Nuclear and Radiation

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The Nuclear and Radiation working group is focused on exploring the best practices for addressing nuclear and radiation events.

The mission of the "Nuclear and Radiation" working group is to explore and build best practices for addressing nuclear and radiation events.

Members

Kathy Gilbeaux mdmcdonald

Email address for group

nuclear-and-radiation@m.resiliencesystem.org

FUKUSHIMA DISASTER: IMPACTS AND CONTINUING THREATS

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) Report, 2013

More than two years since the nuclear disaster began at the Fukushima Daiichi reactors, its impact is massive and widespread. It will be decades before the full scope of the impacts of this ongoing disaster is fully understood but significant health, economic, environmental and social consequences are already evident and quantifiable. Furthermore, independent expert analyses has documented extraordinary industry influence on government regulators, especially widespread collusion among the Japanese government, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the owner/operator of Fukushima, and the nuclear/utility industry. The Fukushima disaster leaves Japan with massive economic loss, radiation exposure to children and others, and a nation grappling with an uncertain nuclear future.

FULL REPORT HERE

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Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Accident: Ongoing Lessons for New York (and elsewhere)

This panel discussion,Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Accident: Ongoing Lessons for New York, is an extremely informative review of the devastating nuclear event in Japan, the continuing challenges there, and the implications for our own nuclear energy facilities in the U.S. Start the video around 5 minutes in, as there is dead-time at the beginning. The total length is roughly three hours.

The panel includes the former Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan; Ralph Nader, political activist, author, attorney and lecturer; Dr. Gregory Jaczko; former NRC Commissioner, Peter Bradford; and nuclear engineer, Arnie Gundersen. The panel specifically addresses concerns regarding the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant now operating with an expired license in Buchanan, New York.

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Atomic Bomb Nearly Exploded over North Carolina in 1961

Published September 21, 2013, FoxNews.com

The U.S. Air Force nearly detonated an atomic bomb over North Carolina in 1961 that would have been 260 times more powerful than the device that destroyed Hiroshima, according to a declassified report published Friday in The Guardian.

The 1969 document, obtained by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser under the Freedom of Information Act, details the Jan. 23, 1961, B-52 crash near Goldsboro, North Carolina, that saw two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs break up in mid-air.

FULL STORY HERE

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Japan Nuclear Body Says Radioactive Water at Fukushima an Emergency

         

This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, told Reuters.

Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co are only a temporary solution, he said.

Tepco's "sense of crisis is weak," Kinjo said. "This is why you can't just leave it up to Tepco alone" to grapple with the ongoing disaster.

"Right now, we have an emergency," he said.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Update: SoCal Edison Closing San Onofre Nuclear Plant; Will Store Fuel Onsite

      

The San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant is seen on April 6, 2012.

scpr.org - by Ed Joyce - June 7, 2013

Edison International Chairman Ted Craver told reporters Friday that closing the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station would take decades, cost a lot, leave hundreds unemployed and result in spent nuclear fuel that would be stored "for a very long time" directly on the plant's current site.

According to Craver, the company has a $2.7 billion decommissioning fund that can be used for the closure of San Onofre. But the money to make up for the loss of the San Onofre plant will come from California ratepayers, company insurance claims, Edison shareholders and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which produced the equipment that led to the problems at San Onofre.

Craver's comments came in a conference call with reporters following Southern California Edison's announcement Friday morning that it was closing the plant permanently after concluding that the continuing uncertainty about when or if the plant might return to service was not good for customers or investors.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Irreparable Safety Issues: All US Nuclear Reactors Should Be Replaced, Band-Aids Won’t Help

      

An aerial view of the Limerick Generating Station, a nuclear power plant in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. (AFP Photo / Stan Honda)

submitted by Albert Gomez

rt.com - April 9, 2013
nytimes.com - by Matthew L. Wald - April 8, 2013

All 104 nuclear reactors currently operational in the US have irreparable safety issues and should be taken out of commission and replaced, former chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory B. Jaczko said.

The comments, made during the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference, are “highly unusual” for a current or former member of the safety commission, according to The New York Times. Asked why he had suddenly decided to make the remarks, Jaczko implied that he had only recently arrived at these conclusions following the serious aftermath of Japan’s tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daichii nuclear facility.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE - RT.COM)

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE - NYTIMES.COM)

Tank at Hanford Nuclear Site Leaking Radioactive Liquids, Washington Governor Says

      

The disposal facility for mixed and low-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state is shown in an aerial image.  U.S. Department of Energy

NBC News - By Mike Baker and Shannon Dininny, The Associated Press - February 15, 2013

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A tank that holds radioactive liquids is leaking at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday, raising concerns about the integrity of other storage facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The U.S. Department of Energy said liquid levels are decreasing in one of 177 underground tanks at the nuclear reservation. Monitoring wells near the tank have not detected higher radiation levels, the agency said. Inslee said the leak could be in the range of 150 gallons to 300 gallons over the course of a year.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

(SEE ADDITIONAL SOURCE BELOW)
http://www.emergencyemail.org/newsemergency/anmviewer.asp?a=2627&z=34

Are We at Risk of Having Radioactive Zippers in our Clothing?

The Department of Energy is proposing to allow the sale of tons of scrap metal from government nuclear sites—an attempt to reduce waste that critics say could lead to radiation-tainted belt buckles, surgical implants and other consumer products.

The department, in a document released last month, said the recycling proposal is in line with its policy of "reusing materials whenever possible."

The approximately 14,000 tons of metal under review for possible initial release is only a fraction of the tens of millions of tons of metal recycled annually, it said. Smaller amounts could be eligible for release in future years.

Source article

A signon.org/moveon.org petition is being circulated to block the introduction of this radioactive metal into consumer product manufacturing.

Petition

 

Hurricane Sandy: Problems at Five Nuke Plants

      

A cooling tower is seen at the Salem nuclear power plant known as Artificial Island. (Mel Evans/AP Photo)

ABC News - by Mark Schone - October 30, 2012

The nation's oldest nuclear plant declared an alert and a second plant just 40 miles from New York City was forced to shut down power as five different nuke plants in Hurricane Sandy's path experienced problems during the storm.

Indian Point in Buchanan, New York, on the Hudson River north of New York City, automatically shut power to its unit 3 on Monday night "as a result of an electrical grid disturbance," according to Entergy, the plant's operator.

The connection between the generator and the offsite grid was lost, and the unit is designed to shut down to protect itself from electrical damage.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Down the Tubes: San Onofre's Steam Generators in Worst Shape of all US Nuclear Plants

Leaked Edison document says 1,000s of tubes in both reactors damaged

commondreams.org

WASHINGTON - July 13 - The problems with the steam generators at the San Onofre nuclear reactors are the most severe found in comparable generators across the U.S. nuclear industry, according to a new report commissioned by Friends of the Earth. The report by Fairewinds Associates also analyzes a leaked Southern California Edison document, which shows that despite assertions by Edison and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, thousands of tubes inside both San Onofre reactors are severely damaged and both reactors should remain shut down.

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