've fought against nuclear power, news of the lingering contamination will be one more reason to get the country off atomics. And the data also complicates the counterintuitive arguments of those who say the Fukushima meltdown ...
TIME (blog)
For those in Japan who've fought against nuclear power, news of the lingering contamination will be one more reason to get the country off atomics. And the data also complicates the counterintuitive arguments of those who say the Fukushima meltdown ...
EPA Science Advisory Board Recommends Curbing Environmental Threat from Nitrogen Pollution
EPA Science Advisory Board Recommends Curbing Environmental Threat from Nitrogen Pollution
UCS scientists, Noel Gurwick, reponds to new EPA report on nitrogen pollution.NEI Nuclear Notes Monday Update
Monday Update
From NEI’s Japan micro-site:Some Evacuated Areas Around Fukushima Daiichi to Remain Off-Limits for Extended Period
Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues
Does Japan's new Fukushima exclusion zone add up? - August 22, 2011
Does Japan's new Fukushima exclusion zone add up? - August 22, 2011
A Kim Capture Plan?
A Kim Capture Plan?
The US and South Korean governments continue to use the carrot and stick approach in their dealings with malcontent North Korea. After a quasi-breakthrough at the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum last month over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, the harsh rhetoric and tit-for-tat diplomatic games persist between the two sides. This week, the United States and South Korea launched another joint military exercise aimed at mitigating a potential protracted conflict with the North. Both sides want to maintain the stick part of the policy, especially in light of the recent exchange of fire between the navies of Seoul and Pyongyang. North Korea has reacted with indignation and veiled threats about a resumption of hostilities. The state news outlet, the Korean Central News Agency, released a statement claiming that the country is ‘ready for both dialogue and war.’ Last week, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported that last year’s war ... Read More...
Nuclear Power Still The Energy of The Future After Fukushima
Nuclear Power Still The Energy of The Future After Fukushima
Does nuclear energy have a future, in light of the events at Fukushima? Fukushima Daiichi is the six-unit nuclear-power station on the northeast coast of Japan that was hit by a powerful tsunami, preceded by one of the strongest earthquakes on record.
TVA Approves Completion Of Bellefonte
TVA Approves Completion Of Bellefonte
The utility's board of directors will spend $4-5 billion completing the 1,260 MW reactor
Can Old Coal Plants Be Replaced With Energy Efficiency?
Can Old Coal Plants Be Replaced With Energy Efficiency?
Over the past year, the utility industry has experienced significant angst over pending updates to utility environmental regulations.
Iran moves centrifuges to underground site
Iran moves centrifuges to underground site
Islamic Republic transfers some of its uranium enrichment machines to subterranean facility offering better protection from possible airstrikes9 Companies That Will Benefit From Rising Emerging Market Demand For Coal
9 Companies That Will Benefit From Rising Emerging Market Demand For Coal
Used nuclear fuel-what happens after Fukushima?
| Used nuclear fuel-what happens after Fukushima? |
| 22 August 2011 |
Alexander Corker Comment on TVA Decision to Finish Bellefonte Nuclear Plant PoliticalNews.me (press release) Alexander: “If we want clean air and low-cost, reliable electricity to attract jobs and power homes, then nuclear power is essential to TVA's future. We should continue to take every prudent step to maintain safety at our reactors, recognizing that ...
| Alexander Corker Comment on TVA Decision to Finish Bellefonte Nuclear Plant PoliticalNews.me (press release) Alexander: “If we want clean air and low-cost, reliable electricity to attract jobs and power homes, then nuclear power is essential to TVA's future. We should continue to take every prudent step to maintain safety at our reactors, recognizing that ... |
Large Zone Near Japanese Reactors to Be Off Limits
Large Zone Near Japanese Reactors to Be Off Limits
Energy-saving 'setsuden' campaign sweeps Japan after Fukushima
Energy-saving 'setsuden' campaign sweeps Japan after Fukushima
Neon lights are switched off, trains are running slower and billboards flash energy savings as Japan looks to alternative sources of energy beyond nuclear power
Southern governors hear ideas on investment and energy at Asheville meeting
Southern governors hear ideas on investment and energy at Asheville meeting
New EPA rule could lead to rolling blackouts in Texas, PUC chairwoman says
New EPA rule could lead to rolling blackouts in Texas, PUC chairwoman says
Why does Gulf Power want to raise your rates?
Why does Gulf Power want to raise your rates?
You pay the 2nd highest power rate in the Southeast. Why does Gulf Power want you to pay more?
Russia in talks to build more nuclear plants in Iran: report
Russia in talks to build more nuclear plants in Iran: report
Utah moving closer to getting its first nuclear power plant
Utah moving closer to getting its first nuclear power plant
NRC gives staff 45 days to review nuclear safety recommendations
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NRC gives staff 45 days to review nuclear safety recommendations
SOME NEW WRINKLES IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS SECRECY
SOME NEW WRINKLES IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS SECRECY
A newly released intelligence guide to document classification markings explains the meaning and proper use of control markings to designate classified information. See "Authorized Classification and Control Markings Register" (pdf), CAPCO, Volume 4, Edition 2, May 31, 2011. (See also the associated Implementation Manual of the same date.)
This material is very detailed, comprehensive and quite informative, with only a few redacted passages pertaining to some code word usages.
But though it is only three months old, it is already out of date due to the constant churning within the classification system that regularly generates new marking requirements and cancels old, familiar ones. This has been particularly true lately with respect to changes in markings for "Restricted Data," or classified nuclear weapons information.
Thus, the intelligence guide to classification marking refers to the so-called "Sigma" system for marking Restricted Data. Each Sigma level refers to a particular aspect of nuclear weapons design. According to the intelligence community guide, the Sigma system extends from Sigma 1 to Sigma 15 and also Sigma 20. But that is no longer accurate.
In a July 2011 order (pdf), the Department of Energy determined that Sigma levels 1 through 5 and 9 through 13 are now obsolete. So they have been disestablished. Meanwhile, a new Sigma category, Sigma 18, has been created to address "Control of Complete Designs" and to protect "past and present U.S. nuclear weapons, nuclear devices and weapon designs." See "Control of Nuclear Weapon Data," DoE Order 452.8, July 21, 2011.
At this late date in the nuclear era, there are still other "innovations" in nuclear technology and nuclear secrecy. The New York Times reported last weekend on an apparent breakthrough in the use of lasers to enrich uranium. This laser enrichment process, known as SILEX (Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation), also poses new proliferation issues. See "Laser Advances in Nuclear Fuel Stir Terror Fear" by William J. Broad, August 21.
Though the Times story did not mention it, the SILEX process is also a unique case in which information that was privately generated was nevertheless classified by the government. As far as could be determined, the decision to classify this non-governmental information under the Atomic Energy Act is the first and only time that such authority has been exercised. See this 2001 "Record of Decision to Classify Certain Elements of the SILEX Process as Privately Generated Restricted Data." (See also "A Glimpse of the SILEX Uranium Enrichment Process," Secrecy News, August 22, 2007.)
For its part, the Department of Defense issued a new Instruction last week on "Disclosure of Atomic Information to Foreign Governments and Regional Defense Organizations" (DoDI 5030.14, August 17, 2011).
FAS Terrorism Analysis Reports
Terrorism Analysis Reports
#1 Anatomizing Non-State Threats to Pakistan’s Nuclear Infrastructure
The greatest threat to Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure comes from jihadists both inside Pakistan and South and Central Asia. While there is appreciation of this danger, there are few substantive studies that identify and explore specific groups motivated and potentially capable of acquiring Pakistani nuclear weapons and/or fissile materials. This report fills that gap by exploring the Pakistani Neo-Taliban (PNT) and the groups that fill its ranks.EXCLUSIVE: Pulling back from the nuclear abyss
EXCLUSIVE: Pulling back from the nuclear abyss
New Europe
In a world threatened by nuclear proliferation, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State Kanat Saudabayev, who is also chairman of Kazakhstan's State Commission on Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, talks to New Europe in an exclusive interview ...
New Europe
In a world threatened by nuclear proliferation, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State Kanat Saudabayev, who is also chairman of Kazakhstan's State Commission on Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, talks to New Europe in an exclusive interview ...
A warning for China's nuclear sector
A warning for China's nuclear sector
The collision of two high-speed trains just outside Wenzhou on the night of July 23 – an accident that killed at least 40 people and left more than 190 others injured – was the consequence of China’s love of grandiose public projects; of rash advances borne of impatience for results. This tragedy happened on China’s railways, but its significance does not stop there: the leadership must heed the warnings for other major undertakings at similar scale, most obviously the country’s nuclear-power construction frenzy.
An NRC Staffer Reports from Afghanistan Moderator | August 22, 2011 at 8:30 am | Tags: nuclear | Categories: General | URL: http://wp.me/p1fSSY-pt
 | An NRC Staffer Reports from Afghanistan Moderator | August 22, 2011 at 8:30 am | Tags: nuclear | Categories: General | URL: http://wp.me/p1fSSY-pt |
Dear Friends:I’ve been in Afghanistan approximately six weeks and have traveled the entire country from east to west and north to south. Afghanistan is very rugged with harsh environmental and primitive, subsistence living conditions. Daily temperatures this summer in the southern and western parts of Afghanistan bordering Pakistan and Iran are consistently over 110 degrees, with steady winds that feel like a hot blow dryer and cause perpetual dust clouds. I have not seen one drop of rain since I arrived.
After completing many weeks of pre-mobilization training with USAID and the military, I was deployed on June 24th for Afghanistan. What a shock to the senses when I arrived in Kabul! Besides the heat and air quality being quite oppressive, everything was in a state of lock-down due to security concerns posed by the Taliban. I quickly jumped into an armored SUV and headed through the city to the US Embassy. Many stretches of the drive were reminiscent of the movie “Mad Max,” with an apocalyptic backdrop of bombed out buildings and piles of rubble, armed guards and military vehicles positioned every 50 meters along the main road and multiple security check-points.
Within the first week of assuming duties as Chief of Staff of USAID, I went on three missions with the Ambassador to various locations around the country. In one instance we started taking incoming mortar rounds during a meeting – quite the wake-up call! In another area our helicopter had to take evasive maneuvers to elude potential incoming fire – rough on the stomach if you don’t like roller-coaster effects! Quite a contrast to what I’d been doing a month early -- sporting a coat and tie and working in the air conditioned offices of the NRC.
My typical work schedule is 6 1/2 days a week, 14 to 16 hour days. The days are long and nights are short, and the weeks seem to run into each other after awhile. It’s very easy to lose your sense of time here. I’m fortunate to have a private 8x12-ft room with a small toilet, sink, and shower. Most of my military brethren are two to three persons per similar living area with no latrine facilities in the room. My room is in a “container” building surrounded by sandbags and concrete barriers, and the roof is reinforced to protect against mortar fire.
As part of my job, I attend a lot of the high-level meetings with visiting U.S. Senators, high ranking military officers and Afghan government officials. Often the focus of these discussions is on the US’s ability to help build capacity among the Afghans to become self-sufficient after we withdraw. However, corruption and graft within the government, ethnic tensions, an ongoing insurgency and a very low national literacy rate are very challenging issues.
Still, I am happy to be here serving my country in a way quite different than how I was serving while working in the NRC. I do hope to be home and back at my office soon.
Bob Carlson
26 groups want safety examined after Fukushima
26 groups want safety examined after Fukushima
26 organizations, including New England Coalition, want safety examined after Fukushima
India's Smiling Buddha
| Pokhran-I Operation Smiling Buddha | |
|---|---|
| Country |  India |
| Test site | Pokhran |
| Period | May 1974 |
| Number of tests | 1 |
| Test type | Underground tests |
| Device type | Fission |
| Max. yield | 8 kilotons of TNT (33 TJ) |
| Navigation | |
| Previous test | None |
| Next test | Pokhran-II |
Nuclear Suppliers Group
Nuclear Suppliers Group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
China, Pakistan, and the Bomb
Declassified Documents Show That, For Over Fifteen Years,
Beijing Rebuffed U.S. Queries on Chinese Aid to Pakistani Nuclear Program
Washington D.C., 5 March 2004 - Over the course of three presidential administrations, U.S. governmental officials repeatedly pressed the Chinese government to explain whether it was providing any assistance to Pakistan in the nuclear weapons field, but Chinese officials responded with denials and equivocation. New evidence from Libya of Chinese-language material among the nuclear weapons-design documents supplied by Pakistan raises new questions about the Chinese contribution to Pakistan's nuclear proliferation activities. Exactly what the U.S. government knew and when it knew it remains highly secret in closed intelligence files, but the newly available diplomatic record shows:Beijing Rebuffed U.S. Queries on Chinese Aid to Pakistani Nuclear Program
- U.S. unease over secret China-Pakistan security and military cooperation during the late 1960s
- Chinese assistance to Pakistani nuclear-weapons related projects in 1977
- the refusal by Chinese diplomats in 1982 to give an "unequivocal answer" to queries about nuclear weapons aid to Pakistan
- the conclusion reached by State Department analysts in 1983 that China was assisting with the production of fissile materials and possibly with the design of weapons
- the George H. W. Bush administration's concern in 1989 over "reports of Chinese assistance to Pakistan's nuclear weapons program"
- denials by Chinese diplomats that same year of reports of Chinese nuclear aid to Pakistan
- U.S. pressure on China in 1992 to impose full-scope safeguards on the sale of a nuclear reactor to Pakistan because of proliferation concerns
- more disquiet (late 1992) over China's "continuing activities with Pakistan's nuclear weapons programs"
- the Clinton administration's 1997 certification of improvements in Beijing's nuclear proliferation policies
Romania seeks Chinese boost for nuke plant
Romania seeks Chinese boost for nuke plant
Beijing (UPI) Aug 19, 2011
Romania says it is courting investments from China for its plans to restart a stalled $5.8 billion expansion of its only nuclear power plant. Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc this week told a Chinese audience at the Romanian-Chinese Economic Forum in Beijing he wants to turn his country into a "gateway for China into the European market," asserting it has important economic advantages.
Romania says it is courting investments from China for its plans to restart a stalled $5.8 billion expansion of its only nuclear power plant. Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc this week told a Chinese audience at the Romanian-Chinese Economic Forum in Beijing he wants to turn his country into a "gateway for China into the European market," asserting it has important economic advantages.
ANS Nuclear Cafe 66th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers
ANS Nuclear Cafe
66th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers
Sunday, August 21, 2011
N. Korean leader tours Russian power plant
| N. Korean leader tours Russian power plant UPI.com Kim's communist government is under intense international pressure to abandon its nuclear agenda of using power generation as a means of producing atomic weapons. North Korea is also undergoing a food shortage due to summer flooding. ... |
N-plant area uninhabitable 'for many yrs' / Govt to keep entry ban for 3-km zone
N-plant area uninhabitable 'for many yrs' / Govt to keep entry ban for 3-km zone
The Daily Yomiuri
1 nuclear power plant likely will be kept off-limits for an extended period--possibly for several decades--because they have been highly contaminated with radioactive substances, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The Daily Yomiuri
1 nuclear power plant likely will be kept off-limits for an extended period--possibly for several decades--because they have been highly contaminated with radioactive substances, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Russia bids for more Iranian nuclear plants
Russia bids for more Iranian nuclear plants
Mail & Guardian Online
Russia has put forward "proposals" to build new nuclear power plants in Iran after the completion of the Bushehr project, local media reported on Sunday -- quoting the Islamic republic's atomic chief. "We have held negotiations with the Russians ...
Mail & Guardian Online
Russia has put forward "proposals" to build new nuclear power plants in Iran after the completion of the Bushehr project, local media reported on Sunday -- quoting the Islamic republic's atomic chief. "We have held negotiations with the Russians ...
Radiation fears hit Fukushima on multiple fronts
Radiation fears hit Fukushima on multiple fronts
Mainichi Daily News
1 Nuclear Power Plant. On Aug. 8, a group of 14 elementary and junior-high students were boarding a bus in the city of Date, one city where areas with high levels of radiation have been measured. The students had been invited by a prefectural support ...
Mainichi Daily News
1 Nuclear Power Plant. On Aug. 8, a group of 14 elementary and junior-high students were boarding a bus in the city of Date, one city where areas with high levels of radiation have been measured. The students had been invited by a prefectural support ...
Military installs two high-powered radiation detectors in Japan
Military installs two high-powered radiation detectors in Japan
Stars and Stripes
The new gear enhances the military's ongoing radiation monitoring program in the aftermath of the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant, sparked by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11. All four services in Japan have ...
Stars and Stripes
The new gear enhances the military's ongoing radiation monitoring program in the aftermath of the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant, sparked by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11. All four services in Japan have ...
Nonproliferation rules require tests on Fukushima fuel ...
Nonproliferation rules require tests on Fukushima fuel ...
“Nonproliferation rules require tests on Fukushima fuel. The government will spend about 600 million yen ($7.84 million) developing tests to comply with the ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../
“Nonproliferation rules require tests on Fukushima fuel. The government will spend about 600 million yen ($7.84 million) developing tests to comply with the ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../
Nuclear non Proliferation an Overview
Nuclear non Proliferation an Overview
International Atomic Energy Agency. D. Zahradnik. Section for Safeguards Training. SGCP/CTR. Nuclear non Proliferation an Overview ...
www.iaea.org/.../05_Overview%
International Atomic Energy Agency. D. Zahradnik. Section for Safeguards Training. SGCP/CTR. Nuclear non Proliferation an Overview ...
www.iaea.org/.../05_Overview%
Fukushima contaminating China's seas?
Fukushima contaminating China's seas?
Beijing (UPI) Aug 16, 2011
Chinese sea waters are at risk of being contaminated by radioactive effluents from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was crippled by the March 11 earthquake, China's ocean watchdog warned. China will increase monitoring for radioactive substances in the waters off Fukushima and in the East China Sea, with the aim of forecasting possible effects on the environment and the safe
Chinese sea waters are at risk of being contaminated by radioactive effluents from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was crippled by the March 11 earthquake, China's ocean watchdog warned. China will increase monitoring for radioactive substances in the waters off Fukushima and in the East China Sea, with the aim of forecasting possible effects on the environment and the safeNRC Commissioners Direct Staff to Act Promptly on Fukushima Task Force Recommendations
Friday Update
From NEI’s Japan micro-site:NRC Commissioners Direct Staff to Act Promptly on Fukushima Task Force Recommendations
Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues
Quake in Japan Causes Costly Shift to Fossil Fuels
Quake in Japan Causes Costly Shift to Fossil Fuels
To meet electricity demand, Japan has fired up fossil-fuel plants at great environmental and economic costs.Longtime Nuclear Plant Opponents Are Heard in Japan
Longtime Nuclear Plant Opponents Are Heard in Japan
A Japanese couple has battled to alert people about the dangers of nuclear power, and are seeing major results only after this year’s tsunami.Laser Advance in Uranium Enrichment May Risk Bomb Spread
Laser Advance in Uranium Enrichment May Risk Bomb Spread
General Electric’s success with a half-century-old idea for enriching nuclear fuel more easily, using lasers, has critics worried that rogue states might use the method to make bomb fuel.US-origin HEU returned from South Africa
US-origin HEU returned from South Africa
A shipment of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) from South Africa's Safari 1 research reactor has been returned to the USA. It is the latest milestone in the reactor's conversion to using low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel.Final days of Summer licensing
Final days of Summer licensing
The regulatory process for two new nuclear power reactors in South Carolina is drawing towards its end with the delivery of a safety evaluation report on the reactor units.
Decision to build Bellefonte 1
Decision to build Bellefonte 1
Tennessee Valley Authority has decided to complete a nuclear reactor at Bellefonte - selling and leasing back another new reactor to pay for it.
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