Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Thursday, October 9, 2014

China:: New 5-year plan to raise goals for renewables

China:

New 5-year plan to raise goals for renewables

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/business/n/2014/1009/c90778-8792100.html

AREVA deploys Bonita BPM solution for next-gen nuclear plant projects

http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2014/10/areva-deploys-bonita-bpm-solution-for-next-gen-nuclear-plant-projects.html

Why bombing Iran is an absolutely awful idea

https://rare.us/story/why-bombing-iran-is-an-absolutely-awful-idea/

Fukushima Updates 10/9/14

Fukushima Updates 10/9/14 -

94% of the used fuel bundles have been removed from unit #4 fuel pool… The new ALPS water purification system is undergoing “hot testing”… Japan opens a new nuclear risk research center… New American contributor Rebecca Terrell says “Fukushima’s children aren’t dying”… Japan’s nuke watchdog says the 3/11/11 quake did not cause the nuke accident… The NRA says they will not use “SPEEDI” to plan nuclear accident evacuations… A large Fukushima rice “test crop” will be destroyed, even if it is not detectibly radioactive… Nuke plant restarts will probably reduce Japan’s huge oil imports.

http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/fukushima-accident-updates.html

NRC Blog Update 10/9 The NRC Commission Has Held 5,000 Public Meetings—Give or Take

The NRC Commission Has Held 5,000 Public Meetings—Give or Take

Leave a comment Posted by Moderator on October 9, 2014

Annette Vietti-Cook

Secretary of the Commission

After one of our commissioners noted a milestone in July – the 5,000^th meeting of the NRC’s Commission – we thought it might be useful to share what the Secretary of the Commission does behind-the-scenes in planning Commission meetings. There is much more planning than you might think.

The NRC Commissioners conduct a public meeting. Annette Vietti-Cook is on the left.

First some background. The “Commission,” in NRC-speak, means the presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed Commissioners acting together. At full-strength there are five Commissioners. The Commission sets policy for the NRC, develops regulations on nuclear reactor and nuclear materials safety, issues orders to licensees and adjudicates legal matters.
The federal Sunshine Act requires that any time the Commissioners meet to conduct agency business, the meeting must be public. Exceptions to this requirement are made when the Commission discusses matters such as security or confidential legal, personnel, personal or proprietary information. Our regulations lay out how we will meet the Sunshine Act requirements.
Public Commission meetings are held at NRC headquarters in the Commissioners’ Conference Room, with planning starting months in advance. This is where the staff members in the NRC’s Office of the Secretary (we call it SECY) come into play.
To prepare for the meeting, SECY works with NRC staff to plan agendas for proposed public meetings, including lists of potential internal and external contributors, which are intended to provide the Commission with a range of perspectives.
In the weeks ahead of a meeting, the NRC staff and other presenters send background materials and slides to the Commissioners. This advance information allows the Commissioners to come prepared to get their questions answered. Meanwhile about a half-dozen people in SECY are making sure of the details— arranging parking and pre-registration for external participants, getting relevant information posted on our public website, creating a seating chart for those who will brief the Commission.
As meeting day approaches, SECY ensures other logistics are in order. They make sure the room is set up properly, with name tags, microphones, and water pitchers placed on the conference table, chairs arranged, flags properly positioned. On meeting day, these preparations probably won’t be noticed by the 50-60 people who may come to the meeting and the untold number tuning into the webcast. (Incidentally, the room holds 155). The Chairman opens the meeting and turns the meeting over to the presenters. Following, the presentations, the Commissioners have an opportunity to ask questions.
Even after the meeting ends, SECY has more to do. All public Commission meetings are webcast, recorded and transcribed. The transcript must be validated and posted to the NRC website. The webcast is archived. And following most every meeting, SECY develops a memo to give the staff direction (we call this an SRM, or staff requirements memorandum), which must be approved by the Commission.
So you see, a lot of work goes into organizing the 5,000 or so Commission meetings we’ve held since the inception of the NRC almost 40 years ago – not just in my office. We hope you’ll tune in or attend a Commission meeting in the future. You can find the Commission’s meeting schedule here and a complete schedule of NRC public meetings here.

Inspector faults regulator on nuke plant review

http://www.sddt.com/News/article.cfm?SourceCode=20141008cb&_t=Inspector+faults+regulator+on+nuke+plant+review#.VDarqedTT5g

International Nuclear Safety Journal - Vol. 3, Issue 3, 2014

http://nuclearsafety.info/international-nuclear-safety-journal/index.php/INSJ/issue/current

Alternative Contracting and Ownership Approaches for New Nuclear Power Plants - IAEA TECDOC 1750

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/TE-1750_web.pdf ;

http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/10733/Alternative-Contracting-and-Ownership-Approaches-for-New-Nuclear-Power-Plants-

Passive safety: staying on track

Joseph Somsel looks at the unintended consequences of passive safety systems for Casey Jones and the Cannonball Express. The industry should consider the lessons from this famous accident as it looks to adopt passive safety systems in new reactor designs.
http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featurepassive-safety-staying-on-track-4385660/

Encroaching Tides

Tidal flooding, driven by sea level rise, will dramatically increase in U.S. East and Gulf Coast communities over the next 30 years.

Download

Full report Executive summary Technical appendix

On the Front Line of Tidal Flooding: Community Profiles

Today scores of coastal communities are seeing more frequent flooding during high tides. As sea level rises higher over the next 15 to 30 years, tidal flooding is expected to occur more often, cause more disruption, and even render some areas unusable — all within the time frame of a typical home mortgage.

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/impacts/effects-of-tidal-flooding-and-sea-level-rise-east-coast-gulf-of-mexico#.VDacROdTT5h

Coastal Cities Are Drowning, Thanks To New Reality Of Sea Level Rise

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/08/sea-level-rise_n_5951472.html

Will Falling Oil Prices Kill Iran's Economic Recovery?

10/08/14

John Allen Gay

Economics, Nuclear Proliferation, Iran

Collapsing crude revenues could hurt Rouhani—and force Khamenei to show his true colors in the nuclear talks.

Oil prices have been tumbling for weeks—they were at twenty-seven-month lows this morning and fell further throughout the day. That’s good news for consumers—and bad news for producers. But the man who should be most uneasy is Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. He had promised an “economic boom” and lower inflation, and has even suggested that Iran has the potential to be one of the world’s ten largest economies within thirty years. And he’s had some successes. Iran’s economy isn’t zipping and inflation is still extreme, but he has calmed the widening gyre of economic chaos that former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had stirred up and worked to reduce Iran’s economic isolation.

Read full articlehttp://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/will-falling-oil-prices-kill-irans-economic-recovery-11431

Nukes on the High Seas: Israel's Underwater Atomic Arsenal

10/09/14

Robert Farley

Defense, State of the Military, Israel

Israeli submarines—if reports are accurate—will carry a portion of Israel’s nuclear deterrent under the sea. Can these subs provide a practical deterrent?

In a few months, the fifth “Dolphin” submarine will leave Germany and enter Israeli service. A sixth boat will arrive by 2017. Under normal circumstances, a force of six modern diesel-electric submarines would represent a large, but not outlandish, undersea commitment on the part of a country of Israel’s size and wealth. But the Dolphins apparently play a much larger role in Israel’s self-defense plans; reports indicate that they will carry a portion of Israel’s nuclear deterrent, in the form of nuclear-armed, submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs). Theoretically, this gives Israel the third leg (after ballistic missiles and fighter-bombers) of the nuclear triad. But do the Dolphins provide a practical deterrent?

The Boats and Their Missiles

Israel is not the first country to attempt to manage its subsurface nuclear deterrent with conventional submarines. Early Soviet ballistic-missile submarines relied on conventional propulsion, as did the earliest Chinese prototype missile sub. However, conventional subs have distinct disadvantages relative to their nuclear kin in deterrent missions. Most importantly, they lack the range to remain on station for extended periods of time without access to supply tenders or friendly bases. This makes the submarine vulnerable to attack, potentially as part of a policy of preemption. It also means that fewer subs can conduct deterrent patrols at any given time, making the task of anti-submarine forces considerably easier.

The history of the Dolphin class is relatively well known. The first three boats (delivered starting in the late 1990s) were developed from the ubiquitous German Type 209 class, although with longer hulls and a larger displacement. The second three boats (the first of which was delivered just recently, with the next two arriving before 2017) more closely resemble the German Type 212. Germany donated the first two boats to Israel, partially in recompense for German assistance with Iraq’s chemical-weapons and ballistic-missile programs.

Read full articlehttp://nationalinterest.org/feature/nukes-the-high-seas-israels-underwater-atomic-arsenal-11434

Tomgram: Michael Klare, Washington Wields the Oil Weapon

Tomgram: Michael Klare, Washington Wields the Oil Weapon

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175905/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_washington_wields_the_oil_weapon/#more

France is doing badly, but German energy sector is a disaster - EDF

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11150022/France-is-doing-badly-but-German-energy-sector-is-a-disaster-EDF.htmlWT.mc_id=e_3598071&WT.tsrc=email&etype=frontpage&utm_source=email&utm_medium=Edi_FAM_New_2014_10_9&utm_campaign=3598071
Daily Telegraph 8 October 2014
France is doing badly, but German energy sector is a disaster - EDF
EDF boss says one of German energy giants E.On and RWE is 'more or less dead' and the other 'is in a very difficult situation

While the German economy is in a gradual recovery, France is still stagnating Photo: REX FEATURES

By Emily Gosden7:22PM BST 08 Oct 2014
France's economy may be doing badly but Germany's energy sector is a "disaster", the head of French state-owned energy company EDF has said.
Henri Proglio, EDF chief executive, acknowledged his country was "in a poor situation" and "under pressure".

But he said different industries should be considered in their own right, highlighting the German energy sector, where the country's phase-out of nuclear power and drive for renewables has severely damaged its two biggest companies.

"When it comes to energy they are in a disaster. Their two major companies – E.On and RWE – are under huge pressure. One is more or less dead, the other one is in a very difficult situation," he said. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11150022/France-is-doing-badly-but-German-energy-sector-is-a-disaster-EDF.htmlWT.mc_id=e_3598071&WT.tsrc=email&etype=frontpage&utm_source=email&utm_medium=Edi_FAM_New_2014_10_9&utm_campaign=3598071

China Outlines Plans to Ease Capital Controls, Boost Use of Yuan - Bloomberg

China Outlines Plans to Ease Capital Controls, Boost Use of Yuan - Bloomberg Chinese nationals will be able to buy equities and real estate via a Qualified Domestic Retail Investor scheme, Wang Dan, a deputy director general at the central bank, said today at a conference in Beijing. There are also talks under way to give locals access to yuan capital markets in Singapore and London, she said, without giving any start dates or sizes for the programs. Agricultural Bank of China Co. announced plans today to become the first company to offer yuan-denominated Global Depository Receipts in London. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-09/china-outlines-plans-to-ease-capital-controls-boost-use-of-yuan.html?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1c55f9ac04-The_Sinocism_China_Newsletter_10_09_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-1c55f9ac04-29615013&mc_cid=1c55f9ac04&mc_eid=5935182a65

ENE News Update 10/9 Re: bioaccumulation potential of radionuclides and radiation risks from Fukushima

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) 35th Annual Meeting — The Fukushima Legacy, Nov. 13, 2014: In the face of lack of knowledge and data from regional governments regarding potential risks of Fukushima-associated radiation in the Pacific Northwest [there's a] need to conduct lines of research and monitoring aimed to understand baseline data and bioaccumulation potential of radionuclides and radiation risks… Fukushima… emerged as a global threat for the conservation of the Pacific Ocean, human health, and marine biodiversity… Despite the looming threat of radiation [there's a] lack of radiation monitoring [in] Canada and United States. This is unfortunate, as the potential radioactive contamination of seafoods through bioaccumulation of radioisotopes in marine and coastal food webs are issues of major concern for the public health of coastal communities. Particularly vulnerable are First Nations that rely strongly on… seafoods and fish… The effects of radioactive contamination are likely to affect other top predators, including fish-eating marine mammals inhabiting offshore and coastal habitats of the region… concerns and questions remain about the long-term exposure and bioaccumulation of radioactivity in marine food webs…
SETAC — Prof. J. Alava and F.A. Gobas, Simon Fraser Univ., Nov. 13, 2014: [T]o track the long term fate and bioaccumulation of 137Cs in marine organisms… we assessed the bioaccumulation potential of 137Cs in a North West Pacific food-web… [Specifically, the] marine mammalian food web… outcomes showed that 137Cs can be expected to bioaccumulate gradually… [The] magnification factor for 137Cs [was] from 5.0 at 365 days of simulation to 30 at 10,950 days. From 1 year to 30 years of simulation, the 137Cs activities predicted in the male killer whale were 6.0 to 182 times 137Cs activities in its major prey [Chinook salmon]… This modeling work showed that in addition to the ocean dilution of 137Cs, a magnification of this radionuclide takes place in the marine food web over time.
SETAC — Dr. Erica Frank, Univ. of British Columbia, Nov. 13, 2014: [Fukushima Daiichi is causing] ongoing radioactive contamination of coastal waters, and eventually the Pacific Ocean. This has spurred worldwide concern around conservation of marine plants… animals [and] human health… [The] accident has important implications for public and environmental health policy in North America… there is the lingering question of the effects of long-term exposure, bioaccumulation of 137Cs in marine food webs, and potential health effects on human populations. Despite all of these concerns, there is currently a paucity of [gov't] monitoring…
Ali Hamade, Alaska’s Environmental Public Health Program Director (pdf), 2014:

p.15: Possible Consequences of Misinformation on Radiation — Not eating healthful… foods; Losses [of] jobs, money; Undue stress
p.16: Data..delivers WRONG message
p.17: Same data with public health concern reference level…delivers RIGHT message especially after seeing first graph.. and this… flattens to.. This!
Note: Some text is hidden on p. 16-17. Try ‘select all’ then copy & paste.
Related Posts
Professors: Seafood off N. American coast predicted to exceed gov’t radioactivity limit — “High priority looming threat” to global ocean from Fukushima releases — Radiation levels ‘well above’ 1,000 Bq/kg according to model April 6, 2014
“Prestigious group of international scientists” interested in risk to West Coast from Fukushima radioactive plume — “Major concern for public health of coastal communities” — Bioaccumulation potential in region must be understood April 30, 2014
Expert: Plutonium contamination of Pacific Ocean food chain from Fukushima now suspected; “Real source of potential long term problems for humans” — Newspaper: “Leakage of highly contaminated water into sea must be dealt with immediately” — Gov’t: Effect on health of US public not ‘significant’ (VIDEO) September 14, 2014
California schools announce Fukushima testing: Imperative we monitor for any Fukushima contamination “that will be arriving this year” in ocean — LA Times claims levels are declining, fails to inform readers of radioactive plume crossing Pacific January 13, 2014
Senior Scientist: Fukushima radiation already on West Coast of N. America — We don’t know how much is coming or how fast it’s moving, situation ‘evolving’ — Levels will continue to rise for years — Unprecedented event for Pacific, largest ever radioactive release into ocean (VIDEO) January 15, 2014

Stanford engineer says smart grid needed to shift to alternative energy

http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2014/10/stanford-engineer-says-smart-grid-needed-to-shift-to-alternative-energy.html

PennEnergy's Daily Power Update 10/9


Energy News & Insights
EU approves UK Hinkley Point nuclear power plant plan Commission concludes modified UK measures for Hinkley Point nuclear power plant are compatible with EU rules …more>>

Oregon rejects Wyoming's appeal on coal port The Oregon Department of State Lands has denied an appeal by the State of Wyoming that sought to revive a proposed coal terminal project on the Columbia River …more>>

Gamesa wins 68 MW wind power supply contract in Brazil Gamesa reinforces its position in Brazil, winning a new 68 MW wind power turbine supply contract …more>>

Stanford engineer says smart grid needed to shift to alternative energy Stanford engineer says solar, wind and other alternative sources are easier on the environment but less predictable than coal, gas or oil-fired plants, demanding a more sophisticated distribution and delivery system …more>>


CNA: Nuclear energy Ontario's best choice for clean energy Nuclear association releases an independent study comparing greenhouse gas and other emissions from nuclear power plants, wind farms and natural gas stations …more>>

Windy Cove to acquire, develop CO2 enhanced oil recovery assets Windy Cove announced the formation of a concurrent commitment to invest up to $700 million of equity to acquire and develop CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery assets in the U.S. …more>>

AREVA deploys Bonita BPM solution for next-gen nuclear plant projects AREVA to use its Bonita BPM solution to help deploy and track changes in the construction of next generation nuclear power plants …more>>

Canadian Solar sells three solar power plants to TransCanada Canadian Solar has closed the sale of three solar power plants valued at over C$180 million ($161.2 million) to TransCanada …more>>