nuke.news

Money should go on health and education instead, survey finds The public wants Britain to scrap the Trident nuclear missile system but believes spending on health and education should rise each year, according to a ComRes poll for The Independent. By a margin of 58 to 35 per cent, people believe that the £25bn renewal of the Trident programme should be abandoned because of the state of the public finances. The finding will strengthen the hand of ministers who are pressing Gordon Brown to cancel or delay the scheme as Labour prepares to unveil public spending cuts.

In this third segment of my review of William Tucker's outstanding book Terrestrial Energy, I consider Tucker's assessment of available opportunities to solve the nuclear waste problem by reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. Recycling Opportunities If U.S. nuclear power plants were to resume reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, as is done in France and other nations, only 2 to 3 percent of the material now scheduled to be stored at the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository would have to be stored there, and the whole nuclear waste problem would disappear. After reprocessing, the total unusable portion of three full years of nuclear power production can be stored indefinitely in a dry cask about four times the size of a telephone booth.

One of the latest reports regarding San Diego's Nuclear reactor comes from an article from Paul Sisson psission@nctimes.com and I quote "Inspectors in Japan have detected 'weld defects' inside two massive steam generators being built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for installation at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)". A spokesperson for the plant owners Southern California Edison (SCE) said "similar defects have not been found in two similar generators already delivered to San Onofre and scheduled for installation inside its Unit 2 containment dome this fall. The deficiency, which was corrected, was caused by a manufacturing process that was not used on the Unit 2 generators. He went on to say DEFECTS will not delay the cutting of the concrete domes and installation of the generators, scheduled for fall 2010."

San DiegoCounty is known as a nuclear community in Sacramento. Personally I don't like the name, but it is what it is. Knowing that San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is an aging reactor we should take some precautionary measures to protect our families the best we can if there is an accident during the new steam generator installations. We as a community should also be ready if the electricity we get from SONGS is interrupted for an unknown time because of a workplace mistake. According to a little survey of 1200 San Diego residents; two-thirds of them feel it is highly likely they will be affected by a major disaster. Here are some suggestions to minimize radiation exposure.

The Hanford nuclear reservation now has deadlines of three to nine years to fix its plumes of underground radioactive and chemical contamination next to the Columbia River. The last of the riverside plumes of radioactive liquids should be addressed by 2018, according to an August agreement that the U.S. Department of Energy signed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington's Department of Ecology. DOE's Hanford Manager David Brockman briefed the Hanford Advisory Board on the agreement Thursday in Seattle. The 32-member board represents the Hanford political spectrum, including environmentalists, workers, Tri-Cities interests, health groups and others.

Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) (URI) announced today that it has terminated the agreement for the acquisition of certain assets in New Mexico from NZ Uranium, LLC because of the existence of title issues that were not resolved. The Company had previously announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the properties subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions, including a title review. The properties were believed to contain about 35 million pounds of uranium mineralized material. Paul K. Willmott, Chairman of the Board, commented, "It is unfortunate that this is the result, but we determined that it would be imprudent to proceed any further." About Uranium Resources, Inc. Uranium Resources Inc. explores for, develops and mines uranium. Since its incorporation in 1977, URI has produced over 8 million pounds of uranium by in-situ recovery (ISR) methods in the state of Texas where the Company currently has ISR mining projects. URI has 183,000 acres of uranium mineral holdings, 101.4 million pounds of in-place mineralized uranium material in New Mexico and an NRC license to produce up to 3 million pounds of uranium. The Company acquired these properties over the past 20 years along with an extensive information database of historic mining logs and analysis.

Environmental groups have given notice that they'll sue the federal Bureau of Land Management over its decision to allow a uranium mine to reopen near the Grand Canyon. Canadian mining company Denison Mines Corp. says it could reopen its mine about 20 miles north of the canyon by the end of the year. Dennison received the final state permit it needed last week. The BLM says Denison has an approved mine plan and should be allowed to resume operations after closing the site about 20 years ago. But the Center for Biological Diversity, the Grand Canyon Trust and the Sierra Club argue that the BLM is relying on an old environmental analysis and isn't considering potential impacts on endangered species. The notice the groups filed Tuesday says they plan to file a lawsuit in 60 days.

There's no legal problem here, officials with the U.S. Department of Energy say. Storing mercury at a federal site south of Whitewater won't violate the terms of an agreement the DOE signed with Mesa County more than a decade ago, a top official with the agency said. Well, that's a relief, at least to federal officials eager to find a permanent disposal site for thousands of tons of mercury. But it's not very reassuring to Mesa County residents who believed they had a commitment from the DOE years ago to keep the site near Whitewater free of additional hazardous wastes. That desert disposal site, originally known as Cheney Reservoir, was created to store millions of tons of low-level radioactive waste in the form of mill tailings from uranium milling that occurred in Grand Junction in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.

Costs would add up to $67 million next year Florida Power & Light Co. officials on Tuesday sought state approval to pass on the costs for expanding the utility's nuclear power plants to consumers - a $67 million cost next year. At the first of three Public Service Commission hearings in Tallahassee on the proposal, utility officials called the costs necessary and said nuclear power is key to Florida's future energy plans. FPL officials said the proposal would not add anything to customers' monthly bills. The addition translates to about 67 cents more per month for a typical customer, but FPL officials said overall nuclear power costs will be less next year than this year.

Two top Public Service Commission staffers resigned Tuesday and two others went on administrative leave as alleged ethics lapses again overshadowed a hearing on proposed rate increases - this time to pay for new nuclear power plants. At least the appearance of a too-cozy relationship with Florida Power & Light Co., one of two utilities seeking higher nuclear rates, led to the resignation of Ryder Rudd as director of strategic analysis and governmental affairs. Rudd, whose duties included lobbying the Legislature, last month acknowledged he and his wife attended a Kentucky Derby Party at the home of an FPL executive. That disclosure came as the commission began hearings on a separate FPL request to raise its base rates. Commissioner Nancy Argenziano's chief adviser, Larry Harris, also resigned at her request after admitting he gave the private messaging code for his smartphone to an FPL executive.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants more details on how waste generated by the Energy Department's mixed oxide fuel facility will be managed. Until more information can be gathered and evaluated, a hearing to discuss environmental groups' concerns over the waste stream will be postponed -- possibly until 2010 or later, according to a letter dated Monday from commission staff to the Atomic Safety & Licensing Board. The $4.86 billion MOX plant under construction at Savannah River Site will dispose of plutonium from dismantled warheads by blending it with other materials to make fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. Because commercial power plants would use the fuels, the MOX plant will require an NRC license.

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.

Floods and landslides expose risk of incomplete radiation cleanup The coalition urging state and federal officials to do a full cleanup of the state's largest nuclear waste site, at West Valley, has a clear understanding of the implications of doing nothing. Doing nothing means that far into the future, the legacy of West Valley will be the way in which we treated our natural resources. Will Lake Erie be a clean body of water free from radioactive-waste pollutants? Or will it contain evidence of neglect and of a refusal to take responsibility for the highly toxic nuclear wastes buried in, or leaking from, the decommissioned reprocessing site south of Buffalo? There are already signs that should heighten concerns.

A new era of US diplomacy under Barack Obama is providing fresh momentum for a global ban on nuclear tests, monitors in a UN-backed group said Tuesday. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), drawn up in 1996, has been signed by 181 countries and ratified by 149. But it needs to be ratified by nine others, including China and the United States, before coming into force. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) said recent positive signals from the Obama administration will persuade other countries to ratify. A conference is being held in New York this month to speed up the process.

Chinese state-owned power producer China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd has agreed a takeover bid for Australian uranium explorer Energy Metals (EME.AX), the Australian company said on Tuesday. Under the deal, the Chinese firm will buy up to 70 percent of Energy Metals for A$1.02 per share and underwrite a 1-for-9 rights issue by the Australian firm at 90 cents a share. Energy Metals's 40 percent shareholder, Jindalee Resources (JRL.AX) Ltd, intends to accept the Chinese bid, in the absence of a superior offer, Energy Metals said. Energy Metals shares last traded at 86 cents a share, giving it market value of about A$100 million ($86 million). ($1=1.169 Australian Dollar) (Reporting by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Jonathan Standing)

Nuclear power is not the answer to climate change (Guilty greens admit they could do more, 2 September). Indeed it could well undermine the development of the real solutions - energy efficiency and renewable energy. And yet the Labour government has moved from a position of supporting a programme of replacing older nuclear plants to one of a radical expansion, with talk of a UK nuclear contribution of 35-40% "beyond 2030". Currently the UK gets 13% of its electricity from nuclear sources. The government has also indicated that it saw a major role for exporting UK nuclear technology and expertise. Gordon Brown has indicated that he believes the world needs 1,000 extra nuclear power stations and has argued that Africa could build nuclear power plants to meet growing demands for energy. In 2009 a new UK Nuclear Centre of Excellence was announced to "promote wider access to civil nuclear power across the world", with an initial budget of £20m.

Taxpayers could be forced to provide commercial insurance cover to the nuclear industry to safeguard plans being considered by ministers to build a fleet of new reactors in Britain. Private insurers are refusing to offer energy companies full coverage against the risk of a Chernobyl-style nuclear accident, forcing the Government to consider stepping in itself to act as an "insurer of last resort".

The UAE denied last night that it was days away from awarding the largest ever energy contract in the Middle East for the development of a nuclear power plant. The denial was issued after industry sources said that the UAE was on the verge of naming a winner for the contract to build at least four reactors, which consultancy Eurasia Group estimates may cost as much as $40 billion (BD15bn). The consortium from France, which includes nuclear group Areva, GdF Suez, and Total, is in pole position to win the contract, sources said.

Roland Burrows worked for Uranium Resources, Inc., as a wellfield operator at the Kingsville Dome in-situ uranium mine in Ricardo, Texas, back in 1996. He says the company at the time was regularly flushing high volumes of water into the mine field that would have expanded groundwater pollution beyond its permitted area, posing a potential future risk to the residents of Kingsville.

As the nation's oldest nuclear power plant shows its age, some call it Oyster Creak. The latest problems - a series of radioactive water leaks - were found just days after the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station got a new 20-year license that environmentalists bitterly fought for four years. Those problems followed corrosion that left the reactor's crucial safety liner rusted and thinned. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency and the plant's owners, Chicago-based Exelon Corp., insist the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station can operate safely until it is 60 years old. Not everyone is convinced.