tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952248909621770362024-02-20T13:57:44.440-05:00nuclearCOMmentnuclear.com blog is for folks interested in the science, technology and politics of anything nuclear. Welcome.Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-43751188382737545242013-07-03T17:10:00.001-04:002013-07-03T17:10:04.298-04:00Radiation fear after Fukushima prompted irrational hoarding of iodized salt in most Chinese cities<a href="http://news.nuclear.com/index.php/radiation-fear-after-fukushima-prompted#UBdlBIMh3KfZWexF.15">Radiation fear after Fukushima prompted irrational hoarding of iodized salt in most Chinese cities</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">July 3, 2013 (nuclear.com) -- A newspaper story out of China today mentions that iodized salt was hoarded in most Chinese cities shortly after the Fukushima accident. The article cites Chai Guohan, Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Environmental Protection's Radiation Safety Center, as saying that iodized salt only contains a minimal amount of iodine, meaning that to reach the dose of one iodine tablet, a person has to take several kilograms of salt.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Source: China.org.cn, "<a href="http://www.ecns.cn/2013/07-03/71416.shtml" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153) !important; text-decoration: none;">Scientists allay fears over nuclear power</a>", Ecns.cn, July 3, 2013</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">keywords: #China #radiophobia #iodizedsalt #nuclear #Fukushima #radiation #iodine #thyroid #I131 #iodine #KI #potassiumiodide #salt #iodized #irrational #behavior #irrationalbehavior thyroid radiophobia irrational behavior</div>Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-44202516164984042222013-02-22T10:12:00.001-05:002013-02-22T10:12:20.877-05:00EnergySolutions - $1.1 billion isn't nearly enough, sez owner of about 10% of shares<a href="http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/energysolutions-1-1-billion-isn#bsbmoFapkBWRSO21.15">EnergySolutions - $1.1 billion isn't nearly enough, sez owner of about 10% of shares</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">(nuclear.com, Feb 21, 2013) -- Companies associated with Clint D. Carlson informed the Securities and Exchange Commission today that they oppose the acquisition offer that EnergySolutions Inc's board has approved. The current deal is for private equity firm Energy Capital Partners LLC (ECP) to buy EnergySolutions for $3.75 per share -- that works out to about $1.1 billion.</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The Carlson companies told SEC that "The Reporting Persons do not believe the current offer by Energy Capital Partners ("ECP") to acquire all shares of the Issuer's outstanding Common Stock for $3.75 per share pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of January 7, 2013 (the "Merger"), reflects the fair underlying value of the Issuer. Among other things, the Reporting Persons believe that the offer by ECP does not appropriately value the Issuer's Zion project. In particular, the Reporting Persons believe that the Issuer and its investment banker, Goldman, Sachs & Co., are assigning insufficient value to the restricted cash associated with the Zion project...</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span><br />
Read more at <a href="http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/energysolutions-1-1-billion-isn#OW1HQkwfQ2Q0o22p.99" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/energysolutions-1-1-billion-isn#OW1HQkwfQ2Q0o22p.99</a> </span></span>Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-77780105802316454052013-01-31T23:23:00.001-05:002013-01-31T23:23:15.497-05:00Hatch - emergency diesel generator was inoperable for two years<a href="http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/hatch-emergency-diesel-generator-was#hoj2UsuWwSHiYDTb.15">Hatch - emergency diesel generator was inoperable for two years</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A breaker manufactured in 2004 was miswired. The defect did not affect the breaker's operability where it was first used at Plant Hatch. But it was installed in another location in 2010. And for the next two years, EDG 1C was unknowingly inoperable, even though it passed its monthly tests.</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Here's excerpts about this story from NRC inspection report released today...</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span><br />
Read more at <a href="http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/hatch-emergency-diesel-generator-was#Dotm5S7bSKjyLJ3b.99" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/hatch-emergency-diesel-generator-was#Dotm5S7bSKjyLJ3b.99</a> </span></span>Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-48935829580185261222012-12-07T09:06:00.001-05:002012-12-07T09:06:20.854-05:00Sheltering in place - 1981 Nat'l Inst for Chemical Studies report - 54-pg PDF<a href="http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/sheltering-in-place-1981-nat#yg45ouQpFsXJYmdH.15">Sheltering in place - 1981 Nat'l Inst for Chemical Studies report - 54-pg PDF</a><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This report provides a look at chemical accidents where sheltering in place was used as a public protective action. It was entered into the record in the Indian Point license renewal proceeding.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Excerpt: "To maximize the protective value of sheltering in place, threatened people must know how to shelter effectively and quickly. Public education in emergency preparedness must include information on how and why to shelter in place. In addition, communities must have ways to alert the public to a chemical threat. Emergency alert systems should be able to provide the public with information about the emergency, simple protective action instructions, and information on where to find additional information about protective actions. In many communities, emergency preparedness instructions, including how to shelter in place, can be found in local phone books. LEPCs (local emergency planning committees) in various areas also have implemented strong public education programs for emergency preparedness."</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">nuclear.COMment: phone books are rapidly going the way of the dodo bird. New strategies are needed.</div>Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-59765751058765809582012-12-06T14:43:00.001-05:002012-12-06T14:43:16.326-05:00#Chernobyl - is it true that those who live in exclusion zone are living longer than evacuees? #nuclear<a href="http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/chernobyl-is-it-true-that#Mte8TiEeraIVPqbV.15">#Chernobyl - is it true that those who live in exclusion zone are living longer than evacuees? #nuclear</a><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">* Ted Rockwell: <a href="http://adf.ly/FeuwM" style="color: #666666; text-decoration: none;">A recent study</a> showed that people who refused to evacuate Chernobyl were happier and outlived the evacuees by 20 years, while the evacuees themselves were depressed and suicidal. There is nothing else that is as central to the issue as that one fact.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
* [nuclear.COMment] The link provided by Mr. Rockwell isn't actually a study, and it doesn't suggest 20 years difference. Here's the relevant excerpt from the Telegraph newspaper story: The journalist Alexander Anisimov, who spent his career studying the self-settler community, claimed that the women who returned to their ancestral homes in the zone outlived those who left by a decade. No health studies have been done, but anecdotal evidence suggests that most of the babushkas die of strokes rather than any obvious radiation-related illnesses, and they have dealt better with the psychological trauma. Toxic levels of strontium and cesium in the soil are real, but so are the tug of the ancestral home and the health benefits of determining one’s own destiny.</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span><br />
Read more at <a href="http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/chernobyl-is-it-true-that#jbCGXS3xkCCHa5fi.99" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/chernobyl-is-it-true-that#jbCGXS3xkCCHa5fi.99</a> </span></span>Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-1996952735868812292012-09-30T13:56:00.001-04:002012-09-30T13:56:07.505-04:00Radiation levels around Fukushima are lower than natural levels where people have lived healthily for countless generationsFrom Theodore Rockwell's letter to editor published in Sept 2012 issue of Nuclar News:<br />
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* Low-dose radiation is not harmful, and in the range of interest, is, in fact, beneficial<br />
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* There is no scientific basis for attributing radiation damage to doses less than 10 rad<br />
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<a href="http://news.nuclear.com/index.php/radiation-levels-around-fukushima-are">More</a>Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-75438156549023540842012-09-29T06:41:00.000-04:002012-09-29T06:41:01.223-04:00Diablo Canyon seismic survey - any injury to endangered species could lead to criminal prosecutionThe death or injury of an endangered species would trigger an investigation that could potentially result in prosecution, according to NOAA's Christine Patrick. A nuclear.com info nugget -- http://adf.ly/DHXNr<br />
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nuclear, Diablo Canyon, seismic, map, earthquake, faults, high-energy, air cannon, sonic boom, endangered species, criminal, prosecutionSteve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-78602679745259701792012-09-29T06:38:00.000-04:002012-09-29T06:38:26.824-04:00San Onofre offshore seismic survey planned for 2013 - #nuclearHigh-energy seismic surveys, similar to those scheduled for Diablo Canyon area this year, are planned for 2013 in coastal waters near San Onofre. A nuclear.com info nugget -- http://adf.ly/DHYCE<br />
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nuclear, San Onofre, seismic, map, earthquake, faults, high-energy, air cannon, sonic boomSteve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-86675730578462696742012-09-29T06:28:00.002-04:002012-09-29T06:28:52.642-04:00Diablo Canyon seismic survey - any injury to endangered species could lead to criminal prosecutionThe death or injury of an endangered species would trigger an investigation that could potentially result in prosecution, according to NOAA's Christine Patrick. A nuclear.com info nugget -- http://adf.ly/DHXNr<br />
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key words<br />
nuclear, Diablo Canyon, seismic, map, earthquake, faults, high-energy, air cannon, sonic boom, endangered species, criminal, prosecutionSteve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-87926720394098836292012-09-29T06:09:00.000-04:002012-09-29T06:09:26.296-04:00Diablo Canyon seismic survey - larger boat would allow quicker completion, but shallow waters limit survey vessel sizeCritics have suggested that PG&E use a larger vessel capable of towing longer echo recording lines.<br />
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See more at nuclear.com info nugget -- http://adf.ly/DHVUf<br />
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nuclear, Diablo Canyon, seismic, map, earthquake, faults, high-energy, air cannon, sonic boom, vessel, boat, size, geophone recorders, shallow watersSteve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-78377135724393203962012-09-29T05:52:00.000-04:002012-09-29T05:52:33.166-04:00Diablo Canyon seismic survey - initial scope has been reduced, to demonstrate safety and effectiveness<br />
On Sept 27, 2012, PG&E scaled back the scope and duration of the project's first phase to demonstrate its safety and effectiveness. The modified proposal would survey 51 square miles, instead of 90, over 12 days, instead of 30. If all goes according to plan, the project will be expanded next year.<br />
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See more in nuclear.com info nugget -- http://adf.ly/DHTki<br />
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nuclear, Diablo Canyon, modified proposal, seismic, map, earthquake, faults, high-energy, air cannon, sonic boom, phases, California Public Utilities Commission, PUC, Hosgi fault, Los Osos fault, Shoreline fault, fault zones, Estero Bay, Point Buchon, Department of Fish and Game, permits to harass protected fish and marine mammals<br />
Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-24188973661323639412012-09-29T05:19:00.000-04:002012-09-29T05:19:22.694-04:00Diablo Canyon seismic survey - PG&E agrees that environmental effects will be significant<br />
... environmental effects will<br />
be significant and likely to include temporary displacement of most of<br />
Morro Bay's harbor porpoise population.<br />
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See more at nuclear.com info nugget -- http://adf.ly/DHRSz<br />
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nuclear, Diablo Canyon, seismic, map, earthquake, faults, high-energy, air cannon, sonic boom, Central Coast rockfish, whales, Andrew Christie, Sierra Club, Point Buchon State Marine Reserve, harbor porpoises, precedentSteve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-8391263025833505302012-09-29T05:02:00.004-04:002012-09-29T05:02:59.597-04:00Diablo Canyon seismic survey - examples of environmental precautions<br />
High-intensity blasts will be preceded by low-frequency sound waves<br />
aimed at scaring off fish and marine mammals. And much more. See more at nuclear.com info nugget --<br />
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http://adf.ly/DHPiK<br />
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nuclear, Diablo Canyon, seismic, map, earthquake, faults, high-energy, air cannon, sonic boom, harbor porpoises, southern sea, otters, blue whales, fin whales, humpback whales, abalone, clams, starfishSteve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-27441111012124122512012-09-29T04:50:00.000-04:002012-09-29T04:50:27.948-04:00Diablo Canyon, San Onofre plan offshore seismic mapping using air cannons<br />
High-energy seismic survey is geophysical equivalent of a CT scan. See nuclear.com info nugget at<br />
http://adf.ly/DHJzG<br />
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Key words<br />
nuclear, Diablo Canyon, San Onofre, seismic, map, earthquake, faults, high-energy, air cannon, sonic boomSteve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-78062962804105851892012-09-28T16:32:00.004-04:002012-09-28T16:32:45.512-04:00Kudankulam - major changes since cursory Indian review in 1989 - #nuclear #India #KudankulamKudankulam got a vague environmental clearance in 1989 when the site was not decided, no Environment Impact Assessment was done and no public hearing was conducted (despite being mandatory under law). 3 critical changes were made since: spent fuel will be stored at the plant instead of being sent to Russia, ultimate heat sink will be the sea instead of behind dam, and allowable water temperature rise is higher. A nuclear.com info nugget - See more at <a href="http://www.nuclear.com/archive/2012/09/28/20120928-002.html">http://www.nuclear.com/archive/2012/09/28/20120928-002.html</a><br />
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India, nuclear plant, Kudankulam, Environment Impact Assessment, 1989, hearing, spent fuel, cooling water, ultimate heat sink, water temperature, thermal pollution, Prashant BhushanSteve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-2047979586075135012012-07-31T20:00:00.000-04:002012-07-31T20:00:28.271-04:00Anti-nuclear activists strain to use Fukushima ties in a sort of neo-McCarthyism<br />
Have you noticed signs of desperation in some anti-nuclear propagandizing lately? Two examples within the past week illustrate ...<br />
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http://news.nuclear.com/blog7.php/anti-nuclear-activists-strain-to<br />Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-10865311289049936272012-07-31T15:20:00.002-04:002012-07-31T15:23:13.536-04:00nuclear.com editorial: it's wrong to lump nuclear plant loan guarantees into 'No More Solyndras' billJuly 30, 2012<br />
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Regulatory uncertainty is a major factor in the risk of failure of new nuclear build. If we want new nuclear plants, loan guarantees are a way to balance that risk.<br />
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See full editorial at <a href="http://www.nuclear.com/archive/2012/07/30/20120730-002.html">http://www.nuclear.com/archive/2012/07/30/20120730-002.html</a>Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-16549529267844286852009-05-13T11:06:00.003-04:002009-05-13T11:20:56.674-04:00I don't believe what Mr. Obama says, because I see what he does<div>In a press release yesterday, the anti-nuclear group NIRS noted that "Last week, President Obama submitted his FY 2010 budget, which explicitly calls for an end to the Yucca Mountain project and includes only enough funding for the Department of Energy to participate in the licensing process."</div><div><br /></div><div>If Yucca were really dead, why isn't the licensing effort stopped? The answer is that Yucca is not dead. Mr. Obama has explicitly called for many things. He's called for transparency, for example. Yet he has had lawyers fighting for months to keep Hawaii from releasing his birth records. Neither Yucca Mountain nor court challenges to Mr. Obama's eligibility to serve as President are dead.</div><div><br /></div>Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-31198361776686264782009-04-14T23:58:00.002-04:002009-04-15T00:01:19.427-04:00Next Generation Nuclear Plant<img src="http://www.nuclear.com/archive/2009/04/14/advanced_reactor-hydrogen_cogen.jpg" alt="diagram of advanced reactor design for electricity production and hydrogen production"><br /><p>This is a diagram of an advanced reactor designed to both produce electricity and hydrogen. The NRC presentation which discusses the design is available at <a href="http://www.nuclear.com/archive/2009/04/14/Next_Generation_Nuclear_Plant-NRC-20090414-ML091030059.pdf">http://www.nuclear.com/archive/2009/04/14/Next_Generation_Nuclear_Plant-NRC-20090414-ML091030059.pdf</a>.Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-81859068427126649182009-04-09T22:13:00.001-04:002009-04-09T22:16:34.111-04:00Nuclear plant construction time can be cut 10 months by new Korea Hydro steel plate concrete methodKorea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) claims their new steel plate concrete building method may reduce overall construction time by 10 months while saving 200 billion won ($147US million) for every two 1,400 megawatt reactor units built. South Korea plans to build eight new reactors by 2016 -- all of them are to use this construction method. A commercial reactor usually takes seven years to build at a cost of trillions of won, depending on power output.<br /><br />The state-run company said the PC method uses prefabricated sections made by two steel plates embedded with "studs" that are made at factories and shipped to the construction site. Once they are in place, concrete is poured into the space between the plates to form solid walls. "This method is safer, faster, reduces environmental pollution and can be used in the construction of industrial plants and other facilities," a KHNP spokesperson said. The official said the new method was roughly two years ahead of similar research being conducted abroad.<br /><br />In the past, contractors relied solely on the reinforced concrete method to make specially designed walls at nuclear power plants that required steel reinforcement bars to be built in place, molds to be set up to outline walls, and the space created by the molds filled with cement.<br /><br />[Source: Yonhap News, "<a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2009/04/08/14/0501000000AEN20090408007800320F.HTML">S. Korea develops process to cut time, cost to build nuke reactor</a>", April 9, 2009]Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-62575627465406101372009-04-09T20:15:00.001-04:002009-04-09T20:16:47.945-04:00Hillary Clinton's assessment seems a little off on Iran"There is nothing more important than trying to convince Iran to cease its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon." That is a quote from Secretary Clinton in <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1238562950110&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull">article from Jerusalem Post</a> today. Your humble nuclear.com editor disagrees with her take. It's not the trying that's most important, it's the succeeding.Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-4554372023619326562009-04-09T16:31:00.001-04:002009-04-09T16:34:19.166-04:00Yucca Mountain - a breathtaking viewI'm 54 years old. If I were paid a tenth of a cent for every breath I've taken so far, that would come to about $430-thousand. I mention that because electricity customers have been paying an extra tenth-of-a-cent for each kilowatt-hour produced by nuclear power since 1983. The extra money goes into a federal government account called the Nuclear Waste Fund, which is dedicated to the task of disposing of the spent fuel. There's been a lot of electricity produced by these hundered-and-some plants over the years. The tenth-of-a-cent charges have totalled to some $30-billion. Almost half has been spent already, on Yucca Mountain, without a single spent fuel bundle yet put in the big hole we've dug. And our federal government leaders don't seem inclined to ever let Yucca Mountain be used for that purpose. I know with all the trillions of dollars being printed to bailout, er rescue, er stimulate, a triflingly few billions wasted doesn't seem so breathtaking any more. More's the pity.Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-11124400144484298672009-04-09T13:50:00.005-04:002009-04-09T14:00:42.560-04:00Nuclear power allows Vermont to emit less air pollution in a year than Wyoming does in a day"Vermont Yankee provides nearly all of Vermont’s electricity, making it the cleanest state in the country. (Coal-rich Wyoming emits more air pollution in a day than Vermont produces in a year.)"<br /><br />Source: William Tucker, "<a href="http://planetgore.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NzU4ZjdlZGU2MTU4YTczNDFmNmRmMzNjZjczODc4Yzg=">Go Ahead, Close Oyster Creek</a>", planet gore blog (National Review Online), April 9, 2009<br /><br />Mr. Tucker just published a book titled <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.terrestrialenergy.org/">Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Power Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America’s Energy Odyssey</a></span>. His article title about closing Oyster Creek is not because he thinks shutdown is warranted, but because New Jersey would be so hurt by shutdown that the resultant howling and gnashing would be instructive the rest of the country.Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-81294489770373115122009-03-28T01:35:00.003-04:002009-03-28T01:47:01.850-04:00ESBWR - design cert inspection identified 6 apparent violations at GE-HitachiOn December 15-19, 2008, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducted an inspection at the General Electric-Hitachi (GEH) Nuclear Energy facility in Wilmington, North Carolina. The inspection was part of NRC's design certification review of GEH Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). The inspection team in part focused on the development and use of GEH software codes to perform safety analyses for the ESBWR design certification. NRC today released the inspection report and notice of several apparent violations. <br /><br /><p>05200010/2008-201-01 Open NOV <br />10 CFR Part 21: Failure to perform Part 21 evaluation when other GEH organization indicated that a software problem had impacted their use of the code<br /><br /><p>05200010/2008-201-02 Open NOV <br />Design Control: Failure to document the justification or rationale for the use a particular version of a non-Level 2 code during an alternate calculation to verify original calculations and developer's assumptions.<br /><br /><p>05200010/2008-201-03 Open NOV <br />Corrective Action: Failure to get ECP problem reports responses in a timely manner.<br /><br /><p>05200010/2008-201-04 Open NOV <br />Corrective Action: Failure to have adequate corrective action program for Level 1 software code errors.<br /><br /><p>05200010/2008-201-05 Open NOV <br />Audits: Failure to have the GEH NQA audit plans for 2006 and 2007.<br /><br /><p>05200010/2008-201-06 Open NOV <br />Audits: Failure to adequately document the basis of the audit findings to support the audit conclusions.Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-895224890962177036.post-25042389801036695482009-03-28T01:25:00.004-04:002009-03-28T01:35:26.225-04:00Fermi-3 - Army Corps of Engineers review process goes beyond Clean Water Act guidelines - 20 other public interest factorsArmy Corps of Engineers' Fermi-3 review will include determining whether the project meets its Clean Water Guidelines, and if so, how the project impacts the public interest. There are 20 public interest factors considered: conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values, land use, navigation, shore erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber productions, mineral needs, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people.<br /><p>For more info, see <a href="http://www.nuclear.com/archive/2009/03/27/Fermi-3-Army_Corps_review_process.pdf">pdf of March 3, 2009 letter from ACS to NRC</a>: John Konik (Engineering & Technical Services Chief, Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District's Regulatory Office), letter to NRC Office of New Reactors' Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, March 9, 2009 (ACN ML090850037)Steve Schulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02918382403455590715noreply@blogger.com0