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An inquiry has been ordered into reports that an allegedly radioactive contaminated ship from the US has anchored off the Alang coast in Gujarat, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday. "We have got complaints that a radioactive contaminated ship has anchored at Alang. We have already ordered an inquiry into the matter and hope to get the report within the next two days," he told reporters in New Delhi even as environmentalists in Gujarat demanded that the US government recall the ship.

An inquiry has been ordered into reports that an allegedly radioactive contaminated ship from the US has anchored off the Alang coast in Gujarat, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday. "We have got complaints that a radioactive contaminated ship has anchored at Alang. We have already ordered an inquiry into the matter and hope to get the report within the next two days," he told reporters in New Delhi even as environmentalists in Gujarat demanded that the US government recall the ship.

A group of island residents and members of the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors met yesterday to discuss legislation that proposes to include Guam in the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Advertisement The federal RECA law, passed in 1990, compensates people who have been diagnosed with specific cancers and chronic diseases that could have resulted from exposure to agents associated with nuclear weapons testing, according to a 2005 report published by the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council. The law covers exposure to nuclear tests carried out for more than 20 years during and after World War II. According to the report, both on-site participants of above-ground nuclear tests and "downwinders" in areas designated by RECA are eligible for compensation. Areas of Nevada, Utah and Arizona are covered in the law as "Downwind Counties," the report states.

A group of island residents and members of the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors met yesterday to discuss legislation that proposes to include Guam in the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Advertisement The federal RECA law, passed in 1990, compensates people who have been diagnosed with specific cancers and chronic diseases that could have resulted from exposure to agents associated with nuclear weapons testing, according to a 2005 report published by the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council. The law covers exposure to nuclear tests carried out for more than 20 years during and after World War II. According to the report, both on-site participants of above-ground nuclear tests and "downwinders" in areas designated by RECA are eligible for compensation. Areas of Nevada, Utah and Arizona are covered in the law as "Downwind Counties," the report states.

Ex-official said to have sought jobs from firms while on panel A former member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated government ethics rules by directly contacting potential employers with business before the NRC before the end of his term in mid-2007, according to a report by the commission's inspector general. Jeffrey S. Merrifield twice cast votes on matters involving companies he had contacted about job prospects, the report says. The firms -- the Shaw Group, Toshiba's Westinghouse Electric and General Electric -- "could potentially have benefited financially from his votes . . . during the specific timeframes in which Merrifield was negotiating with the three companies," the report concludes.

Ex-official said to have sought jobs from firms while on panel A former member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated government ethics rules by directly contacting potential employers with business before the NRC before the end of his term in mid-2007, according to a report by the commission's inspector general. Jeffrey S. Merrifield twice cast votes on matters involving companies he had contacted about job prospects, the report says. The firms -- the Shaw Group, Toshiba's Westinghouse Electric and General Electric -- "could potentially have benefited financially from his votes . . . during the specific timeframes in which Merrifield was negotiating with the three companies," the report concludes.

As Maryland closes in on the construction of a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, an environmental organization has released a report calling nuclear power a step backward in the nation's race to reduce pollution. The Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center report, released Tuesday, calls nuclear power "too slow and too expensive," an energy source that makes little economic sense in combating climate change. While nuclear power might be preferable to fossil fuel-based energy sources, it is "diverting and delaying action," said economist John Howley, who was part of a panel convened by Environment Maryland. Howley, who writes Maryland Energy Report, believes that financing nuclear power will come at the expense of cleaner energy sources, such as solar or wind power.

As Maryland closes in on the construction of a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, an environmental organization has released a report calling nuclear power a step backward in the nation's race to reduce pollution. The Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center report, released Tuesday, calls nuclear power "too slow and too expensive," an energy source that makes little economic sense in combating climate change. While nuclear power might be preferable to fossil fuel-based energy sources, it is "diverting and delaying action," said economist John Howley, who was part of a panel convened by Environment Maryland. Howley, who writes Maryland Energy Report, believes that financing nuclear power will come at the expense of cleaner energy sources, such as solar or wind power.

Veteran Managers at SONGS Nuclear Power Plant near San Clemente Say Southern California Edison Retaliated When They Reported Nuclear Safety Concerns SAN ONOFRE, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In whistleblower complaints filed this week with the U.S. Department of Labor, two managers at Southern California Edison's San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) say the company violated federal law when it retaliated against them for raising nuclear safety concerns. Rick Busnardo and Mike Mason have worked at SONGS for 25 and 29 years respectively, and together manage the fabrication shop that builds steel casks for the long-term storage of the plant's spent fuel rods. The integrity of the casks is critical because the spent fuel remains highly radioactive for hundreds of years. Busnardo and Mason allege that trouble began when they reported a "willful violation" of nuclear-safety standards to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in October 2008, after learning that a fabricator in their shop had performed welding operations that fell short of the plants' quality-assurance specifications. Busnardo and Mason believe their report angered Edison management because the NRC had cited the SONGS plant for a high level of such willful violations several months earlier, and the company wanted to avoid further scrutiny.

Veteran Managers at SONGS Nuclear Power Plant near San Clemente Say Southern California Edison Retaliated When They Reported Nuclear Safety Concerns SAN ONOFRE, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In whistleblower complaints filed this week with the U.S. Department of Labor, two managers at Southern California Edison's San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) say the company violated federal law when it retaliated against them for raising nuclear safety concerns. Rick Busnardo and Mike Mason have worked at SONGS for 25 and 29 years respectively, and together manage the fabrication shop that builds steel casks for the long-term storage of the plant's spent fuel rods. The integrity of the casks is critical because the spent fuel remains highly radioactive for hundreds of years. Busnardo and Mason allege that trouble began when they reported a "willful violation" of nuclear-safety standards to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in October 2008, after learning that a fabricator in their shop had performed welding operations that fell short of the plants' quality-assurance specifications. Busnardo and Mason believe their report angered Edison management because the NRC had cited the SONGS plant for a high level of such willful violations several months earlier, and the company wanted to avoid further scrutiny.

Ministers refuse to release details of five incidents last year The government is refusing to provide details on five separate security breaches at Britain's nuclear power stations last year. The breaches have prompted accusations that ministers are suppressing damaging information at a time when they are attempting to sell the idea of more nuclear power stations. Earlier this month, 10 new sites in England and Wales were approved. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told MPs that nuclear was a "proven and reliable" energy source. But the latest annual report from the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) has prompted questions about the measures being taken to protect the country's ageing plants. The report states that nuclear operators must disclose "events and occurrences which may be of interest from a security point of view". It notes: "Five reports were made which warranted further investigation and subsequent follow-up action."

Ministers refuse to release details of five incidents last year The government is refusing to provide details on five separate security breaches at Britain's nuclear power stations last year. The breaches have prompted accusations that ministers are suppressing damaging information at a time when they are attempting to sell the idea of more nuclear power stations. Earlier this month, 10 new sites in England and Wales were approved. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told MPs that nuclear was a "proven and reliable" energy source. But the latest annual report from the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) has prompted questions about the measures being taken to protect the country's ageing plants. The report states that nuclear operators must disclose "events and occurrences which may be of interest from a security point of view". It notes: "Five reports were made which warranted further investigation and subsequent follow-up action."

The UK Government is facing key decisions about what to do with what is the world's largest plutonium stock pile. A report, published in full for the first time last night (November 26), revealed the UK's estimated 100 tonnes of plutonium is not just a potential terrorist target it's increases the 'risk of nuclear weapon proliferation'. The report, by the highly regarded working party British Pugwash, is called The Management of Separated Plutonium in the UK. The report is an 'optioneering study' which identifies some major issues which it believes must be tackled if the expansion of nuclear power is to be considered as a 'viable future energy option' both in the UK and worldwide. Deputy chairman of British Pugwash, Dr Christopher Watson, said: "The strategy developed in the 1990s for utilising the UK stockpile of separated plutonium is currently in disarray.

The UK Government is facing key decisions about what to do with what is the world's largest plutonium stock pile. A report, published in full for the first time last night (November 26), revealed the UK's estimated 100 tonnes of plutonium is not just a potential terrorist target it's increases the 'risk of nuclear weapon proliferation'. The report, by the highly regarded working party British Pugwash, is called The Management of Separated Plutonium in the UK. The report is an 'optioneering study' which identifies some major issues which it believes must be tackled if the expansion of nuclear power is to be considered as a 'viable future energy option' both in the UK and worldwide. Deputy chairman of British Pugwash, Dr Christopher Watson, said: "The strategy developed in the 1990s for utilising the UK stockpile of separated plutonium is currently in disarray.

The tender for Turkey's first nuclear tender is likely to be cancelled due to the high price offer and a shift in the location of the plant from the south of the country to the northern Black Sea region, Vatan daily reported on Wednesday. Turkey's first nuclear tender to be cancelled due to high price-report Turkey's state-run power company, TETAS will submit a "negative" report for the price bid in the nuclear tender and submit it to cabinet for approval, the daily said.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released its Report to Congress on the Demonstration of the Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel from Decommissioned Nuclear Power Reactor Sites (DOE/RW-0596, December 2008). The report was prepared pursuant to direction in the House Appropriations Committee Report that accompanied the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 that the Department develop a plan to take custody of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) currently stored at decommissioned reactor sites.

A new report co-authored by the Electric Power Research Institute and the Idaho National Laboratory details how nuclear energy research, development, demonstration and deployment can help reduce U.S. carbon emissions and bolster energy security. The report, A Strategy for Nuclear Energy Research and Development, outlines the research necessary to create options for the deployment of nuclear energy in the decades ahead. The report also examines nuclear energy's relevance to nonproliferation and the need for the United States to maintain international leadership in developing nuclear energy-issues that must be addressed for nuclear energy to have a prominent role in meeting the nation's future energy needs. Because of the scale, cost, and time horizons involved, sustaining and increasing nuclear energy's share will require a coordinated research effort-combining the efforts of industry and government, sup­ported by innovation from the research community.

A tritium leak at Oyster Creek Generating Station has prompted the federal government to take a closer look at leaks happening at nuclear plants nationwide. On Tuesday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released its inspection report on a leak found at Oyster Creek on April 15, days after the plant was relicensed for another 20 years. The full report did not reveal any new information about the tritium leak, but the issuing of the report has prompted more investigation into future leaks at nuclear plants, including another leak that happened at Oyster Creek in August. The leaks occurred 18 years after the underground pipes had last been recoated. In 1991, engineers reported that two underground pipes had been excavated and completely recoated. The recent investigation revealed that the coating was not applied thoroughly enough. Adjoining areas of the pipes that were not coated properly allowed moisture to seep in, causing corrosion.

Ratings Warning From Moody's Followed by Mothballing of New Reactor Plans in Texas and Ontario; Developments in Line with Cooper Report from June Projecting Trillions in Excess Costs for Nuclear, Compared to Combination of Renewables and More Efficiency. WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Three major developments in the nuclear power industry in late June underscore the key findings of the "The Economics of Nuclear Reactors," a report released on June 18, 2009 by economist Dr. Mark Cooper, a senior fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School. The Cooper report finds that it would cost $1.9 trillion to $4.1 trillion more over the life of 100 new nuclear reactors than it would to generate the same electricity from a combination of more energy efficiency and renewables. Available online at http://www.vermontlaw.edu/Academics/Environmental_Law_Center/Institutes_and_Initiatives/Institute_for_Energy_and_the_Environment/New_and_Noteworthy.htm, the Cooper analysis of over three dozen cost estimates for proposed new nuclear reactors shows that the projected price tags for the plants have quadrupled since the start of the industry's so-called "nuclear renaissance" at the beginning of this decade - a striking parallel to the eventually seven-fold increase in reactor costs estimates that doomed the "Great Bandwagon Market" of the 1960s and 1970s, when half of planned nuclear reactors had to be abandoned or cancelled due to massive cost overruns. Cooper said that three late June developments provide new evidence of the validity of the cost-related concerns documented in his report:

NRC security inspections identified 133 findings in 2008, the agency said in a public version of an annual report to Congress released July 10. NRC said in a July 10 statement that "the report covers the NRC's security inspection program, including force-on-force exercises, for commercial nuclear power reactors and certain nuclear fuel cycle facilities for calendar year 2008." Of the 133 findings from a total of 182 security inspections conducted last year, the NRC said "125 were of very low security significance and eight were of low-to-moderate security significance. All were corrected immediately or compensatory measures put in place, if necessary. Details of the findings are considered sensitive and not released to the public." The public version of the report is on NRC's web site at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/congress-docs/correspondence/2009/boxe r-06-30-2009.pdf.

A VESSEL carrying a major shipment of recycled nuclear fuel is expected to arrive in Japan as soon as Monday after its 70-day trip from France, local media reported. The convoy, which left Cherbourg in March to deliver the MOX fuel - a blend of plutonium and reprocessed uranium - is expected to arrive in the central port of Omaezaki to unload part of the shipment, Kyodo News reported. The business daily Nikkei in a similar report said that the convoy was due to arrive at the port 'as soon as Monday.' The Pacific Heron, a specially adapted ship with a British police team on board to head off possible hijackers, is then expected to unload fuel at two other ports adjacent to nuclear plants in southwestern Japan, the reports said.

If plans to build a new fleet of nuclear power plants make it past the drawing board, the cost to taxpayers and electricity consumers could be massive, according to a new study released by the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School. In a 78-page report, economist Mark Cooper concluded that investing the money in efficiency and renewable power would be more economical than building new nuclear power plants. "The likely cost of electricity for a new generation of nuclear reactors would be 12 to 20 cents per kilowatt hour, considerably more expensive than the average cost of increased use of energy efficiency and renewable energies at 6 cents per kilowatt hour," stated a summary of the report. Cooper's report found that during the life of 100 new nuclear reactors the cost to ratepayers and American taxpayers could be between $1.9 trillion to $4.1 trillion more than the same power generated by a combination of energy efficiency and renewable power.

NRC delays review of Entergy NY Indian Pt renewal * NRC delays environment report by three months * Delay due to new information from Entergy * Entergy filed for renewal in 2007 NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission delayed the schedule for the review of the renewal of Entergy Corp's (ETR.N) Indian Point nuclear power reactors in New York, the NRC said in an email Friday. In a letter dated Feb. 2, the NRC told Entergy, of New Orleans, it delayed the issuance of the final supplemental environmental impact statement until May 31. Earlier, the NRC had expected to issue that report on Feb. 12. The statement is the last report needed before the commission can make a decision on Entergy's request to renew the reactors' operating licenses for an additional 20 years. The NRC said it delayed the report due to new information from Entergy including replacement aquatic data and revised severe accident mitigation analyses. In April 2007, Entergy filed with the NRC for the 20-year extensions of the units' original 40-year operating licenses."

More than a quarter of Albertans oppose allowing nuclear power plants to be built in the province, while almost half remain "conflicted" about the energy source, according to a new government report released Monday. And people north of Edmonton - were several nuclear plants have been proposed - were more likely to oppose building the plants, by around 32 per cent, compared to the Calgary region, at 24 per cent, was the least opposed. "Only those Albertans who hold consistently positive views of science and the nuclear industry - and are less concerned by the potential for negative consequences - actually want to see the government encourage nuclear proposals," said the report by Alberta Energy.

More than a quarter of Albertans oppose allowing nuclear power plants to be built in the province, while almost half remain "conflicted" about the energy source, according to a new government report released Monday. And people north of Edmonton - were several nuclear plants have been proposed - were more likely to oppose building the plants, by around 32 per cent, compared to the Calgary region, at 24 per cent, was the least opposed. "Only those Albertans who hold consistently positive views of science and the nuclear industry - and are less concerned by the potential for negative consequences - actually want to see the government encourage nuclear proposals," said the report by Alberta Energy.

A LANDMARK report calls for a massive cut in atomic warheads but stops short of setting a deadline for their abolition, which is seen as a critical challenge for this century. The International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), initiated by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last year, wants the global arsenal cut from 23,000 to 2,000 by 2025 but doesn't set a time frame to get rid of all nuclear weapons. The targets would see Russia reducing its stockpile from 13,000 to 500, with the United States slashing its arsenal from 9,000 to 500 over the next 15 years. "Twenty years after the end of the Cold War there are at least 23,000 nuclear warheads still in existence, with a combined blast capacity equivalent to 150,000 Hiroshima bombs," says the report, released in Tokyo today. The ICNND wants nuclear-armed states to commit to a ``no first use'' policy by 2025, coupled with changes to the alter status of weapons, ensuring "nuclear forces are not instantly usable''.

A LANDMARK report calls for a massive cut in atomic warheads but stops short of setting a deadline for their abolition, which is seen as a critical challenge for this century. The International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), initiated by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last year, wants the global arsenal cut from 23,000 to 2,000 by 2025 but doesn't set a time frame to get rid of all nuclear weapons. The targets would see Russia reducing its stockpile from 13,000 to 500, with the United States slashing its arsenal from 9,000 to 500 over the next 15 years. "Twenty years after the end of the Cold War there are at least 23,000 nuclear warheads still in existence, with a combined blast capacity equivalent to 150,000 Hiroshima bombs," says the report, released in Tokyo today. The ICNND wants nuclear-armed states to commit to a ``no first use'' policy by 2025, coupled with changes to the alter status of weapons, ensuring "nuclear forces are not instantly usable''.

"Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, today released a staff report entitled "Radioactive Roulette: How the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Cancer Patient Radiation Rules Gamble with Public Health and Safety." The Markey staff report was prepared after reviewing NRC's latest response to an inquiry by Chairman Markey into the NRC's regulations surrounding the treatment of cancer patients with radionuclides as well as other materials. "With the release of this report, I call upon the NRC to immediately reverse its actions and stop gambling with public health and safety - and if it won't, I will introduce legislation that will direct it to do so," said Rep. Markey. "In the past, the NRC adopted a 'see no evil, hear no evil' approach to protecting members of the public from exposure to the radioactive iodine used to treat many cancer patients.""

"Nuclear power plant workers concerned about how things are being done - but who don't feel comfortable reporting that information to their bosses - can do an end run around management, and report their concerns directly to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC calls this its "Allegation Program," and it keeps track of the number of reports made. Worried employees at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station are, er, "winning" - they contacted the NRC more often than their colleagues at any other nuclear power plant in the nation over the past five years, NRC statistics show. Between 2006 and 2010, there were 95 end-runs around management at SONGS, compared to 47 at California's only other nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon. There were only five such reports from the Calvert Cliffs plants in Maryland over the same period. (See reactor-by-reactor stats here: Reactor allegations.)"