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Several federal agencies share responsibility for the inadvertent publishing by a government office of sensitive U.S. nuclear power information on the Web last May, Congressional investigators said on Wednesday. U.S. The Government Printing Office published the 266-page document, which gave details on nuclear power sites, locations, facilities and activities, on the Web on May 7. It included 14 diagrams of buildings or facilities at U.S. nuclear sites, two of which were marked "Official Use Only" and described activities at national laboratories. None of the agencies that had prepared the draft document for the International Atomic Energy Association -- the Departments of Energy and Commerce and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- had made sure it was marked with U.S. security designations, the Government Accountability Office said in a report about its investigation.

Several federal agencies share responsibility for the inadvertent publishing by a government office of sensitive U.S. nuclear power information on the Web last May, Congressional investigators said on Wednesday. U.S. The Government Printing Office published the 266-page document, which gave details on nuclear power sites, locations, facilities and activities, on the Web on May 7. It included 14 diagrams of buildings or facilities at U.S. nuclear sites, two of which were marked "Official Use Only" and described activities at national laboratories. None of the agencies that had prepared the draft document for the International Atomic Energy Association -- the Departments of Energy and Commerce and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- had made sure it was marked with U.S. security designations, the Government Accountability Office said in a report about its investigation.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for a new reactor at the River Bend site near Baton Rouge, La. The applicant, Entergy, submitted the application and associated information Sept. 25. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/river-bend.html. The Entergy application seeks approval to build and operate an Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at the site, approximately 24 miles northwest of Baton Rouge. The ESBWR is a General Electric-designed, 1,500 MWe natural-circulation boiling water reactor that incorporates passive safety systems. The NRC is currently reviewing the design for possible certification. More information on this design is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/esbwr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for a new reactor at the Bell Bend site near Berwick, Pa. The applicant, PPL Bell Bend, submitted the application and associated information Oct. 13. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-bend.html. The PPL application seeks approval to build and operate an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the site, about seven miles southeast of Berwick. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application to certify the design on Dec. 11, 2007. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for a new reactor at the Nine Mile Point site near Oswego, N.Y. The applicant, UniStar, submitted the application and associated information Sept. 30. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/nine-mile-point.html. The UniStar application seeks approval to build and operate an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the site, approximately six miles northeast of Oswego. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application to certify the design on Dec. 11, 2007. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/design-cert/epr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for two new reactors at the Comanche Peak site near Glen Rose, Texas. The applicant, Luminant Generation, submitted the application and associated information Sept. 19. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/comanche-peak.html. The Luminant application seeks approval to build and operate two U.S. Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (US-APWR) at the site, about four miles north of Glen Rose. The US-APWR is a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-designed 1,700 MWe pressurized-water reactor the NRC is currently reviewing for possible certification. More information regarding the review is available on the NRC's Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/apwr/dcd.html.

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today launched an Open Government Web page to serve as the gateway for agency activities related to the White House's Open Government initiative. The NRC is actively supporting the open government initiative and encouraging public participation through a new user-friendly citizen engagement tool accessible through this page. The Web page is at: http://www.nrc.gov/open.html. The public, including NRC employees, can use the tool to easily share ideas and comments on how the agency can work better with others inside and outside government, improve the availability and quality of information, and be more innovative and efficient. "

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the Early Site Permit (ESP) application for the Victoria County site near Victoria, Texas. The applicant, Exelon Nuclear Texas Holdings, submitted the application and associated information on March 25. The application, minus proprietary and security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/esp/victoria.html. Exelon's ESP application seeks resolution of safety and environmental issues for the site, approximately 13 miles south of Victoria. Docketing the Victoria County application does not indicate whether the Commission will approve or reject the request. The NRC has established docket number 52-042 for this application, and the agency will subsequently publish a notice of opportunity to intervene in the required adjudicatory hearing. Petitions to intervene in a hearing may be filed within 60 days of the notice, by anyone whose interest may be affected by the proposed license and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding. More information on the hearing process is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html. "

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed its final environmental impact statement for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, and concluded that there are no environmental impacts that would preclude license renewal for an additional 20 years of operation. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant units are pressurized water reactors, located about 26 miles southeast of Augusta, Ga. The current operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 expire Jan. 16, 2027 and Feb. 9, 2029 respectively. The operator, Southern Nuclear Operating Co., Inc. submitted an application for renewal of its licenses June 27, 2007. As part of its environmental review of the application, the NRC held public meetings near the plant to discuss the scope of the review and the draft version of the environmental impact statement. Comments were received and considered from members of the public, local officials, and representatives of state and federal agencies. Publication of the final environmental impact statement does not represent final NRC action on the license renewal application. The agency staff is completing its safety evaluation report, and the NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards will evaluate that report and make its recommendation before the agency makes a final decision. The Vogtle final environmental impact statement is available on the NRC's Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437/supplement34/ and can also be viewed in the NRC's ADAMS online documents system at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html by entering accession number "ML083380325" in the search window.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has docketed, or accepted for review, a combined license (COL) application from Entergy for a new reactor at the River Bend site in Louisiana. Entergy's application, submitted Sept. 25, is the 14th COL request the agency has accepted for review. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/river-bend.html. Entergy seeks approval to build and operate an Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at the site, about 24 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, La. The NRC currently is reviewing the ESBWR design for possible certification. The staff will consider any findings concerning the design during the review of the River Bend application. Information on the ESBWR application is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/esbwr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the Combined License application for an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the Nine Mile Point site near Oswego, N.Y. Unistar submitted the application and associated information Sept. 30. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/nine-mile-point.html. Unistar is seeking approval to build and operate an EPR at the site, approximately six miles northeast of Oswego. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the combined license (COL) application for an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the Callaway site near Fulton, Mo. Ameren submitted the application and associated information July 28. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/callaway.html. Ameren is seeking approval to build and operate an EPR at the site, approximately 10 miles southeast of Fulton. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

The new Norwegian radiation monitoring system includes 11 locations in northern Norway and Svalbard. Radiation-levels are updated every hour and easily available for everyone on the Radnett web. Radnett includes all monitoring stations in Norway and was recently made public accessible via web by the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authorities. There are two monitoring stations close to Russian territory, one in Vardø and one at the Svanhovd Environmental Centre in the Pasvik Valley. You can click in and check the latest updated radiation levels. Also, it is possible to see historical data's and trends for radiation during a certain time-period.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating license for the Crystal River Nuclear Generating Plant Unit 3 is available for public review. NRC received an application for renewal of the operating license from Crystal River's operator, Progress Energy Florida, Inc., Dec. 18. The Crystal River Nuclear Generating Plant is a pressurized-boiling water reactor located in Crystal River, Fla. The current operating license will expire on Dec. 3, 2016. The application will be available electronically through the Agencywide Document Access and Management System through the NRC Web page at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. The accession number is ML090080053. A copy is also available at the Coastal Region Library, 8619 W. Crystal St., Crystal River, Fla. In addition, the application will be available at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. The NRC staff is currently conducting its initial review of the application to determine whether it contains enough information required for the formal safety and environmental reviews. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally "docket," or file it, and will announce an opportunity for the public to request an adjudicatory hearing on the renewal request.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the combined license (COL) application for an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the Bell Bend site near Berwick, Pa. PPL Bell Bend submitted the application and associated information Oct. 13. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-bend.html. PPL Bell Bend is seeking approval to build and operate an EPR at the site, approximately seven miles northeast of Berwick. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

PETER A. BRADFORD, adjunct professor, Vermont Law School, and former member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission: * For an even-handed recent overview of most nuclear power issues, see "Nuclear Power Joint Fact-Finding," a June 2007 report by the Keystone Center, a non-profit organization that brought together a cross section of parties interested in nuclear energy - including environmentalists and consumer advocates, industry representatives and government officials - to create a base of agreed-upon knowledge about the costs, risks and benefits of nuclear power. www.keystone.org/spp/documents/FinalReport_NJFF6_12_2007(1).pdf * For a responsibly skeptical look at nuclear power's rapidly rising costs in comparison to available low carbon alternatives, see "The Nuclear Illusion" by Amory Lovins and Imram Sheikh in the November 2008 Ambio, the Journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. https://www.rmi.org/images/PDFs/Energy/E08-01_AmbioNuclIlusion.pdf The Journal Report * See the complete Energy report. * The Web site of the Nonproliferation Education Center, maintained by WSJ op-ed contributor Henry Sokolski, features an ongoing collection of thoughtful conservative pieces skeptical of nuclear power. http://www.npec-web.org/ * For an excellent short critique of reprocessing and the Bush Administration's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, see Victor Gilinsky and Alison Macfarlane's Minority Opinion from the National Academy of Science's Review of DoE's Nuclear Research and Development Program, http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11998&page=73 * For an even-handed look at how nuclear construction went astray in the U.S. in the 1970s, the best book remains "Light Water: How the Nuclear Dream Dissolved, Irvin C. Bupp and Jean-Claude Derian. * Another good overview text is Megawatts and Megatons, Richard Garwin and Georges Charpak.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating license for the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant is available for public review. The Duane Arnold Energy Center has one boiling water reactor, and is located 8 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The current operating license expires Feb. 21, 2014. Duane Arnold's operator, the FPL Energy Duane Arnold, LLC, submitted the application Oct. 1. The application is available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/duane-arnold-energy-center.html. A copy is also available at the Hiawatha Public Library, 150 W. Willman St., in Hiawatha, Iowa. The NRC staff is currently conducting its initial review of the application to determine whether it contains sufficient information required for the safety and environmental reviews. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally "docket," or file it and will announce an opportunity for the public to request an adjudicatory hearing on the renewal request. Additional information about the NRC's process for reviewing reactor license renewal applications is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has made "no commitment" to plans for a missile defense program in eastern Europe, despite a report on the Polish president's Web site, an Obama adviser said Saturday. An adviser to Barack Obama disputed claims made on the Polish president's Web site. Obama spoke to President Lech Kaczynski over the phone about continuing military and political cooperation between the two countries and possibly meeting in person soon, both sides said. Obama "had a good conversation with the Polish president and the Polish prime minister about the important U.S.-Poland alliance," said Denis McDonough, Obama's senior foreign policy adviser.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has docketed, or accepted for review, a combined license (COL) application for two new reactors at the Victoria County site near Victoria City, Texas. Exelon's application, submitted Sept. 3, is the 11th COL request the agency has accepted for review. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site here: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/victoria.html. Exelon seeks approval to build and operate two Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactors (ESBWR) at the site, approximately 13 miles south of Victoria. The NRC currently is reviewing the ESBWR design for possible certification. The staff will consider any findings concerning the design during the review of the Victoria County application. Information on the ESBWR application is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/esbwr.html.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public the combined license (COL) application for a new reactor at the Callaway site near Fulton, Mo. The applicant, Ameren, submitted the application and associated information July 28. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/callaway.html. The Ameren application seeks approval to build and operate an Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the site, approximately 10 miles southeast of Fulton. The EPR is an Areva-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Areva filed its application Dec. 11, 2007, to certify the design. A version of the EPR is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto site in Finland and at Flamanville, France. The EPR application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html.

Concerns center on water usage, cost and spent fuel disposal. The future of San Antonio's ever-growing power needs was addressed Aug. 26 in McAllister Fine Arts Center during KSTX's Town Hall forum on energy. While the topic of the forum was all things energy, most of the evening's questions centered on CPS' proposed $10 billion-$13 billion expansion of the South Texas Project nuclear power plant in Bay City, which intends to add two additional nuclear reactors, as well as conversation on use of alternative and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Construction for the new reactors, dubbed STP 3 & 4, is slated to begin in 2012. CPS' use of renewable resources, including solar, wind and natural gas, equals over 11 percent of the city's peak energy demand, according to the company's Web site. The Web site also lists a goal to increase that percentage to 20 percent by 2020.