Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

For more than a month in the summer of 2006, a metal recycler in Longview, Texas, produced half a million pounds of radioactive material, state and federal documents show. When LeTourneau Inc. workers melted Cesium-137 -- a radioactive material commonly released in nuclear accidents -- the dust containing the radioactive isotope contaminated the workers, along with sections of the facility, according to a July 2006 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission report. No workers suffered direct or immediate harm that could be detected in medical screening. And none of the metal sent to LeTourneau's customers was radioactive, according to the report.

Waste Control Specialists LLC said Tuesday that it will begin storing low-level radioactive waste from Studsvik Inc., an Erwin, Tenn.-based waste processor. Interim storage at WCS' facility in Andrews County of this thermally processed Class B and Class C low-level radioactive waste will greatly reduce the risk and administrative burden of generators when compared to the use of multiple storage facilities across the United States, a news release said. "Studsvik provides a valuable national service because its process transforms the low-level radioactive waste into a safer form for storage and ultimate disposal. At the same time, Studsvik's processing reduces the volume of low-level radioactive waste by more than 80 percent, which allows for the efficient use of valuable landfill space," WCS President Rod Baltzer said. "WCS is proud to participate in this innovative program to increase the safety and to reduce the volume of low-level radioactive waste."

A lab at the University of Missouri-Columbia has been temporarily suspended from using radioactive material after a researcher inadvertently spread radioactive material on the soles of his shoes. The Columbia Missourian, citing a report from the school's director of Environmental Health and Safety, also reported that a university committee will review the lab's radioactive material privileges in February. Frank Schmidt, a professor of biochemistry who heads the lab, told the Missourian that he had no comment about the report, which he had not yet seen.

A lab at the University of Missouri-Columbia has been temporarily suspended from using radioactive material after a researcher inadvertently spread radioactive material on the soles of his shoes. The Columbia Missourian, citing a report from the school's director of Environmental Health and Safety, also reported that a university committee will review the lab's radioactive material privileges in February. Frank Schmidt, a professor of biochemistry who heads the lab, told the Missourian that he had no comment about the report, which he had not yet seen.

EnergySolutions seems hell-bent to increase its revenue stream by diversifying the waste stream flowing to its low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Tooele County. Its efforts to serve as the depository for the nation's depleted uranium and the world's low-level radioactive waste are well-documented. And now, the for-profit firm is arguing in favor of "blending" trash , which would allow it to introduce even hotter trash to the Beehive State. Company officials made their case for blended waste before the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tuesday. The process, if approved, would allow hotter Class B and C low-level wastes to be mixed with Class A waste as long as the blended waste does not exceed the standards for Class A waste, the least radioactive of low-level wastes and the only type Utah law allows. It should come as no surprise that the nuclear industry would endorse such a practice. EnergySolutions is a private company looking to improve its bottom line. And the nuclear power industry is seeking a repository for its Class B and Class C waste, after a disposal site in South Carolina stopped accepting waste from 36 other states in 2008.

EnergySolutions seems hell-bent to increase its revenue stream by diversifying the waste stream flowing to its low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Tooele County. Its efforts to serve as the depository for the nation's depleted uranium and the world's low-level radioactive waste are well-documented. And now, the for-profit firm is arguing in favor of "blending" trash , which would allow it to introduce even hotter trash to the Beehive State. Company officials made their case for blended waste before the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tuesday. The process, if approved, would allow hotter Class B and C low-level wastes to be mixed with Class A waste as long as the blended waste does not exceed the standards for Class A waste, the least radioactive of low-level wastes and the only type Utah law allows. It should come as no surprise that the nuclear industry would endorse such a practice. EnergySolutions is a private company looking to improve its bottom line. And the nuclear power industry is seeking a repository for its Class B and Class C waste, after a disposal site in South Carolina stopped accepting waste from 36 other states in 2008.

"A former nuclear insider now working for a nuclear watchdog group said Thursday he wasn't sure Entergy Nuclear had found all the sources of the radioactive tritium leak at the Vermont Yankee plant. Paul Blanch of West Hartford, Conn., who recently joined the litigation team at the New England Coalition, said a review of recent filings by Entergy Nuclear about the radioactive tritium leak at Vermont Yankee showed obvious mistakes and miscalculations. Blanch said Entergy had not done a thorough enough job in its investigation into the radioactive leaks to rule out the condensate storage tank, which holds about 500,000 gallons of radioactive reactor water, at levels close to those found in nearby wells. He said Entergy Nuclear continues to submit inaccurate and incomplete documents to the Vermont Public Service Board. Entergy Nuclear is already under investigation for making inaccurate statements under oath before the board about the existence of potentially leaky underground pipes containing radioactivity."

" radioactive substance exceeding the state limit has been detected in pasture grass and vegetables in Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures, neighboring Fukushima Prefecture. 3,480 becquerels of radioactive cesium were detected in one kilogram of pasture grass collected on May 5th in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture. The figure exceeds the state limit of 300 becquerels. Also, at two different locations in Nasushiobara City, 3,600 becquerels and 860 becquerels of radioactive cesium respectively were detected in one kilogram of pasture grass collected on May 3rd. Tochigi Prefecture requested farmers in the area where the radioactive substance was detected not to feed pasture grass to livestock. 1,110 becquerels of radioactive cesium were detected in one kilogram of parsley harvested in Ibaraki Prefecture. The figure is more than double the state limit. The parsley had been shipped to a fresh food market in Niigata Prefecture, west of Fukushima. Niigata prefectural government instructed wholesale distributers to stop selling the parsley. Friday, May 13, 2011 05:21 +0900 (JST)"

"A group of Japanese researchers say that a total of 15,000 terabecquerels of radioactive substances is estimated to have been released from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. Researchers at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Kyoto University and other institutes made the calculation of radioactivity released from late March through April. The combined amount of iodine-131 and cesium-137 is more than triple the figure of 4,720 terabecquerels earlier estimated by Tokyo Electric Power Company, the plant operator. The utility only calculated the radioactivity from substances released from the plant into the sea in April and May. The researchers say the estimated amount of radioactivity includes a large amount that was first released into the air but entered the sea after coming down in the rain. They say they need to determine the total amount of radioactivity released from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant in order to accurately assess the impact of the disaster on the sea."

Putting a new spin on the term "nuclear waste dump," radioactive droppings from Cold War-era critters have spurred a high-tech cleanup funded by the current U.S. government economic stimulus program. Government contractors this September flew a helicopter equipped with radiation detectors and GPS equipment over scrubland in eastern Washington State near the vast Hanford Site, a 1950s plutonium-production complex. The goal was to pinpoint soils contaminated with harmful radioactive materials that had been spread far a field within the complex by animals and the wind.

Putting a new spin on the term "nuclear waste dump," radioactive droppings from Cold War-era critters have spurred a high-tech cleanup funded by the current U.S. government economic stimulus program. Government contractors this September flew a helicopter equipped with radiation detectors and GPS equipment over scrubland in eastern Washington State near the vast Hanford Site, a 1950s plutonium-production complex. The goal was to pinpoint soils contaminated with harmful radioactive materials that had been spread far a field within the complex by animals and the wind.

Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating local Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released on Friday. The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. The figures were based on statistics compiled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission which measured pollution coming from the plants. Although Canadian guidelines have suggested that the existing levels of tritium in the water are safe, the report cites recent peer-reviewed studies, including a recent review by the UK's Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters, that suggest the opposite.

Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating local Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released on Friday. The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. The figures were based on statistics compiled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission which measured pollution coming from the plants. Although Canadian guidelines have suggested that the existing levels of tritium in the water are safe, the report cites recent peer-reviewed studies, including a recent review by the UK's Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters, that suggest the opposite.

"Cracked asphalt provides a stark reminder of the nonexistent margin for error at a controversial radioactive waste dump in West Texas. When state inspectors visited the site in Andrews County, they found cracks up to an inch wide in asphalt near canisters of radioactive material. While cracked asphalt is fairly inconsequential - and pretty much par for the course - when it comes to our city streets, it can be a dangerous proposition at a radioactive waste dump. A spokesman for Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists, which operates the low-level radioactive waste site, dismissed the cracks as superficial and said they have been repaired. But as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has noted, that asphalt pad is an important safeguard against ground contamination. "

"Utah, say federal regulators, can help solve a big problem for the nuclear industry: the pileup of low-level radioactive waste at many of the nation's reactors. Much of the hottest low-level waste -- though far less radioactive than used fuel rods -- is stored at 90 power plants because nuclear companies have nowhere to dispose of it. So, staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed changing federal rules to make that waste permissible at the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Utah through "blending." By allowing more hazardous "Class B and C waste" to be mixed with lower-hazard "Class A" waste, regulators would make the blend legal for disposal at EnergySolutions, the only commercial site open to low-level radioactive waste from 36 states. The blending proposal reflects a big shift in NRC policy, and it directly contradicts the public positions of Gov. Gary Herbert, the Utah Division of Radiation Control and the state's Radiation Control Board. The Utahns object to blending "when the intent is to alter the waste classification for the purposes of disposal site access." Five years ago, Utah banned "Class B and Class C" low-level radioactive waste. "

It has been more than a year since the Channel 4 I-Team exposed how a landfill in Rutherford County accepted low-level radioactive waste. Related: Video: Lawmakers Hold Off radioactive Dumping Decision | Video: Companies Warn Of Lost Jobs If radioactive Dumping Halts | Video: radioactive Materials Dumped In Rutherford Co. Landfill Now there are concerns it could happen again. Activists in Murfreesboro fear hazardous waste could again show up at the Middlepoint landfill without specific laws to prevent it, and they're urging state legislators to take a hard look at the issue.

The Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-level Radioactive Waste Management isn't much of a doorman. For years, the compact thought it was guarding against shipments of foreign Radioactive waste into the eight-state region, which includes Utah. Meanwhile, Envirocare, now EnergySolutions, has been using the back door to bypass the regional regulators, doing a brisk business in imported Radioactive waste at its nuclear garbage dump in Tooele County. Mexico, Canada, Great Britain. Germany, Taiwan, France. That's a list of our "friends" who have foisted a combined 1,883 tons of their Radioactive garbage on our state over the past eight years with a helping hand from profit-driven EnergySolutions.

Question: When is a plan not a plan? Answer: When it is Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's "cleanup" proposal for the town of Port Hope, Ontario. At a packed hearing last week, Canada's nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, listened to presentations on the proposal from its staff, AECL, private citizens, and volunteer organizations - roughly 100 presentations in all, spanning 17 hours of hearing time. AECL is asking for a licence for a low level radioactive waste site. The site will house approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of nuclear and industrial waste, collected from the community over the course of the next decade. The proposal was approved in 2007, following a six-year environmental assessment. The ensuing licensing process should have been fairly straight forward - hash out a few technical details and get shovels in the ground.

Question: When is a plan not a plan? Answer: When it is Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's "cleanup" proposal for the town of Port Hope, Ontario. At a packed hearing last week, Canada's nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, listened to presentations on the proposal from its staff, AECL, private citizens, and volunteer organizations - roughly 100 presentations in all, spanning 17 hours of hearing time. AECL is asking for a licence for a low level radioactive waste site. The site will house approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of nuclear and industrial waste, collected from the community over the course of the next decade. The proposal was approved in 2007, following a six-year environmental assessment. The ensuing licensing process should have been fairly straight forward - hash out a few technical details and get shovels in the ground.

Question: When is a plan not a plan? Answer: When it is Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's "cleanup" proposal for the town of Port Hope, Ontario. At a packed hearing last week, Canada's nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, listened to presentations on the proposal from its staff, AECL, private citizens, and volunteer organizations - roughly 100 presentations in all, spanning 17 hours of hearing time. AECL is asking for a licence for a low level radioactive waste site. The site will house approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of nuclear and industrial waste, collected from the community over the course of the next decade. The proposal was approved in 2007, following a six-year environmental assessment. The ensuing licensing process should have been fairly straight forward - hash out a few technical details and get shovels in the ground.

"Russia and Sweden have found themselves amid an international scandal stemming from allegations that Russia dumped radioactive waste and chemical weapons into the Baltic Sea in the early 1990s - and that Sweden disregarded later reports of the discharges. Bellona, 15/02-2010 The Russian military are responsible for chemical and radioactive pollution off the coast of the Swedish island of Gotland, the Swedish channel Sveriges Television (SVT) charged in early February. But Russia's prominent environmentalist, academician Alexei Yablokov, who served as an advisor to the late President Boris Yeltsin, and who further would be unflinching in casting stones at the Kremlin for shady radioactive waste dumping practices, told SVT that the allegations are dubious. In a documentary that aired on SVT, journalists quoted the former Swedish secret service officer Donald Forsberg, who said radioactive waste and chemical weapons were being unloaded into the area between 1989 and 1992. The materials buried there at sea had allegedly come from a Soviet military base in Liepaja, Latvia, following the Russians' hurried retreat from that Soviet republic after the break-up of the USSR."

State inspectors will be on hand today as EnergySolutions Inc. begins unloading a trainload of depleted uranium from the federal government's Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina. The low-level radioactive waste, which arrived Sunday night, won't be buried just yet, thanks to an agreement hammered out last week between Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and the U.S. Energy Department. Instead, the 5,408 drums of low-level radioactive waste will be placed in a specialized landfill for storage until Utah regulators can finish updating state disposal requirements, provisions aimed at making sure the state does not get stuck with radioactive waste that cannot be effectively contained at the EnergySolutions disposal site. Dane Finerfrock, director of the Utah Division of Radiation Control, said his staff was on hand Monday to review the shipping papers for the waste and check the manifests against the content of a sampling of drums. EnergySolutions, which operates the landfill about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City, had little to say about the controversial cargo.

State inspectors will be on hand today as EnergySolutions Inc. begins unloading a trainload of depleted uranium from the federal government's Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina. The low-level radioactive waste, which arrived Sunday night, won't be buried just yet, thanks to an agreement hammered out last week between Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and the U.S. Energy Department. Instead, the 5,408 drums of low-level radioactive waste will be placed in a specialized landfill for storage until Utah regulators can finish updating state disposal requirements, provisions aimed at making sure the state does not get stuck with radioactive waste that cannot be effectively contained at the EnergySolutions disposal site. Dane Finerfrock, director of the Utah Division of Radiation Control, said his staff was on hand Monday to review the shipping papers for the waste and check the manifests against the content of a sampling of drums. EnergySolutions, which operates the landfill about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City, had little to say about the controversial cargo.

A spokeswoman for Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah says the Department of Energy has decided it will begin shipping thousands of drums of low-level radioactive waste from South Carolina for disposal in Utah. Alyson Heyrend says the department informed Matheson's office of its decision Thursday. Matheson had asked the agency to halt shipments of depleted uranium from the Savannah River Site until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission finalizes rules for how the material should be disposed of. Depleted uranium is different from other low-level radioactive waste disposed of in Utah because it becomes more radioactive over time. The regulatory commission isn't expected to finalize its rules until 2012 at the earliest.

A spokeswoman for Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah says the Department of Energy has decided it will begin shipping thousands of drums of low-level radioactive waste from South Carolina for disposal in Utah. Alyson Heyrend says the department informed Matheson's office of its decision Thursday. Matheson had asked the agency to halt shipments of depleted uranium from the Savannah River Site until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission finalizes rules for how the material should be disposed of. Depleted uranium is different from other low-level radioactive waste disposed of in Utah because it becomes more radioactive over time. The regulatory commission isn't expected to finalize its rules until 2012 at the earliest.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) on Monday, experts revealed a troublesome fact about Chernobyl, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant that blew up in 1986. Recent measurements in the exclusion zone, where no humans can go without protective equipment, have revealed that the radioactive material that was spilled in the area was nowhere near the decay level that was predicted for it. In other words, the scientists are saying that it will take a lot more time for the land to be cleansed than originally believed, Wired reports. Previous estimates, based on the fact that the Cesium 137's half-life is 30 years, estimated that the restriction zone could be lifted, and then re-inhabited soon. But experiments reveal that the radioactive material is not decaying as fast as predicted, and scientists have no clue as to why this is happening. The April 26, 1986 accident was the largest nuclear accident in the world, and only a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Its fallout was made worse by the Soviet Union's attempt at covering up the incident, which saw a lot of people exposed to lethal doses of radiations.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) on Monday, experts revealed a troublesome fact about Chernobyl, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant that blew up in 1986. Recent measurements in the exclusion zone, where no humans can go without protective equipment, have revealed that the radioactive material that was spilled in the area was nowhere near the decay level that was predicted for it. In other words, the scientists are saying that it will take a lot more time for the land to be cleansed than originally believed, Wired reports. Previous estimates, based on the fact that the Cesium 137's half-life is 30 years, estimated that the restriction zone could be lifted, and then re-inhabited soon. But experiments reveal that the radioactive material is not decaying as fast as predicted, and scientists have no clue as to why this is happening. The April 26, 1986 accident was the largest nuclear accident in the world, and only a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Its fallout was made worse by the Soviet Union's attempt at covering up the incident, which saw a lot of people exposed to lethal doses of radiations.

"he National Nuclear Security Administration swept into a Rahway warehouse last week to secure Cesium-137, a radioactive substance, from unused medical equipment. Securing radioactive material is something the administration, part of the Department of Energy, has done about 24,000 times since the late 1990s, but the organization is mounting a new push to encourage hospitals and research facilities to register to have outdated equipment picked up by the government in a timely fashion. The goal is to keep Cesium and other radioactive material under tight security. The agency didn't release any information about the operation until a week later, once the equipment, medical irradiator machines, was treated and safely housed thousands of miles away, west of the Mississippi River. It also did not give the name or address of the Rahway company in order to protect it from those trying to illegally acquire radioactive substances. "