Group items tagged

Meetings Presently Scheduled for the next 3 months (07/11/08 - 10/11/08) Additional information for each meeting available by selecting [more...]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held the second of two scheduled public meetings on the U.S. Army's application for a license to possess depleted uranium. The first meeting was held Wednesday in Kona. Bigislandvideonews.com covered the second meeting at the Hilo High School Library on Thursday evening. Residual amounts of DU have been found at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, as well as Schofield Barracks on Oahu.

Opponents to a proposed uranium mill in Paradox Valley plan a protest before a public meeting Wednesday in Montrose. Marie Moore of the Paradox Valley Sustainability Association said protesters will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday outside Friendship Hall on the Montrose County fairgrounds to oppose the mill. The Montrose County Planning Commission will hold its second public hearing in the hall at 6 p.m. on whether to recommend a special use permit to Energy Fuels Corp. The final decision on the permit will be up to the county's board of commissioners. At the first public meeting on the permit, on May 19, in Nucla, more than 200 people showed up, both for and against the mill, and feelings were strong on both sides. The West End Planning Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the county planning commission, voted in favor of the bill, 4-1.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) have published a meeting report on the first gathering of the Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Collaborative (NESCC). NESCC is a joint initiative to identify and respond to the current needs of the nuclear industry. The activity provides a cross-stakeholder forum to facilitate and coordinate the timely identification, development, and revision of standards for the design, operation, development, licensing, and deployment of nuclear power plants. Standards for other nuclear technologies, including advanced reactor concepts, will also be addressed. On June 1, 2009, more than thirty individuals gathered at the NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., for the inaugural NESCC meeting. Attendees first discussed the intent of the activity, which is focused on collaboration and coordination rather than standards development. Ambler Thompson, Ph.D., of NIST and Fran Schrotter of ANSI then led participants in a thorough review of the group's charter, and the group agreed on very minor revisions to the document. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Nuclear Society (ANS) indicated that they would need to seek their respective Board approvals at upcoming meetings. The charter will be finalized based upon any comments from ASME, ANS, or any other interested stakeholder, provided such comments are received by ANSI by close of business on Wednesday, July 15.

Regardless of whether Canada's nuclear waste gets sent to New Brunswick for long-term storage, the radioactive material would never-the-less be transported through the province by way of truck, train or boat to such a facility, says the group responsible for finding a storage site. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization says the issue of transporting used nuclear fuel from reactors across the country to one main underground storage facility is a major part of their site selection process, and they want to hear from the public about their methods and procedure. The organization held a public information meeting yesterday in Fredericton, the first in a series of provincial meetings about the process of selecting a site. Similar public meetings will take place today in Edmundston and Saint John, with another scheduled June 18 in Bathurst.

It's not on the front pages of what is left of U.S. newspapers. The headlines are dominated by violence in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, by Miss America's semi-nude photo scandal, and by the Chrysler fiasco. But just about everyone who is anyone is talking about nuclear weapons this week. At the United Nations, representatives from the world's 190 or so nations are meeting (in typical fashion) to prepare to meet. The preparatory meeting of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) is taking place the first two weeks of May to get ready for the Review Conference of the Treaty, which will happen next year. Closer to home this week, Congress heard from its Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. And the Department of Energy released its budget for 2010 requesting $6.4 billion for nuclear weapons programs out of an overall budget of $26.4 billion.

Three structural components were procured and installed by the prime contractor at the MOX Facility that did not meet the technical specifications for items relied on for safety. * In six instances, items used in the construction of TEF failed to satisfy quality standards. In one instance, operating procedures had to be modified to ensure that the problem item did not compromise safety; and, * At ISP, one component that did not meet quality standards was procured. The failure of the item could have resulted in a spill of up to 15,000 gallons of high-level radioactive waste. We concluded that these failures were attributable to inadequate attention to quality assurance at Savannah River. Departmental controls were not adequate to prevent and/or detect quality problems. Additionally, management did not effectively communicate quality assurance concerns between the several Departmental program elements operating at Savannah River. The procurement and installation of these nonconforming components resulted in cost increases. The internal control weaknesses we discovered could have permitted, without detection, the procurement and installation of safety critical components that did not meet quality assurance standards. In a worst case scenario, undetected, nonconforming components could fail and injure workers or the public. In certain instances, the Department took steps to ensure that the prime contractors at Savannah River began action to remediate nonconforming components and to strengthen policies and procedures. Accordingly, we made several recommendations designed to strengthen quality assurance at Savannah River. Finally, the matters discussed in this report provide valuable lessons learned as the Department implements the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Department will use Recovery Act stimulus funds to initiate new and to accelerate ongoing projects throughout its complex. The Department must maintain a focus on quality assurance issues to ensur

PROPOSED nuclear reactor sites at Braystones and Kirksanton have gone forward to the government - in the face of fierce opposition from both areas. Villagers have given the thumbs down at two public meetings. But dozens of 'Hands off Braystones, No to RWE' posters put up ahead of last Thursday's meeting in nearby Beckermet have since vanished mysteriously. Ward councillor Yvonne Clarkson, who personally opposes the RWE plans, said: "We don't know where the posters have gone but what came over loud and clear at the meeting was most local people don't want a nuclear reactor at Braystones. Sellafield is a different matter - it has support for a new power station. It's all about siting.

During the Cold War, Huntington contained a DOE plant involved in the production of radioactive and/or potentially nuclear materials. After its decommissioning, the remains --- except for the compressor building --- were hauled away and buried in Piketon, Ohio. During a 2006 meeting with union members representatives of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of Compensation Analysis and support discussed compensation for health conditions acquired due to working near contaminated materials. After an exhaustive search of the internet, HNN at this time emphasizes the official analysis that current potential radiation exposure --- even at the remaining Compressor Building ---- was/is considered negligible as it results in an annual dose of less than 1 m/rem to the maximally exposure organ. (Based on CDC/OSAS documents) However, worker reports taken from the 2006 meeting create unanswered questions. In fact, the internet search did NOT turn up further documents related to the local USWA and NIOSH. Thus, we have a series of unanswered (or unfound) questions raised by those in attendance.

During the Cold War, Huntington contained a DOE plant involved in the production of radioactive and/or potentially nuclear materials. After its decommissioning, the remains --- except for the compressor building --- were hauled away and buried in Piketon, Ohio. During a 2006 meeting with union members representatives of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of Compensation Analysis and support discussed compensation for health conditions acquired due to working near contaminated materials. After an exhaustive search of the internet, HNN at this time emphasizes the official analysis that current potential radiation exposure --- even at the remaining Compressor Building ---- was/is considered negligible as it results in an annual dose of less than 1 m/rem to the maximally exposure organ. (Based on CDC/OSAS documents) However, worker reports taken from the 2006 meeting create unanswered questions. In fact, the internet search did NOT turn up further documents related to the local USWA and NIOSH. Thus, we have a series of unanswered (or unfound) questions raised by those in attendance.

A Dec. 10 town-hall meeting will address the health effects of high-voltage lines, nuclear-reactor safety and the environmental impact of nuclear plants. Over the past year, a chorus of concern about Florida Power & Light's push to expand its Turkey Point facility has steadily grown louder. Several cities have voiced opposition to the high-voltage lines that would carry power from the larger plant along U.S. 1 to downtown Miami. In response to the worries of those who could be affected, the newly incorporated activist group Citizens Allied for Safe Energy is inviting everyone interested in the matter to a town-hall meeting Dec. 10. A group of speakers will address general issues on nuclear safety, the health effects of power-line magnetic fields, and environmental problems associated with nuclear plants. `POSSIBLE CARCINOGEN'

A Dec. 10 town-hall meeting will address the health effects of high-voltage lines, nuclear-reactor safety and the environmental impact of nuclear plants. Over the past year, a chorus of concern about Florida Power & Light's push to expand its Turkey Point facility has steadily grown louder. Several cities have voiced opposition to the high-voltage lines that would carry power from the larger plant along U.S. 1 to downtown Miami. In response to the worries of those who could be affected, the newly incorporated activist group Citizens Allied for Safe Energy is inviting everyone interested in the matter to a town-hall meeting Dec. 10. A group of speakers will address general issues on nuclear safety, the health effects of power-line magnetic fields, and environmental problems associated with nuclear plants. `POSSIBLE CARCINOGEN'

Unqualified welders and badly-mixed concrete are just two among 1,700 "quality deviations" that have dogged the construction of Europe's first nuclear plant since Chernobyl. It has turned into a costly €2.3bn (£2.1bn) nightmare for Areva, the company, leading the severely delayed build at Olkiluoto, a tranquil, pine-forested island off the coast of Finland. But Rob Davies, director of UK new nuclear for the French state-owned group, insists Britain's fleet of new reactors will not meet in the same fate. According to Mr Davies, Britain is at the forefront of Areva's plans to show it can deliver a fleet of stations on time, in budget and without safety hitches. For the UK to meet its 2020 targets on cutting emissions - which may even be tightened at the Copenhagen summit next week - it will be vital for Areva to deliver a flawless reactor ready for EDF's first plant in 2017.

Unqualified welders and badly-mixed concrete are just two among 1,700 "quality deviations" that have dogged the construction of Europe's first nuclear plant since Chernobyl. It has turned into a costly €2.3bn (£2.1bn) nightmare for Areva, the company, leading the severely delayed build at Olkiluoto, a tranquil, pine-forested island off the coast of Finland. But Rob Davies, director of UK new nuclear for the French state-owned group, insists Britain's fleet of new reactors will not meet in the same fate. According to Mr Davies, Britain is at the forefront of Areva's plans to show it can deliver a fleet of stations on time, in budget and without safety hitches. For the UK to meet its 2020 targets on cutting emissions - which may even be tightened at the Copenhagen summit next week - it will be vital for Areva to deliver a flawless reactor ready for EDF's first plant in 2017.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is accusing its management and operations contractor of "poor management" and said that delays in removing certain legacy waste is undermining its confidence to meet contractual goals. In a letter from Savannah River Site Manager Jeff Allison, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) was informed Dec. 1 that its seeming inabilities to meet deadlines for the removal of legacy transuranic waste (TRU) from SRS "undermine DOE's confidence in SRNS' ability to achieve DOE's performance expectations for the overall TRU project." Savannah River Operations Office (DOE-SR) Manager Allison sent the letter to SRNS President and CEO Garry Flowers, stating that 4,200 cubic meters of legacy TRU must successfully be disposed of by Sept. 30, 2012. "However, recent performance suggests this expectation may not be realized," Allison wrote. "I find this disconcerting, especially given the past history of success with this project."

The Department of Energy (DOE) is accusing its management and operations contractor of "poor management" and said that delays in removing certain legacy waste is undermining its confidence to meet contractual goals. In a letter from Savannah River Site Manager Jeff Allison, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) was informed Dec. 1 that its seeming inabilities to meet deadlines for the removal of legacy transuranic waste (TRU) from SRS "undermine DOE's confidence in SRNS' ability to achieve DOE's performance expectations for the overall TRU project." Savannah River Operations Office (DOE-SR) Manager Allison sent the letter to SRNS President and CEO Garry Flowers, stating that 4,200 cubic meters of legacy TRU must successfully be disposed of by Sept. 30, 2012. "However, recent performance suggests this expectation may not be realized," Allison wrote. "I find this disconcerting, especially given the past history of success with this project."

The industry is angling for 25 to 30 new plants, loan guarantees and fuel recycling. To meet the current goals for greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. would have to build 187 new nuclear plants by 2050, according to former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, who now co-chairs the Case Energy Coalition, which advocates increased nuclear power in the U.S. But the industry will settle for 25 to 30 by 2030, she said. That would be enough to meet the expected growth in demand for electricity in the U.S. while keeping nuclear around 20 percent of the mix. The U.S. currently has 104 reactors.

The industry is angling for 25 to 30 new plants, loan guarantees and fuel recycling. To meet the current goals for greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. would have to build 187 new nuclear plants by 2050, according to former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, who now co-chairs the Case Energy Coalition, which advocates increased nuclear power in the U.S. But the industry will settle for 25 to 30 by 2030, she said. That would be enough to meet the expected growth in demand for electricity in the U.S. while keeping nuclear around 20 percent of the mix. The U.S. currently has 104 reactors.

The man, who in 1986 lifted the lid on Israel's nuclear secrets, has been placed under house arrest ahead of an expected indictment following his meeting with a Norwegian woman. Mordechai Vanunu was detained by authorities in Jerusalem for breaching a ban imposed on contact with all foreigners. His defence has argued that the meeting was no more than a romantic liaison and did not relate to any nuclear issues, says a report by the Irish Times. "This Jewish state has 200 atomic . . . hydrogen bombs, atomic weapons, neutron bomb. They are not able to say they have the bomb, they are not able to destroy anyone . . . instead they arrest Vanunu Mordechai," said the defendant in court, where he spoke only in English as part of a continued campaign against Israeli authorities, including a boycott of the Hebrew language. Vanunu has been fighting for permission to leave Israel for over two decades.

The man, who in 1986 lifted the lid on Israel's nuclear secrets, has been placed under house arrest ahead of an expected indictment following his meeting with a Norwegian woman. Mordechai Vanunu was detained by authorities in Jerusalem for breaching a ban imposed on contact with all foreigners. His defence has argued that the meeting was no more than a romantic liaison and did not relate to any nuclear issues, says a report by the Irish Times. "This Jewish state has 200 atomic . . . hydrogen bombs, atomic weapons, neutron bomb. They are not able to say they have the bomb, they are not able to destroy anyone . . . instead they arrest Vanunu Mordechai," said the defendant in court, where he spoke only in English as part of a continued campaign against Israeli authorities, including a boycott of the Hebrew language. Vanunu has been fighting for permission to leave Israel for over two decades.

"Three meetings have been scheduled in Kennewick to explain changes in a compensation program for ill Hanford nuclear reservation workers or their survivors. A recent change to the program should make more Hanford workers, retirees or their survivors eligible for $150,000 compensation and coverage of some medical expenses related to cancer or certain lung diseases. The meetings also will give an overview of the entire program, which provides compensation for illnesses caused by radiation or hazardous chemicals. Staff from the Hanford Resource Center will be available to help people file claims. The Department of Labor meetings are planned at 7 p.m. March 16 and at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. March 17 at the Red Lion Hotel, N. 2201 Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick. "

"At a meeting Wednesday, Virginia Beach's public utilities director presented the scope of a city-backed study to analyze the Coles Hill uranium-mining project's effects on Virginia beach's water supply in the event of a disastrous storm. The study will assess the impacts of a major storm and flooding and estimate levels of contaminated sediment reaching Kerr Reservoir flowing into Lake Gaston, which supplies drinking water to Virginia Beach, and examine potential increase in background radiation in the reservoir, said Thomas Leahy, the city's director of public utilities. "Our biggest concern would be some kind of catastrophic event," Leahy said during a presentation Wednesday at a meeting of the Roanoke River Basin Bi-State Commission. The meeting was held at the Franklin Center in Rocky Mount and included officials from Virginia and North Carolina. "

"Nations have gathered at the United Nations in New York to review the 40-year old Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which spells out commitments for halting the spread of nuclear weapons. In addition to supporting efforts to halt further weapons production, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has enlisted regional support in proposing that the meeting also show international recognition of testing impacts. Speaking before the NPT plenary meeting last Thursday, RMI UN Ambassador Phillip Muller told the Parties to the NPT agreement that the 67 nuclear tests conducted in RMI took place with UN approval through two UN resolutions, passed in 1954 and 1956, after the UN rejected petitions by traditional Marshallese leaders. Nations have gathered at the United Nations in New York to review the 40-year old Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which spells out commitments for halting the spread of nuclear weapons. In addition to supporting efforts to halt further weapons production, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has enlisted regional support in proposing that the meeting also show international recognition of testing impacts. "

"Documents reveal how then-defence minister Shimon Perez tried to sell South Africa's apartheid government the bomb Israel documents: Cover page of memo revealing secret nuclear agreement with South Africa This cover page of an ISSA (ISrael-South Africa agreement) meeting in Pretoria between Israeli and South African officials on 30 June 1975 establishes the presence of General RF Armstrong, who wrote the nuclear memo. * Minutes of third ISSA meeting, 30/6/1975 Israel documents: Memo showing secret nuclear agreement with South Africa This document details the another ISSA meeting during which Botha says he needs the 'right payload' and Peres offers it in 'three sizes' (paragraph 10). "

"The issue of tritium-contaminated water that leaked from the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station in Lacey dominated the annual briefing Tuesday night of the plant's safety performance. The May 14 discovery of water containing tritium - a weak radioactive isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear fission - has been of especial interest to environmentalists and other plant critics, who attended the meeting conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Exelon Nuclear, which operates the plan, has said the water was residue from a July 2007 leak from pipes in an underground vault. The NRC is in the process of verifying that statement. "The outstanding question, which we hope will be clarified, is whether the NRC helped Exelon to hide the truth from the public" regarding the May 14 discovery, Richard Webster, legal director of the Environmental Law Center, said prior to the assessment meeting held at the Toms River Holiday Inn."

This online supplement is produced and published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russia), which takes sole responsibility for the content. Published: 12:54PM BST 05 Oct 2009 It seems the crisis has had little impact on Russia's nuclear plans. "The government's support for the atomic industry allows us to maintain our current nuclear power plant construction projects as planned," Kirill Komarov, executive director of Atomenergoprom, said at the 34th meeting of the World Nuclear Association "We continue to work to create a new technology basis for our atomic industry, relying on fast neutron reactors, which will raise the industry to a new level," Komorov added.

This online supplement is produced and published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russia), which takes sole responsibility for the content. Published: 12:54PM BST 05 Oct 2009 It seems the crisis has had little impact on Russia's nuclear plans. "The government's support for the atomic industry allows us to maintain our current nuclear power plant construction projects as planned," Kirill Komarov, executive director of Atomenergoprom, said at the 34th meeting of the World Nuclear Association "We continue to work to create a new technology basis for our atomic industry, relying on fast neutron reactors, which will raise the industry to a new level," Komorov added.

This online supplement is produced and published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russia), which takes sole responsibility for the content. Published: 12:54PM BST 05 Oct 2009 It seems the crisis has had little impact on Russia's nuclear plans. "The government's support for the atomic industry allows us to maintain our current nuclear power plant construction projects as planned," Kirill Komarov, executive director of Atomenergoprom, said at the 34th meeting of the World Nuclear Association "We continue to work to create a new technology basis for our atomic industry, relying on fast neutron reactors, which will raise the industry to a new level," Komorov added.