Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

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

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Energy Quote of the Day: ‘Water Availability is a Growing Concern for Energy’

Energy Quote of the Day: ‘Water Availability is a Growing Concern for Energy’

By Jared Anderson
Obama To Deliver Major Climate Change Speech
Keeping with today’s UN World Water Day theme – the official day was Saturday – this comment comes from IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven and shows the energy-water nexus is increasingly recognized at high levels as one of today’s critical energy development challenges. “Water availability is a growing concern for energy and assessing

Infographic: Water Used by Power Plants

Infographic: Water Used by Power Plants

By Jared Anderson
From Moonscape To Lake District: East Germany's Coal Mines
Breaking Energy has been focusing on the energy-water nexus today in our coverage in recognition of UN World Water Day, which occurred this past Saturday. The infographic helps visualize the volumes of water used to generate electricity from various sources. In addition to power generation, water is used to produce oil, gas, coal, biofuels and

Nuclear Matinee: Making Sci-Fi Sci-Fact—Nuclear Energy History and Perceptions

http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2014/03/21/nuclear-matinee-making-sci-fi-sci-fact/

Power Engineering Top Stories 3/25

Top Stories
Mitsubishi Hitachi signs $77.8 million deal for 501J gas turbine
A deal to build what may be the most efficient combined cycle power plant in the U.S. was finalized last week in Tulsa, Okla.
Read More

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Ukraine situation may put UK, Russia nuclear deal on hold
Energy ministers in the United Kingdom said they are reviewing a nuclear power agreement with Russian state-backed company Rosatom as the crises in the Ukraine continues.
Read More

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Duke Energy finds gap in coal ash basin at Cape Fear Plant, receives violation
Duke Energy has notified the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) along with other state and local regulators that a gap has been found inside the embankment of one of the Cape Fear coal ash basins.
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SONGS officials to meet over decommissioning costs
A meeting will be held next week to discuss who will foot a potentially $3 billion bill to decommission the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California.
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Industry News
Appalachian Power updates plans for hydroelectric facility
Appalachian Power’s has released the revised Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) for the Smith Mountain Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project in Virginia.
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Natural gas-fired combined cycle project gains EPC contractor
The Louisiana Energy and Power Authority (LEPA) signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Robins & Morton to build a 64-MW combined cycle power plant in Morgan City, La.
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NRG, EME merger approved by FERC
NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE:NRG) and Edison Mission Energy (EME) have received approval from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the sale of EME’s assets to NRG.
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Gas-fired facility at Xcel's Cherokee plant to be completed by end of 2015
Construction is well along on a new 569-MW gas-fired combined cycle (CC) project at the Cherokee coal plant site, said Public Service Co. of Colorado in a March 17 project update filed at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
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More Headlines
Foster Wheeler to acquire Siemens emissions control business
Planned coal-fired retirements increased by 5.4-GW
Susquehanna nuclear power plant Unit 2 taken offline for maintenance
AMSC closing Wisc. facility, establishing wind manufacturing center
First Solar sets PV efficiency records
Start-up Wolf Point Engineers & Contractors names Bob Williams as VP
Exelon buys natural gas supplier
Citizens group wants North Carolina review of Duke gas-fired project
Post-earthquake shift of dry-cask storage casks poses no significant risk, Dominion says
La Paloma Energy Center scores legal victory for its Texas power project
Cornell University installs solar facility
Small fire extinguished at Michigan nuclear power plant
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, Consolidated Edison Development enter joint venture for solar power projects
B&W to perform steam generator work at Michigan nuclear power plant
Japan sending nuclear materials to the U.S.
Samsung, Pattern and Capital Power begin construction on $850M K2 wind power project
BETE Fog Nozzle Inc. receives ASME Boiler, Pressure Vessel Code Certifications
Gas, renewables account for new generation additions in February
Wisconsin Electric gets no bids to buy Presque Isle coal plant
Fukushima radioactive water decontamination system restarted






 












Ukraine situation may put UK, Russia nuclear deal on hold

Ukraine situation may put UK, Russia nuclear deal on hold
Energy ministers in the United Kingdom said they are reviewing a nuclear power agreement with Russian state-backed company Rosatom as the crises in the Ukraine continues.
Read Morehttp://www.power-eng.com/articles/2014/03/ukraine-situation-may-put-uk-russia-nuclear-deal-on-hold.html

Monday, March 24, 2014

The hidden nuclear battle between Russia and US


The hidden nuclear battle between Russia and US

http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/hidden-nuclear-battle-between-russia-us-130000117.html

As Nuclear Summit Begins, Critics Slam US Arsenal Expansion

As Nuclear Summit Begins, Critics Slam US Arsenal Expansion
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/03/24-6

Fossil Fuel Industry 25 Years After the Exxon Valdez: Still Reckless After All These Years

Kate Fried: Fossil Fuel Industry 25 Years After the Exxon Valdez: Still Reckless After All These Years
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/03/24-10

Soon The Ocean Will Be Generating Power Near Seattle

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/24/3418381/puget-sound-ocean-tidal-power/

Mary Landrieu Is Paying—and Getting Paid Big—for Her Stance on Global Warming

Mary Landrieu Is Paying—and Getting Paid Big—for Her Stance on Global Warming


http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/mary-landrieu-is-paying-and-getting-paid-big-for-her-stance-on-global-warming-20140323

Summits Are Nice but Obama Needs to Do More for Nuclear Security


Summits Are Nice but Obama Needs to Do More for Nuclear Security

http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2014/03/summits-are-nice-obama-needs-do-more-nuclear-security/81079/?oref=d-channelriver

BP, not Exxon, caused the Exxon Valdez disaster


BP, not Exxon,
caused the Exxon Valdez disaster

By Greg Palast
Monday, 24. March 2014 | Read the full story at TruthDig
Two decades ago I was the investigator for the legal team that sold you the bullshit that a drunken captain was the principal cause of the Exxon Valdez disaster, the oil tanker crackup that poisoned over a thousand miles of Alaska’s coastline 25 years ago today, on March 24, 1989.

The truth is far uglier, and the real culprit—British Petroleum, now BP—got away without a scratch to its reputation or to its pocketbook.http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/25_years_after_exxon_valdez_the_hidden_culprit_was_bp_20140323?mc_cid=a6787843f3&mc_eid=4ee9199723

Atomic Show #213 – TMI Memories

http://atomicinsights.com/atomic-show-213-tmi-memories/

Fukushima – Jim Green’s distractions and James Hansen’s warning

Fukushima – Jim Green’s distractions and James Hansen’s warning


http://bravenewclimate.com/2014/03/13/fukushima-jim-greens-distraction/

Beneath Cities, a Decaying Tangle of Gas Pipes

Beneath Cities, a Decaying Tangle of Gas Pipes


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/nyregion/beneath-cities-a-decaying-tangle-of-gas-pipes.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Are We on the Verge of a Nuclear Revolution?

Email Print 8 Recs 0 Are We on the Verge of a Nuclear Revolution?http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/03/23/are-we-on-the-verge-of-a-nuclear-revolution.aspx

Praise for UAE’s ‘gold standard’ nuclear power programme

Praise for UAE’s ‘gold standard’ nuclear power programme


http://www.thenational.ae/uae/praise-for-uaes-gold-standard-nuclear-power-programme

China needs nuclear power: former energy chief

China needs nuclear power: former energy chief
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/850430.shtml

Countries turning to nuclear power for cheap energy

Countries turning to nuclear power for cheap energy 
http://www.nation.com.pk/business/24-Mar-2014/countries-turning-to-nuclear-power-for-cheap-energy

Non-proliferation move by Japan

Non-proliferation move by Japan
Plutonium and highly-enriched uranium research reactor fuel in Japan will be sent to the USA for downblending or disposal. The announcement came as world leaders convene in the Netherlands for the third Nuclear Security Summit.http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Non-proliferation-move-by-Japan-2403144.html

Will President Obama Prioritize Nuclear Cooperation with Saudi Arabia?

Will President Obama Prioritize Nuclear Cooperation with Saudi Arabia?


http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/will-president-obama-prioritize-nuclear-cooperation-with-saudi-arabia

India to ink pact with Russia on nuclear plant reactors next week

http://www.nation.com.pk/international/22-Mar-2014/india-to-ink-pact-with-russia-on-nuclear-plant-reactors-next-week

Group urges regulators to deny request for license extension at Missouri nuclear power plant

http://www.therepublic.com/w/MO--Callaway-Plant-Extension

Japan to Let U.S. Assume Control of Nuclear Cache

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/world/asia/japan-to-let-us-assume-control-of-nuclear-cache.html?_r=0

Obama's MOX debacle

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140322/PC1002/140329747/1021/obamas-mox-debacle

The Fukushima Follies

http://www.fccj.or.jp/number-1-shimbun/item/301-the-fukushima-follies.html

How EU can wean itself off Russian gas

http://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/2014/03/24/how-eu-can-wean-itself-off-russian-gas/

Fukushima Updates 3/24

Fukushima Updates today -

528 fuel bundles have been successfully removed from #4 SFP... Foreign antinukes play “whack-a-mole” with hoaxes and misunderstandings... Tepco has received another $660 million from the government to cover compensation payments... Fukushima fishermen accept Tepco’s groundwater bypass plan... The ALPS wastewater isotopic removal system has been restarted... Another community inside the 20km “no-go” zone will be allowed overnight home stays... A new device for compacting rural radioactive plants has been created... The low level radioactive waste issue is emerging in Japan... The mud at the bottom of some Fukushima dams and reservoirs are high in radioactive Cesium... Greenpeace says children in Fukushima should not be allowed to exercise in playgrounds without wearing facemasks.

25 Years after Exxon Valdez, oil spills ain't what they used to be



25 years after Exxon Valdez, oil spills ain't what they used to be

The tanker spills of yore were bad enough. But the rules that covered them don't apply to the tar-sands oil we're now hauling cross-continent.

Japan’s Plutonium Plans Stoke China Tensions on A-Bomb Risk

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-23/japan-s-plutonium-potential-stokes-china-tensions-on-a-bomb-risk.html

The real front in US-Russia 'Cold War'? Nuclear power

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101507755

Missing radioactive material may pose 'dirty bomb' threat: IAEA

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/us-nuclear-security-iaea-idUSBREA2K10W20140321

Checkmate for cheap unconventional gas

Checkmate for cheap unconventional gas


http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3ba2a206-b0f2-11e3-9f6f-00144feab7de.html#axzz2wtmcfFiz

Permafrost Thaw Exacerbates Climate Change

Permafrost Thaw Exacerbates Climate Change
Cape Cod MA (SPX) Mar 24, 2014 - The climate is warming in the arctic at twice the rate of the rest of the globe creating a longer growing season and increased plant growth, which captures atmospheric carbon, and thawing permafrost, which releases carbon into the atmosphere. Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) Assistant Scientist Sue Natali and colleagues engineered first-of-a-kind warming experiments in the field to determine ne ... morehttp://www.terradaily.com/reports/Permafrost_Thaw_Exacerbates_Climate_Change_999.html

Deep Ocean Current May Slow Due to Climate Change

Deep Ocean Current May Slow Due to Climate Change
Philadelphia PA(SPX) Mar 24, 2014 - Far beneath the surface of the ocean, deep currents act as conveyer belts, channeling heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients around the globe. A new study by the University of Pennsylvania's Irina Marinov and Raffaele Bernardello and colleagues from McGill University has found that recent climate change may be acting to slow down one of these conveyer belts, with potentially serious consequenc ... morehttp://www.terradaily.com/reports/Deep_Ocean_Current_May_Slow_Due_to_Climate_Change_999.html

The U.S. Can’t Really Undermine Russia by Exporting Gas

The U.S. Can’t Really Undermine Russia by Exporting Gas


http://www.technologyreview.com/news/525601/the-us-cant-really-undermine-russia-by-exporting-gas/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-weekly-energy&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140324

Doe's WIPP's Website

http://www.wipp.energy.gov/wipprecovery/recovery.html

Research confirms need for natural gas infrastructure expansion

Research confirms need for natural gas infrastructure expansion


http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/research-confirms-need-natural-gas-infrastructure-expansion/2014-03-24?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

FERC proposal seeks to streamline gas-electric coordination

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/ferc-proposal-seeks-streamline-gas-electric-coordination/2014-03-24?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

For more:
- see the notice of proposed rulemaking
- see this order
- see this order

Few U.S. utilities recognized as "World's Most Ethical" Read more: Few U.S. utilities recognized as "World's Most Ethical" - FierceEnergy http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/few-us-utilities-recognized-worlds-most-ethical/2014-03-24#ixzz2wtde3Dmp Subscribe at FierceEnergy

Few U.S. utilities recognized as "World's Most Ethical"


http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/few-us-utilities-recognized-worlds-most-ethical/2014-03-24?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

Spring Is Annual Assessment Time at the NRC

Spring Is Annual Assessment Time at the NRC

David McIntyre
Public Affairs Officerhttp://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/2014/03/24/spring-is-annual-assessment-time-at-the-nrc/
 
cherrytreeSpring is here at last, and with it the season of NRC’s annual assessments of nuclear power plant performance during the previous calendar year. The Office of Public Affairs is issuing press releases faster than trees drop pollen announcing public meetings in the vicinity of each plant to update residents on how their local plants performed.
These meetings are routine, in that we hold them every year. Yet they are important, because they represent a report card of sorts on plant safety and because they give the agency a chance to reach out to its most important stakeholders — the people who live near the plants and have the highest stake in their safe operation.
The annual assessment letters were issued to the plants earlier this month. And the grades were mostly good. As of the end of December, 89 of 100 operating commercial nuclear reactors were in the two highest performance categories. Of those, 80 were in the highest level, with nine others requiring some additional oversight to correct issues of low safety significance. Another nine were in the third category, requiring even more oversight to correct what we call “degraded” performance.
More good news though – between December 31 and the time the assessments were issued, four of these 18 reactors in the lower second and third column had resolved their issues and moved back into the top category.
One reactor, Browns Ferry 1 in Alabama, is in the fourth performance category. It requires increased oversight because of a safety finding of high significance – including additional inspections to confirm the plant’s performance issues are being addressed.
Finally, Fort Calhoun plant in Nebraska is currently under a special NRC oversight program distinct from the normal performance levels because of an extended shutdown with significant performance issues. The plant remains under special oversight even though the NRC approved its restart last December.
You can find the report card for your local plant on the NRC website’s Reactor Oversight Process page. Just click on the plant’s name in the left-hand column, then look for the 4Q/2013 assessment report on the plant’s individual page. Here you will also find each plant’s current placement in the NRC action matrix, along with performance indicators and inspection findings. Press releases about when your local plant’s assessment meeting will be held can be found here.

Energy Workforce: Culture of Innovation

Energy Workforce: Culture of Innovation


http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2014/03/energy-workforce-culture-of-innovation.html

California ISO approves power transmission plan

California ISO approves power transmission plan


http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2014/03/california-iso-approves-power-transmission-plan.html?cmpid=EnlDailyPowerMarch242014

China moves to build thorium nuclear reactor within a decade

China moves to build thorium nuclear reactor within a decade
China is undertaking an aggressive new initiative to complete the world’s first thorium-based nuclear power plant within a decade.
Full Articlehttp://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2014/03/china-moves-to-build-world-s-first-thorium-nuclear-reactor-within-a-decade.html

ANS Update: Nuclear Energy Blogger Carnival 201

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American Nuclear Society

Nuclear Energy Blogger Carnival 201

By Will Davis on Mar 24, 2014 06:58 am

The 201st Nuclear Energy Blogger Carnival has been posted at The Hiroshima Syndrome.  You can click here to see the latest installment in a long running tradition among the top English language pro-nuclear bloggers and authors. Each week, a new edition of the … Continue reading
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Nuclear waste dumps could power economy, says Deloitte

http://www.afr.com/p/national/nuclear_waste_dumps_could_power_htb2gex2bGDhGzdQ9HVpbL

President Requests Unprecedented Spending on Nuclear Weapons Maintenance, Design, Production

President Requests Unprecedented Spending on Nuclear Weapons Maintenance, Design, Production
Spending Requested Exceeds Reagan’s 1985 Maximum, Goes Up from There
Efficiency of Warhead Complex at Record Low as Billions Are Wasted in Failed Projects, Extreme Salaries, Contractor Subsidies

http://www.lasg.org/press/2014/press_release_4Mar2014.html

FERC Issues License For Tidal Energy Pilot Project In Pacific Northwest

FERC Issues License For Tidal Energy Pilot Project In Pacific Northwest 
http://www.renew-grid.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10912

Planned coal plant retirements on the rise

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/planned-coal-plant-retirements-on-the-rise/242433/

Ex-DOE chief explains how to solve the utility death spiral

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/ex-doe-chief-explains-how-to-solve-the-utility-death-spiral/242281/

Could terrorists really black out the power grid?

Could terrorists really black out the power grid?

If nine key substations are knocked out, the U.S. could suffer a crippling coast-to-coast blackout for 18 months — or more.


http://www.utilitydive.com/news/could-terrorists-really-black-out-the-power-grid/241192/

CFR Daily News Brief 3/24 Nuclear Summit Begins

Daily News Brief
March 24, 2014

Top of the Agenda

Nuclear Summit Begins
U.S. president Barack Obama began a week of international travel on Monday, arriving in the Netherlands for the start of the Nuclear Security Summit. The biannual meeting opened with Japan's announcement that it would turn over its nuclear stockpile to the United States (NYT). The crisis in Ukraine, however, is expected to overshadow the official agenda on nuclear terrorism. G7 members will meet on the summit's sidelines to discuss economic aid to Ukraine. Ukraine on Monday ordered the withdrawal of its forces from Crimea after Russian troops overran a base there, following NATO commander General Philip Breedlove's warning that Russian forces may move into the eastern part of the country (FT). Meanwhile, the summit offers Obama the opportunity to maintain relations with foreign leaders: he is slated to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday, and on Tuesday with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean president Park Geun-hye, two U.S. allies among whom relations have been strained (AP).

Analysis

"Russia's provocative actions in Crimea and the deterioration in U.S.-Russian relations certainly make the pursuit of a cooperative agenda even more challenging and there is more than a theoretical danger of backsliding. Yet, even in the darkest days of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union shared a common interest in reducing nuclear risks and found ways to overcome ideological differences to pursue joint initiatives and agreements designed to reduce those risks and strengthen strategic stability," writes the Arms Control Association.
"Mr. Obama deserves praise for initiating the biannual nuclear summits in 2010. But the process has reached mainly for low-hanging fruit. A more worthy goal would be the worldwide elimination of highly enriched uranium for reactor fuel, which could sharply reduce risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism," writes Alan J. Kuperman and Frank N. von Hippel in the New York Times.
"Governments can no longer act in isolation, as though nuclear security were exclusively a 'sovereign' responsibility. States depend on one another for their nuclear security, and they can be deeply affected by other states' actions. The weakest link in the security chain threatens everyone, and that means a system is needed to identify and strengthen the weak links – a system in which states take steps to build confidence in – and accountability for – their security performance," writes Joan Rohlfing for Project Syndicate.

America's Atomic Time Bomb: Hanford Nuclear Waste Still Poses Serious Risks

America's Atomic Time Bomb: Hanford Nuclear Waste Still Poses Serious Risks

By in New York

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/america-s-atomic-time-bomb-hanford-nuclear-waste-still-poses-serious-risks-a-752944.html

The real front in US-Russia 'Cold War'? Nuclear power

The real front in US-Russia 'Cold War'? Nuclear power


http://www.cnbc.com/id/101507755

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Myths about Thorium nuclear fuel

http://www.whatisnuclear.com/articles/thorium_myths.html

Accident Canceled Due to Inclement Weather

http://allthingsnuclear.org/accident-canceled-due-to-inclement-weather/

ISIS Reports IAEA Report: Status of Iran’s Nuclear Program under the JPA

http://isis-online.org/isis-reports/detail/iaea-report-status-of-irans-nuclear-program-under-the-jpa/#When:17:37:42Z

DOE Announces Webinars on the Wave Energy Converter Prize

DOE Announces Webinars on the Wave Energy Converter Prize, the Best of the Clean Cities Tools and Resources, and More


http://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/doe-announces-webinars-wave-energy-converter-prize-best-clean-cities-tools-and

Despite Fukushima and Media Bias, Americans Support Nuclear Energy

http://energyfromthorium.com/2014/03/21/despite-fukushima-and-media-bias-americans-support-nuclear-energy/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=despite-fukushima-and-media-bias-americans-support-nuclear-energy

A Pilgrims Progress Away from Nuclear Misinformation

http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-pilgrims-progress-away-from-nuclear.html

Critical Analysis of Mousseau Fukushima Presentation

http://atomicinsights.com/critical-analysis-mousseau-fukushima-presentation/

Fukushima cleanup efforts halted: TEPCO is served a class-action lawsuit

http://www.examiner.com/article/fukushima-cleanup-efforts-halted-tepco-is-served-a-class-action-lawsuit?cid=rss

Are We on the Verge of a Nuclear Revolution?

Are We on the Verge of a Nuclear Revolution?


http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/03/23/are-we-on-the-verge-of-a-nuclear-revolution.aspx

The Molton Salt Reactor Case: Will America join the race?

http://energyfromthorium.com/2014/03/21/the-molten-salt-reactor-race-will-america-join-the-race/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-molten-salt-reactor-race-will-america-join-the-race

'Fukishima' blares warning on nuclear risks

'Fukishima' blares warning on nuclear risks


http://www.journalnow.com/relishnow/the_arts/books_and_literature/fukishima-blares-warning-on-nuclear-risks/article_30299409-d81f-557a-8cee-40f414f67226.html