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If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

Should America turn to nuclear power to cut greenhouse gases? Senate Republicans want to build 100 new commercial nuclear power plants over the next 20 years. Over the last two years the industry has applied for licenses to build 30 new reactors, and Babcock & Wilcox Co. recently unveiled a new mini-nuke plant aimed at supplying power to small electricity users, such as municipal districts or individual industrial customers. But critics say nuclear power is too expensive and so risky that Wall Street won't finance the new plants. Opponents are critical of proposals for a federal loan guarantee program for low-carbon energy projects that could help finance the new nuclear plants. Should we embrace nuclear power as a solution to climate change? What role should the federal government play in building new nuclear plants?

The new national nuclear policy which the government will reportedly gazette before the end of this month has completely bypassed Parliament and ordinary MPs have not had any input into its formulation, says the opposition DA. It is now asking the Speaker to place the policy on Parliament's agenda. The move coincides with concern by some "interested and affected parties" that they are still not being given enough time to respond to the environmental impact assessment report for the controversial Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) "mini" nuclear demonstration project that Eskom wants to build at Koeberg. The already-extended deadline for comment is Friday.

A proposed nuclear reactor that would power mining operations in Quebec's remote regions carries more risks than benefits, according to an environmental group. Western Troy is a mining company that plans to open up a copper mine in Lake McLeod, about 200 kilometres north of Chibougamau. The company has begun a feasibility study to investigate using a mini-nuclear reactor that could provide inexpensive power to the mine. Western Troy will need to provide at least 10 megawatts of electricity to power the operation, said Rex Loesby, company president. The nuclear reactor under study is a promising option, even though it poses certain problems, he told CBC News

"The power source that's been shunned for more than a quarter century following accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl may make a comeback with help from the U.S. military. The electric grids that the United States depends on for computers, communications gear and command centers are increasingly unreliable. They're strained by growing civilian demand, enfeebled by aging equipment and vulnerable to cyber and other attacks. So the military is considering generating its own electricity, possibly with nuclear energy. The push comes partially from the U.S. Congress, which last fall ordered the Defense Department to study the feasibility of building nuclear power plants on military installations. A report is due to lawmakers June 1."

"Manufacturers of refrigerator-sized nuclear reactors will seek approval from U.S. authorities within a year to help supply the world's growing electricity demand. John Deal, chief executive officer of Hyperion Power Generation Inc., intends to apply for a license "within a year" for plants that would power a small factory or town too remote for traditional utility grid connections. The Santa Fe, New Mexico-based company and Japan's Toshiba Corp. are vying for a head start over reactor makers General Electric Co. and Areva SA in downsizing nuclear technology and aim to submit license applications in the next year to U.S. regulators. They're seeking to tap a market that has generated about $135 billion in pending orders for large nuclear plants. "

"Toshiba is still planning to apply this year for federal approval to test its small-scale nuclear power plant in Galena, according to various reports. The Japanese company is planning reactors known as "4S," meaing "super-safe, small and simple," with hopes of starting construction in 2014. "We aim to get 4S orders in remote areas where it is more cost-efficient to generate power on a local basis than use power grids," spokesman Keisuke Ohmori told Business Week. "A great many people are interested." Toshiba and TerraPower, a company controlled by Bill Gates, have been in talks about engineering and research issues related to what is known as a "traveling wave reactor" that would use depleted uranium."

Conscripts Were Exposed To High Levels Of Radiation Former soldiers suffering from radiation poisoning are suing the Chilean treasury and Nuclear Energy Commission for US$85 million. The men were exposed to high levels of radiation whilst guarding the same nuclear facility in Santiago in the late 1980's. The Soldiers were all guarding the same nuclear facility in Santiago between 1988-1989. Over 60 ex-guards of the La Reina Nuclear Reactor and Research Center cited various health problems in filing their lawsuit against the state. The men in question secured the facility as part of their national military service duties between 1988-1989 and show symptoms of dangerous over-exposure to radiation. The case presented by the Santiago law firm Alfredo Morgado reads: "This petition demands compensation from the state on behalf of the victims who have died or continue to suffer as a result of radiation poisoning." The lawsuit also points to the "non-existent help" the government has offered to the men. Amongst the medical conditions cited are various forms of cancer, bone and nerve degeneration, digestive problems, migraines and diarrhea. Some of the men also claim compensation for medical conditions and congenital defects allegedly passed on to their children. Among the petitioners are the families of soldiers who died as a result of the contamination. Guillermo Cofre died in 1989 after being asked to clean up a nuclear waste spill with a towel. "His military uniform had melted, almost as if he had fallen in acid," his father said. Both Guillermo and his companion on the task Luis Gomez Naranjo died of leukemia within 18 months of the accident. The families of the deceased are suing for over US$3.5 million each, while the remaining petitioners are each claiming between US$1 to 1.5 million for current and future health complications. The case is being heard at the Santiago Court of Appeals. The lawsuit comes at a time of increased lobbying efforts o

Conscripts Were Exposed To High Levels Of Radiation Former soldiers suffering from radiation poisoning are suing the Chilean treasury and Nuclear Energy Commission for US$85 million. The men were exposed to high levels of radiation whilst guarding the same nuclear facility in Santiago in the late 1980's. The Soldiers were all guarding the same nuclear facility in Santiago between 1988-1989. Over 60 ex-guards of the La Reina Nuclear Reactor and Research Center cited various health problems in filing their lawsuit against the state. The men in question secured the facility as part of their national military service duties between 1988-1989 and show symptoms of dangerous over-exposure to radiation. The case presented by the Santiago law firm Alfredo Morgado reads: "This petition demands compensation from the state on behalf of the victims who have died or continue to suffer as a result of radiation poisoning." The lawsuit also points to the "non-existent help" the government has offered to the men. Amongst the medical conditions cited are various forms of cancer, bone and nerve degeneration, digestive problems, migraines and diarrhea. Some of the men also claim compensation for medical conditions and congenital defects allegedly passed on to their children. Among the petitioners are the families of soldiers who died as a result of the contamination. Guillermo Cofre died in 1989 after being asked to clean up a nuclear waste spill with a towel. "His military uniform had melted, almost as if he had fallen in acid," his father said. Both Guillermo and his companion on the task Luis Gomez Naranjo died of leukemia within 18 months of the accident. The families of the deceased are suing for over US$3.5 million each, while the remaining petitioners are each claiming between US$1 to 1.5 million for current and future health complications. The case is being heard at the Santiago Court of Appeals. The lawsuit comes at a time of increased lobbying efforts o

Hyperion Power Generation, which is designing a small, 25 MWe, nuclear reactor, revealed design details Nov 18 (slides) about the company's product at the winter meeting of the American Nuclear Society taking place in Washington, DC. This is the first release of reactor design information by the company. It marks the kick-off of the firm's pre-application process with the NRC for safety analysis review that leads to a reactor design certification decision by the agency.

Hyperion Power Generation, which is designing a small, 25 MWe, nuclear reactor, revealed design details Nov 18 (slides) about the company's product at the winter meeting of the American Nuclear Society taking place in Washington, DC. This is the first release of reactor design information by the company. It marks the kick-off of the firm's pre-application process with the NRC for safety analysis review that leads to a reactor design certification decision by the agency.

Imagine powering your home with a mini nuclear plant. Imagine that's it's not just a pipe dream. Scientists at Los Alamos in New Mexico say the plants will be on sale within five years. Hyperion Power Generation, based in New Mexico, said it's already taking orders and will start mass production of its Hyperion Power Module within the same time frame.

Small nuclear reactors - like a mini-car versus a Hummer - are on the drawing board of the nuclear industry, which has been hard-pressed to get financing for the standard-size models. The Tennessee Valley Authority has agreed to help one nuclear power company, Babcock & Wilcox of Lynchburg, Va., gain certification for such a scaled-down version. The reactors would be a tenth of the normal size and suitable for a community of 100,000 residents. The atom-splitting operations and radioactive waste would be stored underground, which advocates say offers more protection from airplane sabotage by terrorists.

Udall introduces Senate bill to help sick Rocky Flats and other nuclear workers The nuclear bombs Charlie Wolf built helped win the Cold War. But his toughest battles came afterward, when he applied to a troubled federal compensation program intended for those whose top-secret work made them sick. Wolf wound up battling a bureaucratic morass for more than six years - all while fighting brain cancer that was supposed to have killed him in six months - trying to prove he qualified for financial and medical aid.

"Sara Barczak, program director for high risk energy choices at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said the lack of storage for nuclear waste is a national problem. But it is especially problematic in the Southeast, where there is a concentration of nuclear plants, she said. She said reactor sites never were intended to be "mini Yucca Mountains." "These were sites that were evaluated in the 1970s and 1980s to be homes for nuclear power plants for about 40 years," Ms. Barczak said. "They were never intended to store what is basically the most toxic waste known to man.""

Nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power 20,000 homes will be on sale within five years, say scientists at Los Alamos, the US government laboratory which developed the first atomic bomb. The miniature reactors will be factory-sealed, contain no weapons-grade material, have no moving parts and will be nearly impossible to steal because they will be encased in concrete and buried underground.

The idea of nuclear-in-a-box sounds like a joke, but investors and potential customers are taking Hyperion Power Generation very seriously - the company is valued at a whopping $100 million by investors, according to the Denver Post. The company is backed by Altira Group, and though Hyperion hasn't disclosed how much financing it has raised to date, CEO John "Grizz" Deal told us he is looking to raise a Series B round of funding, with plans to raise a Series C in about two years. Although nuclear power produces radioactive waste, it doesn't release greenhouse gases and it has vocal supporters in the new administration, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu. So it's not so far-fetched for investors to see the potential of Hyperion's nuclear option.