nuke.news

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday released internal records that show one of its senior employees filed a pair of complaints questioning the agency's own diligence in obtaining Davis-Besse documents from FirstEnergy Corp. in 2005 and 2007. Those records also show the employee, Jim Gavula, was later told by NRC brass that the agency - highly critical of FirstEnergy in the past - believes it did everything within its power to get more cooperation. Mr. Gavula, an NRC employee for 24 years who now helps the agency review technical documents, filed the complaints as a senior reactor inspector in 2006 and 2008. Such records, often kept secret, were authorized by Mr. Gavula to be made public."

"A nuclear power plant operated by The Southern Co. will face more federal inspections because the electronics controlling an emergency power system on one of its reactors failed to work, federal regulators said Friday. The problems affected an automatic control system for one of the diesel generators attached to a nuclear reactor at Plant Hatch near Baxley in southeast Georgia. The commission said the problem was a low-to-moderate safety risk and ordered an additional round of inspections since it previously identified another problem at the plant related to an emergency diesel generator."

"he shareholders of FPL Group, Inc. voted today to change the name of the company to NextEra Energy, Inc. The company announced the proposed name change on March 19, 2010. During the company's annual meeting today, the proposal was approved by more than 95 percent of the shareholders who cast a vote. Following the shareholder vote, the name of the company was formally changed from FPL Group, Inc. to NextEra Energy, Inc. The change is intended to better reflect the company's scale as one of the largest and cleanest energy providers in the country, its diverse scope of operations across 28 states and Canada, and its forward-thinking, innovative approach to providing energy-related solutions for customers. "

"Energy Secretary Steven Chu is bright (for goshsakes, the man is a Nobel Laureate), articulate and -- what's pertinent here -- not boring. The same couldn't be said for some of his predecessors, such as Spencer Abraham, whose most interesting moment may have been his introduction of a cartoon-like character, the Energy Hog, to try to get Americans schoolkids to conserve energy. Anyway, Chu's speeches have a little life to them. Sometimes a lot. Maybe that means he's got a good speech writer. Or maybe he's just got a sense of humor and doesn't mind showing it. At his commencement address at Harvard last year, where he followed JK Rowling and Bill Gates in that role, Chu got worldwide play with this catchy quote: "I am not a billionaire, but at least I am a nerd." There's always some meat on the bones, too, as you would expect of a scientist with a leadership flair."

"Environmentalists and local politicians Friday cheered a Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety order late Thursday directing Denver-based Cotter Corp. to begin curtailing drinking water contamination from an inactive Jefferson County uranium mine this summer. Uranium pollution revealed to be more than 13 times state standards was contaminating Ralston Creek, and the state rejected a cleanup plan proposed by Cotter, which owns the Cotter Mill uranium processing facility near Canon City and several uranium mines around the state. The mining division required Cotter to begin water treatment at its Schwartzwalder uranium mine west of Arvada by July 31. "The mining division took bold and decisive action to protect our drinking water," Jefferson County Commissioner Kathy Hartman said in a release. "I am pleased to see immediate action to protect Ralston Reservoir.""

"Uranium Resources, Inc. announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has denied a petition for a rehearing or en banc review of the court's previous decision that upheld, in all respects, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) original decision to grant URI a license to conduct in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mining in McKinley County, New Mexico. On March 8, 2010, the Tenth Circuit denied the original petition by several parties opposed to uranium mining for review of URI's NRC license, which the Commission issued to Hydro Resources, Inc. (HRI), Uranium Resources' wholly-owned subsidiary, in 1998. One of the opposed parties, The Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining, subsequently filed a petition requesting a rehearing or en banc review of the March 8 decision. In a May 18, 2010, order, the court denied the rehearing request and indicated that no judges of the court acted on the request for an en banc review. The petitioners now have 90 days from May 18, 2010 to file a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court requesting that Court's review of the Tenth Circuit's decision."

"Russia is ready to invest $1 billion in uranium exploration in Namibia, Russia's state nuclear firm said on Thursday as it seeks to compete for projects with global miner Rio Tinto in the African country. "We're ready to start investing already this year," the head of state corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, told journalists. Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba was visiting Moscow to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Kiriyenko said the uranium extracted from Namibia could be used for a nuclear power plant Russia was building in Turkey."

"Centrica and E.ON lobby Liberal Democrat energy secretary to commit government to £30bn nuclear newbuild programme Leaders of the nuclear industry have sought urgent meetings with the new energy secretary, Chris Huhne, amid concern that he will not provide the support needed for their £30bn investment programme in a new generation of reactors. Sam Laidlaw, Centrica's chief executive, and Paul Golby, head of E.ON UK, have scheduled talks in the coming days with Huhne, who has strongly indicated that his primary focus is renewable power."

"New delhi Soumya is just 13, but she knows all about bone marrow transplants, radioactive sources and what exposure to radiation can do to the human body. She has first-hand experience, for her father Ajay Jain had been kept in isolation at the Army Research and Referral Hospital, undergoing treatment for exposure to a radiation source. Jain finally returned home on Thursday, more than a month after he was admitted to Max Hospital in Pitampura, on April 10, with a burn injury on the right side of his posterior. It took him another five days to realise that the piece of metal he had kept in his wallet for months had caused the injury. It turned out to be a piece of radioactive Cobalt-60. "

"U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced the selection of 42 university-led research and development projects for awards totaling $38 million. These projects, funded over three to four years through the Department's Nuclear Energy University Program, will help advance nuclear education and develop the next generation of nuclear technologies. "We are taking action to restart the nuclear industry as part of a broad approach to cut carbon pollution and create new clean energy jobs," said Secretary Chu. "These projects will help us develop the nuclear technologies of the future and move our domestic nuclear industry forward." Twenty-three U.S. universities will act as lead research institutions for projects in 17 states. Other universities, industries, and national laboratories will serve as collaborators and research partners. The projects focus on four nuclear energy research areas: Fuel Cycle Research and Development (13 projects, $11,823,154) "

"President Obama may be pressing for the nation to increase its supply of nuclear power, but the market is pushing in the opposite direction-at least in the view of one of the leading figures in the U.S. nuclear business. John Rowe, chief executive of Chicago-based Exelon, operator of the nation's largest fleet of nuclear power stations, says the economics of the electricity business have changed sharply in just the past two years, dimming the prospects for a significant number of new nuclear reactors in the United States."

"A Democratic aide says President Barack Obama is poised to ask Congress to agree to $9 billion more in loan guarantees for the nuclear energy industry - on top of $18 billion announced earlier this year. The president is pushing for a new round of construction of nuclear plants. At the insistence of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, the request for more spending on nuclear energy would be coupled with $9 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy such as wind and solar. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity before a formal announcement from the White House. The money would be tacked onto a spending bill for Haiti, Afghanistan and domestic priorities that Congress is expected to tackle after Memorial Day."

"New York's senators on Wednesday urged two federal agencies to reform the compensation process for workers at former nuclear sites, including those at the Linde facility in the Town of Tonawanda. Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand called on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, or NIOSH, to make it easier for cancer-stricken workers to receive compensation for their illnesses. "Through a simple rule change, justice can finally be delivered to the nuclear workers of Western New York," Schumer said in a statement. "These Cold War heroes became dangerously ill developing the country's nuclear weapons program, and should not have to wait a minute longer for help." Added Gillibrand, "New York's former nuclear workers have been neglected for far too long, and should not have to scale a mountain of red tape or prove the un-provable before receiving the compensation they deserve...Those affected must have an opportunity for their case to be heard.""

"A lawsuit filed by four people who were arrested for protesting during a speech given by Gov. James Douglas on March 30, 2009, was settled out of court, announced Brattleboro Town Manager Barbara Sondag during the Selectboard's Tuesday night meeting. According to Stephen Saltonstall, attorney for Jonathan Crowell, Amy Frost, Eesha Williams and Elizabeth Wood, each of the protesters will receive $2,500 from the risk pool managed by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. In addition, Saltonstall and the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, which assisted in the case, will split a separate $7,500 settlement for attorney's fees. The town is only liable for its deductible -- $500. "

"Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin today expressed disappointment with Exelon Nuclear's response to a state order requiring the company to take more proactive steps to protect the public from a 2009 leak of radioactive tritium into aquifers beneath the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey. A May 14 letter issued by Exelon downplays the DEP's concerns about the issue and contends the DEP order created public alarm, while also suggesting the DEP does not have authority over issues at Oyster Creek. "Exelon needs to stop making legal arguments about this issue and spend its time ensuring that tritium does not further contaminate New Jersey's drinking water supply,'' said Commissioner Martin. "The DEP is in charge of protecting drinking water in the state of New Jersey. Anything that would endanger a New Jersey aquifer is of great concern to us and demands an aggressive DEP response.''"

"A planned uranium-enrichment plant in Idaho, not one in southern Ohio, is getting a $2 billion federal loan guarantee, the Department of Energy said today. But that doesn't mean USEC's $3.5 billion project in Piketon, which could bring hundreds of jobs to economically struggling southern Ohio, is out of the running for the federal loan guarantee. The Energy Department took pains to say, even as it was granting the $2 billion loan guarantee to the French-based Areva for its plant near Idaho Falls, that it planned to award an additional $2 billion loan guarantee. At this point, USEC is the only other company that has applied for a uranium-enrichment loan guarantee, the Energy Department confirmed. The Energy Department said the loan guarantee for Areva is contingent on the project obtaining a construction and operating license from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The project must obtain a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before the loan guarantee can be finalized."

"Experts Say Once Cleaned, Site Could Be Used For Anything Cleanup is under way at an old dumping site near Breckenridge in Gratiot County. Radioactive waste is being hauled away from the site that was formerly used by Michigan Chemical to dispose of chemicals. The waste has been described as having a low level of radioactivity. Officials said about 2,000 cubic yards of soil and chemicals will be taken from the 2-acre site."

"About 300 cubic yards of low level radioactive waste has been put into huge "superbags" to be removed from what is called the Breckenridge dump site. Employees of Energy Solutions have a long way to go to remove all the contaminants from the 2.2 acre site that's actually in Bethany Township. It's been called the Breckenridge site because it's close to Breckenridge. The acreage had been used by Michigan Chemical to dispose of its waste in the making of picture tubes that required some radioactive elements. Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expect that about 1,900 cubic yards will have to be removed."

"Anderson County commissioners want federal and state help in cleaning up a radioactive blight, tearing it down and turning the site into a parking lot for a planned recreational complex next door. Commissioners Monday passed a resolution seeking federal and state financial assistance in the remediation of the abandoned American Nuclear Corp. facility. Located on Blockhouse Valley Road, the contaminated property is adjacent to county-owned land that includes a former landfill that's been cleaned up."

"A peace group says the government and its contractors are starting work on a big project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant before it's fully approved and before some environmental impacts have been assessed. In a statement released Wednesday, the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance said the Department of Energy should halt all site preparation and preliminary construction activities for the Uranium Processing Facility - a proposed multi-billion-dollar production facility at Y-12. "DOE is getting the cart way out in front of the horse," Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of OREPA, said by e-mail. The final Site Wide Environmental Impact Statement required for construction of UPF has not yet been issued, and a Record of Decision is not expected for several months."