Group items tagged

An incident at EDF's Tricastin plant in southeast France late on Thursday forced the company to stop refuelling operations at the reactor 2, which started on Oct. 31, it said on Friday. The incident occurred during refuelling of the reactor, when a fuel assembly got stuck in the pressure vessel, EDF said in a statement. A similar incident took place in Sept. 2008 in the same reactor during refuelling operations and it took around two months for EDF to resolve the problem. "The incident took place at 2215 GMT," a source at the plant told Reuters on Friday. "We are very worried about this especially as this already happened just a year ago," he added.

An incident at EDF's Tricastin plant in southeast France late on Thursday forced the company to stop refuelling operations at the reactor 2, which started on Oct. 31, it said on Friday. The incident occurred during refuelling of the reactor, when a fuel assembly got stuck in the pressure vessel, EDF said in a statement. A similar incident took place in Sept. 2008 in the same reactor during refuelling operations and it took around two months for EDF to resolve the problem. "The incident took place at 2215 GMT," a source at the plant told Reuters on Friday. "We are very worried about this especially as this already happened just a year ago," he added.

CHENNAI: About 55 workers of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station in Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, had to undergo medical treatment after they were exposed to an excessive radiation dosage when they drank water that had been mixed with tritium, a highly radioactive substance. Top officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited blamed the incident on "an insider's mischief." They alleged that "an insider had mixed tritium in drinking water in a cooler kept in the operating island of the first unit" at Kaiga. The incident took place on November 25, when the first unit (220 MWe) was under shutdown for maintenance. Asked specifically whether security was so lax at the plant that a worker could access a bottle containing tritium, an authoritative official said there were sampling points in the reactor building from where workers took vials containing radioactive substances to the chemical laboratories for analysis. "There are standard protocols for handling and managing the transportation and depositing of such radioactive substances. Some insider has played the mischief," the official said. The incident was detected when the workers' urine samples showed an excess of tritium.

CHENNAI: About 55 workers of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station in Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, had to undergo medical treatment after they were exposed to an excessive radiation dosage when they drank water that had been mixed with tritium, a highly radioactive substance. Top officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited blamed the incident on "an insider's mischief." They alleged that "an insider had mixed tritium in drinking water in a cooler kept in the operating island of the first unit" at Kaiga. The incident took place on November 25, when the first unit (220 MWe) was under shutdown for maintenance. Asked specifically whether security was so lax at the plant that a worker could access a bottle containing tritium, an authoritative official said there were sampling points in the reactor building from where workers took vials containing radioactive substances to the chemical laboratories for analysis. "There are standard protocols for handling and managing the transportation and depositing of such radioactive substances. Some insider has played the mischief," the official said. The incident was detected when the workers' urine samples showed an excess of tritium.

"An energy transformer exploded into bits and pieces at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant located on the Kola Peninsula, in Northwest Russia. The incident led to a 50% reduction of power output from two reactor units leaving onsite spent nuclear fuel storage without energy supply. The authorities at the plant neglected to report about the incident. Igor Kudrik, 04/02-2010 "On January 15, 2010 at 16:48 while the plant was operating at 1433 MW capacity, due to a failure in the energy transformer, two 330 kilowatt electric mains, which supply consumers in the Murmansk region, were switched off. The 3rd and 4th reactor units reduced their capacity to 50% of nominal output in accordance with the guidelines," reported the press service of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant on February 3rd, 18 days after the incident took place. But the dry language of the press release disguised the severity of the event"

Many Pee Dee residents recall the details of the incident that occurred on March 11, 1958, in Mars Bluff. Now, with the production of a documentary examining the aftermath of the day a 3-ton unarmed nuclear bomb was accidentally dropped on a family's farm a few miles outside of Florence, the story is coming full circle. Part of the ETV series Carolina Stories, "The Incident at Mars Bluff" tells the story of the Gregg family from that fateful day when their house and all their belongings were destroyed, through their struggles to receive fair compensation from the U.S. Air Force. On Sunday, approximately 30 people attended a free screening of the program at the Florence County library and Matt Burrows, the director and producer of the documentary, was on hand to field questions about the project.

Many Pee Dee residents recall the details of the incident that occurred on March 11, 1958, in Mars Bluff. Now, with the production of a documentary examining the aftermath of the day a 3-ton unarmed nuclear bomb was accidentally dropped on a family's farm a few miles outside of Florence, the story is coming full circle. Part of the ETV series Carolina Stories, "The Incident at Mars Bluff" tells the story of the Gregg family from that fateful day when their house and all their belongings were destroyed, through their struggles to receive fair compensation from the U.S. Air Force. On Sunday, approximately 30 people attended a free screening of the program at the Florence County library and Matt Burrows, the director and producer of the documentary, was on hand to field questions about the project.

But maintenance-related 2008 incident will trigger additional federal oversight All three reactor units at Oconee Nuclear Station operated safely overall during 2008; however, Unit 1 will be under greater federal scrutiny due to an April 15 incident that raised safety concerns, federal officials said Thursday. Advertisement With one exception, all findings during the year were of "very low safety significance," said Andy Hutto, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission senior resident inspector at the plant. Those were corrected appropriately, he said. Only the April 15 incident rose to a level of concern that triggers additional oversight, Hutto said.

They want to find out why a group of workers were subjected to a higher than expected dose while moving a flask containing intermediate-level waste (ILW) on November 25. Checks are ongoing to determine the exposure levels of between six and nine workers, though it has been established they do not breach legal or site-imposed limits. The probe follows an incident in the summer when two workers had to have low-level contamination removed from their hands while working on a clean-up job in the site's sphere-shaped reactor. The two problems come in the wake of a steady improvement in both the nuclear and industrial safety record of operators, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd. It is understood management are keen to tighten up standards in the site's Fuel Cycle Area - which houses the complex of reactor and waste stores - to maintain the recent progress. DSRL spokesman Colin Punler yesterday gave details of the latest incident.

They want to find out why a group of workers were subjected to a higher than expected dose while moving a flask containing intermediate-level waste (ILW) on November 25. Checks are ongoing to determine the exposure levels of between six and nine workers, though it has been established they do not breach legal or site-imposed limits. The probe follows an incident in the summer when two workers had to have low-level contamination removed from their hands while working on a clean-up job in the site's sphere-shaped reactor. The two problems come in the wake of a steady improvement in both the nuclear and industrial safety record of operators, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd. It is understood management are keen to tighten up standards in the site's Fuel Cycle Area - which houses the complex of reactor and waste stores - to maintain the recent progress. DSRL spokesman Colin Punler yesterday gave details of the latest incident.

Fire broke out in a chemical laboratory near India's financial capital Mumbai. The incident that took two lives and left one person injured happened in a lab at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on December 30th. According to authorities fire broke out on the third floor of the lab at the research centre and the dead are said to be the research students who couldn't escape the laboratory in time. Officials have ruled out any radioactive leakage but incident has many worried about the safety of the Indian Nuclear program.

Fire broke out in a chemical laboratory near India's financial capital Mumbai. The incident that took two lives and left one person injured happened in a lab at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on December 30th. According to authorities fire broke out on the third floor of the lab at the research centre and the dead are said to be the research students who couldn't escape the laboratory in time. Officials have ruled out any radioactive leakage but incident has many worried about the safety of the Indian Nuclear program.

One of the reactors at the Cruas nuclear power station in Ardèche, southern France was shut down on Tuesday after a problem with the cooling system. EDF, the French energy company, reported the incident just before midnight local time and shut down the reactor. Water from the Rhone river is used to cool the nuclear plant, which employs more than 1,000 people, and the French Nuclear Safety authority (ASN) said vegetation had blocked the intake. The flow of water was restored in the early hours of the morning and the emergency alert was lifted around 6:30 on Wednesday. The accident was classified as a level two situation on the seven point scale of international nuclear incidents.

One of the reactors at the Cruas nuclear power station in Ardèche, southern France was shut down on Tuesday after a problem with the cooling system. EDF, the French energy company, reported the incident just before midnight local time and shut down the reactor. Water from the Rhone river is used to cool the nuclear plant, which employs more than 1,000 people, and the French Nuclear Safety authority (ASN) said vegetation had blocked the intake. The flow of water was restored in the early hours of the morning and the emergency alert was lifted around 6:30 on Wednesday. The accident was classified as a level two situation on the seven point scale of international nuclear incidents.

"Britain has had seven safety breaches of "actual consequence" at its nuclear power stations in the last decade - one of which was classed as serious. Operators of Britain's nuclear power stations reported 1,343 incidents to the Health and Safety Executive since 2001. The authority's inspectors classified 773 of them as posing no threat, while 563 were safety anomalies. But seven incidents, five of which were related to power plants operated by British Energy, have been listed as harmful. The most recent occurred last year at Dungeness B, after British Energy had been taken over by French nuclear giant EDF, when there was found to be "non-compliance or inadequacy" in its safety arrangements. "

One of two accidents at the Savannah River Site made public last week "had potential criticality safety implications" when a 200-pound bundle of highly enriched uranium fell 15 feet from a crane into a pit of acid. Fuel bundles loaded with highly enriched uranium metal being transported by crane are lowered into a "dissolver" containing acid. The process converts the uranium into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. Twice in August there were problems with the process, problems that caused two SRS employees to lose their jobs. "Two recent events illustrate the challenges management faces in changing the behavior of some workers," a report on the incidents read. The incidents were described in the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report that was made public last week. Having potential criticality safety implications mean that a nuclear chain reaction could have occurred.

One of two accidents at the Savannah River Site made public last week "had potential criticality safety implications" when a 200-pound bundle of highly enriched uranium fell 15 feet from a crane into a pit of acid. Fuel bundles loaded with highly enriched uranium metal being transported by crane are lowered into a "dissolver" containing acid. The process converts the uranium into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. Twice in August there were problems with the process, problems that caused two SRS employees to lose their jobs. "Two recent events illustrate the challenges management faces in changing the behavior of some workers," a report on the incidents read. The incidents were described in the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report that was made public last week. Having potential criticality safety implications mean that a nuclear chain reaction could have occurred.

The mischief at India's most modern nuclear power plant in Kaiga, 35 km south of Karwar (Karnataka), that left 55 employees ill has struck fear among the residents of nearby Mallapuram. Almost a week after the incident, the township where the affected were taken for medical care, wears a deserted look, with most people keeping indoors. Though the authorities have signaled 'no danger', employees of the plant and other residents alike are not venturing out even for daily needs. The entire area has been cordoned off and the road to Kaiga from Mallapuram blocked by investigators. "We are living in constant fear since the incident took place," Suguna (name changed), a teacher who lives with her husband in one of the Type-B quarters, said.She is angry at the restrictions that have been put in place after radioactive material found its way into drinking water at the plant.

The mischief at India's most modern nuclear power plant in Kaiga, 35 km south of Karwar (Karnataka), that left 55 employees ill has struck fear among the residents of nearby Mallapuram. Almost a week after the incident, the township where the affected were taken for medical care, wears a deserted look, with most people keeping indoors. Though the authorities have signaled 'no danger', employees of the plant and other residents alike are not venturing out even for daily needs. The entire area has been cordoned off and the road to Kaiga from Mallapuram blocked by investigators. "We are living in constant fear since the incident took place," Suguna (name changed), a teacher who lives with her husband in one of the Type-B quarters, said.She is angry at the restrictions that have been put in place after radioactive material found its way into drinking water at the plant.

The world is on the brink of an avalanche in the spread of devastating weaponry, a new global non-proliferation group warned Tuesday, saying that a nuclear incident would dwarf the September 11 attacks. The Middle East, particularly Iran, is a potential tipping point, according to Gareth Evans, co-chair of the newly formed International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament. Evans, a former Australia foreign minister, said the world had been "sleepwalking" on the issue of atomic weapons for a decade. "The devastation that could be wreaked by one major nuclear weapons incident alone puts 9/11 and almost everything else (in) to the category of the insignificant," he said, referring to the attacks inflicted on the United States in 2001.

Dakota, Goodhue and Pierce county residents should not be alarmed by the extra activity at the Prairie Island nuclear plant on Tuesday, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. State emergency responders will be participating in an exercise simulating a nuclear incident, said DPS spokesman Doug Neville. The exercise is designed to test the capabilities of emergency responders during a nuclear incident.

Dirk Bartlett, director of government relations for EnergySolutions, today released a copy of the incident report the company submitted to the state earlier this year following a contamination incident at the Bear Creek Road waste-processing facility. The worker who opened the package received by far the highest radiation dose (about 2.8 rems), although a few others were in the area at the time.

The number of nuclear incidents reported by the French nuclear safety watchdog jumped by nearly a third in 2008 year-on-year, the body said on Wednesday. The nuclear safety authority (ASN) told Reuters the number of incidents at level one of the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), which goes from zero to seven, stood at 72 in 2008, up from 56 in 2007, a 28 percent rise year-on-year.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission manned Incident Response Centers in Atlanta and Rockville, Md., Wednesday night, dispatched its resident inspector and called in criticality safety experts to monitor an alert declared at B&W Nuclear Operations Group in Lynchburg, Va. An alert is the lowest level of NRC emergency classifications for fuel facilities such as B&W. The NRC staff continued to monitor the incident, which began at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday until its successful resolution at 12:35 a.m. Thursday. B&W staff activated the facility's Emergency Operations Center after identifying a potential criticality issue in the Uranium Recovery area. A criticality can occur when highly enriched uranium comes together in sufficient quantity or in a container of correct shape to initiate a chain reaction resulting in either a "burst" or a sustained release of radiation.

Mortality and cancer incidence were studied in the National Registry for Radiation Workers in, relative to earlier analyses, an enlarged cohort of 174 541 persons, with longer follow-up (to 2001) and, for the first time, cancer registration data. SMRs for all causes and all malignant neoplasms were 81 and 84 respectively, demonstrating a 'healthy worker effect'. Within the cohort, mortality and incidence from both leukaemia excluding CLL and the grouping of all malignant neoplasms excluding leukaemia increased to a statistically significant extent with increasing radiation dose. Estimates of the trend in risk with dose were similar to those for the Japanese A-bomb survivors, with 90% confidence intervals that excluded both risks more than 2-3 times greater than the A-bomb values and no raised risk. Some evidence of an increasing trend with dose in mortality from all circulatory diseases may, at least partly, be due to confounding by smoking. This analysis provides the most precise estimates to date of mortality and cancer risks following occupational radiation exposure and strengthens the evidence for raised risks from these exposures. The cancer risk estimates are consistent with values used to set radiation protection standards.

"Two local nuclear energy facilities reported incidents to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in recent days. Global Nuclear Fuel closed part of its Castle Hayne fuel manufacturing operation Friday after discovering some safety-related documents were missing. The dry scrap recycle furnace was shut down Friday morning when it was determined the list of items relied on for safe operation was incomplete, the company told the NRC, explaining the equipment was shut down pending revision of the safety documents."

ENVIRONMENT Agency bosses have decided not to prosecute the operator of Sizewell A over an incident which saw thousands of gallons of water contaminated when radioactivity escaped into the North Sea. The incident, in January 2007, involved the fracture of a plastic pipe in a cooling pond building where highly radioactive spent fuel rods are stored under water prior to their despatch to the Sellafield reprocessing works in Cumbria.

A form of vitamin D could protect us from low levels of radiation, before or after a mild nuclear incident. Radiological expert Daniel Hayes of New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene suggested that calcitriol, an active form of vitamin D, could be used as a safe protective agent before or after a low-level nuclear incident. Biologists and pharmacologists specialising in radiation are keen to find an effective agent that could be given orally, have few side effects and protect us from suspected or impending nuclear event.