Group items tagged

"After his State of the Union address, we expected environmental groups to protest President Barack Obama's declaration to advance nuclear power. We're pleased the outrage already spans the political spectrum, with many stops in between. Add us to the complainers. The new federal budget proposes to triple loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants, from $18.5 billion to $54 billion. This worsens a bad situation. As usual in Washington, it also relies on taxpayers to pay for the grief. Article Tab : In this Jan. 20, 2010 file photo, Energy Secretary Steven Chu addresses the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington. In an effort to win over Republicans and moderate Democrats on climate and energy legislation, President Barack Obama is endorsing nuclear energy like never before, calling for a new generation of nuclear power plants to be built around the country. Mr. Obama's nuclear power push irritates environmentalists, to whom all things nuclear are nonstarters. But the president proposed this payoff to the nuclear lobby to win GOP support for his horrendous energy bill, stalled in Congress. The greenhouse-gas limiting legislation was bad enough already with the crippling economic consequences of its carbon cap-and-trade regulations. Mr. Obama's commitment would pile on even more federal interference and potential costs. Some critics rightly describe the scheme as another potential multibillion dollar f"

The proposed construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro could likely have cost overruns and possibly face delays, according to testimony released by the Georgia Public Service Commission. Testimony from monitors of proposed new reactors at Vogtle criticizes Georgia Power. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) The group monitoring the progress of the new reactors is also being denied access to crucial information about the process, and Georgia Power is not revising economic evaluations based on a variety of factors that include a reduced demand for electricity and cheaper alternatives to nuclear energy, the document says.

The proposed construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro could likely have cost overruns and possibly face delays, according to testimony released by the Georgia Public Service Commission. Testimony from monitors of proposed new reactors at Vogtle criticizes Georgia Power. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) The group monitoring the progress of the new reactors is also being denied access to crucial information about the process, and Georgia Power is not revising economic evaluations based on a variety of factors that include a reduced demand for electricity and cheaper alternatives to nuclear energy, the document says.

"FIVE bags of low level radioactive waste have ended up at the Lillyhall landfill site - by mistake. The waste should have been sent from Sellafield to Drigg, the country's only designated disposal site for the material. Sellafield Ltd has admitted the blunder which it says was due to incorrect assessments by a purpose-built bag machine. No more bagged waste will leave Sellafield pending investigations. But the company stressed that no one's health has been put at risk on the Lillyhall site and neither are there any environmental problems."

The Sept. 16 headline on Vermont Yankee is wrong. The correct version should be "Vermont Yankee Radiation Not OK." There are vast amounts of verifiable information that children are highly susceptible to radiation and the truth of this issue is that it is about health. Photos of Yankee's plant failures are scary and the thought of 20 years added on to this plant's existence is not good. Waste from nuclear power plants is dangerous. Where does it go? Vermont Yankee presents many dangers now and in the future and is a risk not worth taking. Renewable energy is possible and practical.

The Sept. 16 headline on Vermont Yankee is wrong. The correct version should be "Vermont Yankee Radiation Not OK." There are vast amounts of verifiable information that children are highly susceptible to radiation and the truth of this issue is that it is about health. Photos of Yankee's plant failures are scary and the thought of 20 years added on to this plant's existence is not good. Waste from nuclear power plants is dangerous. Where does it go? Vermont Yankee presents many dangers now and in the future and is a risk not worth taking. Renewable energy is possible and practical.

To an estate agent it was a charming fisherman's cottage on the Kent coast. To anyone else, it was the two nuclear power stations next door that were the main feature. The cottage in Dungeness was highlighted recently after agents found no space in the "for sale" advert to mention the power plants, which were nowhere to be seen in accompanying photographs either. Though the agents have not been accused of any offence, some viewers were appalled to discover the perimeter fence 100 yards from the front door when they arrived. "It was unbelievable. I had seen the property online and thought it looked just right for me and my family," said Alex Robertson, 32."The photos make out it is an isolated cottage with nothing surrounding it - but that could not be further from the truth.

To an estate agent it was a charming fisherman's cottage on the Kent coast. To anyone else, it was the two nuclear power stations next door that were the main feature. The cottage in Dungeness was highlighted recently after agents found no space in the "for sale" advert to mention the power plants, which were nowhere to be seen in accompanying photographs either. Though the agents have not been accused of any offence, some viewers were appalled to discover the perimeter fence 100 yards from the front door when they arrived. "It was unbelievable. I had seen the property online and thought it looked just right for me and my family," said Alex Robertson, 32."The photos make out it is an isolated cottage with nothing surrounding it - but that could not be further from the truth.

On March 24, 2011, a small unmanned drone flew over and photographed the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, giving a bird's eye view of the damage

This is a series of Rancho Seco Cooling Towers: Photos using various techniques 

"Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David M. Ratcliffe today announced that the company's Georgia Power subsidiary has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to accept terms for a conditional commitment for loan guarantees. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080801/SOCOLOGO ) (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080801/SOCOLOGO ) "This will provide Georgia Power customers significant savings," said Georgia Power President and CEO Mike Garrett. President Obama and DOE Secretary Steven Chu announced the award of the conditional loan guarantees to Georgia Power on February 16. "This is another step forward on the road to nuclear power playing a prominent role in America's energy future," said Ratcliffe. "Nuclear energy is vital in any effort to make meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and meet this nation's rising demand for electricity. This conditional commitment is an endorsement of the company's performance as a safe, efficient nuclear operator with strong financial integrity." "

"A Nuclear Regulatory Commission legal panel says the federal Department of Energy can't withdraw its application to build a national nuclear waste dump in Nevada. The NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled Tuesday that Congress directed the DOE to file an application for the Yucca Mountain repository, and directed the NRC to consider it. It says letting the department "single-handedly derail" the process would be "contrary to congressional intent." The NRC legal panel held hearings on the issue earlier this month in Las Vegas."

"Vindication does not happen often, but yesterday the head of Australia's Lucas Heights nuclear facility said a whistleblower was "absolutely correct" to raise serious safety concerns at the site. The comments from ANSTO chief Dr Adrian Paterson contrast with the treatment that 55-year-old reactor operator David Reid has received at the hands of management over the past 12 months. Mr Reid has been employed by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) at the south Sydney facility for the past 28 years. "

Mining giant BHP Billiton is risking the lives of its staff and employees at Olympic Dam in South Australia by exposing them to unsafe levels of radiation, according to a company whistleblower. Documents received by The Independent Weekly say BHP Billiton has been warned about the risks, and has chosen to take no action. The documents show BHP Billiton uses manipulated averages and distorted sampling to ensure its "official" figures slip under the maximum exposure levels set by government. But experts have warned exposure levels currently regarded as the international limit should be lowered, following the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London four years ago."

"A new reactor vessel head, shrouded in a protective wrap, arrived at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant Monday morning. The equipment will be installed on the plant's Unit 1 reactor during a refueling shutdown in the fall. The large component was shipped via a 185-foot-long special transport vehicle from Mt. Vernon, Ind., that is the equivalent of three semitrucks. The reactor head itself is 17 feet in diameter, 8 feet tall and weighs 70 tons. As the name implies, the component sits on top of the reactor. The cost of replacing both vessel heads at the plant is $141 million. "

" Levels of radioactive tritium remain high in a number of monitoring wells at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey, according to new state data. The Oyster Creek nuclear plant looms near its discharge canal in Lacey (file photo by Peter Ackerman) Through late April, the highest tritium level - nearly 50 times government limits - was in a well in the Cohansey aquifer beneath the plant. The Cohansey is used for drinking water beyond Oyster Creek property lines. A different well in the shallower Cape May aquifer beneath Oyster Creek had a tritium level that was about 45 times above government limits. The state Department of Environmental Protection has posted a map of well locations."

"Israel's nuclear program has been implicated in an investigation conducted in the United States by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), according to a report published on Wednesday by the researchers of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). Dimona nuclear power plant The nuclear power plant in Dimona. Photo by: Archive The investigation began in spring 2010 when the BIS charged Pelogy, a U.S. based company and its Belgian affiliate, with violating U.S. export administration regulations by attempting to export controlled goods to Israel, India, China and South Africa. "

A-bomb survivor, 78, spreads his message of nonproliferation FUKUOKA - The city has long been rebuilt and moved on, but Hiroshi Ito still can't come to grips with Nagasaki's obliteration by the United States 63 years ago. "I don't have any hatred toward the U.S. now," the 78-year-old A-bomb survivor said, rubbing burn scars on his right hand. "But I do wonder how the U.S. could justify dropping the atomic bomb on us."

Lane Christenson has been dead for more than a decade, but he is causing problems for the federal government. The story of what's happened to the family of this burly, former atomic bomb builder shows how federal officials have ignored evidence and their own rules to avoid compensating the nation's sick nuclear weapons workers. The government has steadfastly maintained for more than three years that no evidence exists to show Rocky Flats workers have been shut out of automatic compensation for certain victims of Cold War nuclear weapons production. The problem Christenson's case presents is this: His records do exist.

Russia has officially started the construction of its first floating nuclear power plant. However, the project designers have failed to complete all technical details. The project is deadlocked, newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta concludes. Meanwhile, also Chinese authorities now consider to start construction of floating nuclear power plants, the newspaper writes. The Russian plans for serial production of floating nuclear power plants have been presented widely both in Russia and internationally. Last year, the project was officially started in the Sevmash yard in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast. This year, Russia's state nuclear power company Rosatom transferred the assignment to the Baltiiskii Yard in Sankt Petersburg.

Rick Delisle co-owns two commercial buildings, one of which is depicted in this photo that dates from the time of Zion, Illinois' founding.

Participating in nuclear power hearing can be a 'learn-as-you-go' process Joseph Wojcicki concedes his last name can twist tongues. "It's Voo-tess-kee," the West Columbia man says with a thick Polish accent. "But you can call me 'Joe the Intervenor.'" A retired Midlands Tech math teacher, Wojcicki took part as a citizen intervenor in the Public Service Commission's almost three-week-long hearing on SCE&G's $9.8 billion plan to add two reactor units to the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station at Jenkinsville. Intervenors, 12/22/08 Intervenors Pamela Greenlaw, bottom left, Meira Warshauer, center, and Joseph Wojcicki, right, listen to attorney Bob Guild, standing left, as he enters an objection to secret building cost amounts during the hearing before the commission. The intervenors sit at the table with lawyers for other groups challenging the nuclear plan. They represent the consumer. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 Lay-people known as "intervenors" question witnesses at the Public Service Commission hearing on SCE&G's plan to build two reactors at its plant in Jenkinsville. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 About a half-dozen lay-people known as "intervenors" are questioning witnesses at the Public Service Commission hearing on SCE&G's plan to build two reactors at its plant in Jenkinsville. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 Intervenors Pamela Greenlaw, bottom left, Meira Warshauer, center, and Joseph Wojcicki, right, listen to attorney Bob Guild, standing left, as he enters an objection to secret building cost amounts during the hearing before the commission. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 Intervenor Joseph Wojcicki looks through documents during the hearing before the commission. - Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate. /The State Intervenors, 12/22/08 Citizen intervenor Meira Warshauer, left, asks a que

According to a report by The Associated Press, Mohamed ElBaradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, finds it "baffling" that there are apparently no commercial satellite pictures available of a site in Syria taken in the months just after the Israelis allegedly destroyed whatever was allegedly there prior to September 6th, 2007. Except, of course, for the before/after photos, allegedly taken via commercial satellite, somehow obtained and published [.pdf] last year by David Albright at the Institute for Science and International Security.