12/17/2012 More Lessons From the Fukushima Daiichi Accident

Source: Fairewinds Energy Education
Date: 12/17/2012
by: Arnie Gundersen

Description
In this Monday's video, Fairewinds investigates a recently released report from Tokyo Electric. Arnie Gundersen discusses TEPCO's latest analysis that, almost two years after the accident, fully substantiates Fairewinds long held position that the explosion at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 was the result of a detonation shock wave. Arnie also discusses troubling reports that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been avoiding the analysis of damage to many nuclear plants' emergency cooling systems (Ultimate Heat Sink) from storm surges, tsunamis or dam failures. The ramifications of both of these issues on old designs and also the AP1000 are also analyzed in depth.

11/9/2012 Coolant, record-keeping troubles at San Onofre

Source: The Orange County Register
Date: 11/9/2012
by: PAT BRENNAN

New problems came to light late this week at the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant, including coolant found in the oil system of a backup generator and a record-keeping error stretching back to 1985.


New problems came to light late this week at the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant, including coolant found in the oil system of a backup generator and a record-keeping error stretching back to 1985.
None of the problems posed a danger to plant workers or the public, plant operator Southern California Edison and a Nuclear Regulatory spokesman said Friday....
Read the rest here

10/31/2012 Alert lifted at Oyster Creek

Source(s): Associated Press, NRC
Date: 10/31/2012

As per the AP:

[...]
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said an alert at the Oyster Creek plant in Forked River, N.J., ended early Wednesday. An alert is the second-lowest designation in a four-tiered warning system.

The alert was triggered as water rose outside the plant, threatening cooling equipment. NRC officials said water levels had since fallen and were still dropping. The plant, which was offline before the storm, also regained offsite power after losing it.
[...]

The full history of the alert can be garnered the the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) event notification report 48452 here.

10/30/2012 BREAKING: U.S. nuclear plant declares "alert" after Sandy storm surge: NRC

Source: Reuters
Date: Tue Oct 30, 2012 12:57am EDT

Editor's Note: There is a more recent update, the NRC says don't freak out about this alert.

(Reuters) - Exelon Corp declared an "alert" at its New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant due to a record storm surge, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Monday, warning that a further rise in water levels could force operators to use emergency water supplies from a fire hose to cool spent uranium fuel rods.

The alert -- the second lowest of four NRC action levels -- came after water levels at the plant rose by more than 6.5 feet, potentially affecting the pumps that circulate water through the plant, an NRC spokesman said.
Those pumps are not essential since the plant is shut for planned refueling at the moment. However a further rise to 7 feet could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool.

The spokesman said the company could use water from a fire hose to cool the pool if necessary. The used uranium rods in the pool could cause the water to boil within 25 hours without additional coolant; in an extreme scenario the rods could overheat, risking the eventual release of radiation.

The NRC said in a statement that it expected water levels would begin to abate within the next several hours.
Sandy made landfall earlier in the evening as the most powerful Atlantic storm to hit the United States, bringing an over 13-foot storm surge.

There have been about a dozen instances of alert-level nuclear incidents in the past four years, according to NRC press releases. An alert-level incident means there is a "potential substantial degradation in the level of safety" at a reactor.

The concerns over the status of the spent fuel pool at Oyster Creek were reminiscent of the fears that followed the Fukushima disaster in Japan last year, when helicopters and fire hoses were enlisted to ensure the pools remained filled with fresh, cool water.
The nuclear industry has said that the spent fuel rods at Fukushima were never exposed to the air.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Ed Davies)

10/29/2012 Nuclear Power Plants from Virginia to Vermont Could Be Impacted from Massive Hurricane Sandy

Source: Democracy Now
Date: 10/29/2012
by: Amy Goodman, Arnie Gunderson

Video Description

Visit http://www.democracynow.org for the complete transcript, additional reports on this topic, and more information. Watch the independent, global news hour live weekdays 8-9am ET.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has acknowledged the massive Sandy storm could impact both coastal and inland nuclear power plants. At least 16 reactors are in the storm's projected path, including North Anna and Surry in Virginia; Calvert Cliffs in Maryland; Oyster Creek, Hope Creek and Salem in New Jersey; Indian Point in New York; Millstone in Connecticut; and Vermont Yankee. So far there have been no reports of reactors shutting down, despite operating under licenses that require them to do so if weather conditions are too severe. "The biggest problem, as I see it right now, is the Oyster Creek plant, which is on Barnegat Bay in New Jersey," says former nuclear executive Arnie Gunderson, noting it lies in the project eye of the storm. "Oyster Creek is the same design design, but even older, than Fukushima Daichii unit one. It's in a refueling outage. That means that all the nuclear fuel is not in the nuclear reactor, but it's over in the spent fuel pool. And in that condition, there's no back-up power for the spent fuel pools. So, if Oyster Creek were to lose its offsite power, and frankly that's really likely, there would be no way cool that nuclear fuel thats in the fuel pool until they get the power reestablished. ... The most important lesson we can take out of Fukushima Daiichi and climate change, and especially with Hurricane Sandy, is that we can't expect to cool these fueling pools."

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10/4/2012 Top Nuclear Experts: Technology Doesn’t Yet Exist to Clean Up Fukushima

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 10/4/2012

Containing Fukushima Is Beyond Current Technology

World-renowned physicist Michio Kaku said recently:

It will take years to invent a new generation of robots able to withstand the radiation.

(The radiation inside the reactors is too hot even for robots.)
AP reports:

Hiroshi Tasaka, a nuclear engineer and professor at Tama University who advised the prime minister after the disaster …  said the government target of removing all the rods by the end of next year may prove too optimistic because of many unknowns, the need to develop new technology and the risk of aftershocks.

The world leader in decommissioning nuclear reactors, and one of the main contractors hired to clean up Fukushima – EnergySolutions – made a similar point in May:

Concerning the extraction of fuel debris [at Fukushima], which is considered the most challenging process, “There is no technology which may be directly applied,” said [top EnergySolutions executive] Morant.

8/20/2012 Public grills NRC officials on Davis-Besse FirstEnergy, commission blame Blizard of '78 for plant's problems

Source: toledoBlade.com
Date: 8/20/2012
by: ROBERTA REDFERN

From left, Barry Allen, Ken Byrd, and Jon Hook of FirstEnergy speak during a meeting Thursday night. The meeting included representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and First Energy who discussed root cause for the shield building cracking at Davis-Besse and plans to fix the situation.

 OAK HARBOR, Ohio — Calling FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Corp.'s Blizzard of '78 explanation for cracks in the concrete Shield Building at Davis-Besse nuclear power plant a "snow job," plant critics challenged federal regulators' acceptance of that finding and asked about the risk of future weather-related damage during a three-hour hearing Thursday night."I remember plenty of other times when we had lots of rain followed by falling temperatures. How could soaking followed by freezing only cause damage once in 40 years?" Joe Demare of Bowling Green asked during a question session after an hour-long Nuclear Regulatory Commission presentation explaining how they came to their conclusion.
...
Read full article here

Editor's Note: Map of Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station below.

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

8/20/2012 Nuclear Cover-Up Threatens Great Lakes Region [Davis Besse, Palisades]

Source: Counterpunch
Date: August 20, 2012
by: MICHAEL LEONARDI

A CounterPunch Special Report on NRC Collusion With Utilities to Conceal Grave Safety Problems at Davis Besse and Palisades Reactors
According to recent reports from the nuclear watchdog Beyond Nuclear and several Great Lakes environmental organizations, the NRC is up to its usual practices as an industry captured agency.  Collusion and flagrant cover-ups at the Davis Besse nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Erie and at the Palisades nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Michigan have drawn the ire of Congressmen Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Ed Markey of Massachusetts who have called on the NRC’s investigator general to investigate NRC region 3 practices and motivations of the NRC in allowing these plants to operate with grave safety concerns.
...
Read the rest here

8/10/2012 Quad Cities supervisor confirmed positive for alcohol during a follow-up fitness-for-duty test

Source: Enformable
Date: 8/10/2012

A non-licensed employee supervisor had a confirmed positive for alcohol during a follow-up fitness for duty test. The employee’s unescorted access to the plant has been denied. Contact the Headquarters Operations Officer for additional details.
The two General Electric boiling water reactors  at the Quad Cities plant are owned and operated by Exelon Corporation.
Source: NRC Event Reports

Editor's Note: Map of the Quad Cities Nuclear Generating Station facility is below.

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

7/18/2012 Electrical disturbance causes scram at Limerick nuclear plant - pottsmerc.com

Source: The Mercury [Pottstown, PA local paper]
Date: 7/18/2012

Only one cooling tower was emitting water vapor Wednesday, evidence of the Unit 1 shut down at Limerick Generating Station. John Strickler/The Mercury

(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) LIMERICK — An electrical disturbance in a “non-nuclear” part of Limerick Generating Station caused a disruption requiring the shut down of the Unit 1 reactor Wednesday morning.
The disturbance “caused a loss of power to generator cooling equipment” requiring a manual scram, or shutdown, of the reactor around 8:15 a.m., according to Dana Melia, communications manager at the nuclear plant,  “A manual scram occurs when the plant’s control room operators insert all of the control rods into the reactor at once, halting the fissioning process and shutting down the reactor,” explained Neil Sheehan of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
...
Read the rest here.

Editor's Note: Map of Limerick Nuclear Generating Station.

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

6/9/2012 Fukushima Update by Conrad Miller, MD

Source: conradmillermd via ENENews
Date: 6/9/2012
by: Dr. Conrad Miller, MD

Video Description
June 9 2012 - as the Fukushima radiation/debris carries west across the Pacific Ocean, radionuclide-intensely-contaminated Fukushima rivers daily rushing into the ocean, the media sleeps on the danger of the radiation. Fish contaminated with cesium are now being caught off of San Diego. Maps re currents help U understand what is going on: Danger California, Oregon, all points west of Fukushima especially!! Check the oceanic 'gyres' or currents.

5/28/2012 Nuclear Denial and the Resignation of Gregory Jaczko: Meltdown at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Source: Counterpunch
Date: May 28, 2012
by: Karl Grossman

 

Nuclear Denial and the Resignation of Gregory Jaczko

Meltdown at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The resignation last week of the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is another demonstration of the bankrupt basis of the NRC. Gregory Jaczko repeatedly called for the NRC to apply “lessons learned” from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in Japan. And, for that, the nuclear industry—quite successfully—went after him fiercely.

The New York Times in an editorial over the weekend said that President Obama’s choice to replace Jaczko, Allison McFarlane, “will need to be as independent and aggressive as Dr. Jaczko.”
...
Read the rest here

5/21/2012 Chairman Jaczko set to resign position at NRC after successor confirmed by President Obama

Source: Enformable Nuclear News
Date: 5/21/2012
by: Lucas Whitefield Hixson

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko has announced that he will step down as soon as a successor is confirmed.

The longest-serving member of the five-member commission announced in a press released statement that he will resign his post, adding “Serving the American people as the Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been an honor and privilege. The mission of this agency – protecting people and the environment, and providing for the common defense and security – could not be more clear, or more critical.”
...
Read the rest about the conscientious dissenter Gregory Jaczko here

4/29/2012 Why is safety a divisive issue for Nuclear Regulatory Commission?

Source: Los Angeles Times
Date: April 29, 2012
by: Michael Hiltzik

 

NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko has found himself on the losing side of 4-1 votes that usually end up favoring less stringent regulations for the industry. He's also been the target of a congressman's attacks.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), left, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko and NRC senior resident inspector Greg Warnock listen to a safety briefing this month before entering the containment area of one of the reactors at the San Onofre nuclear plant. (Lynn Sakamoto, Associated Press / April 6, 2012)

Reading between the lines, it's probably fair to say that Greg Jaczko may not be someone you'd want to work for.

As chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, he's been accused of yelling at people, browbeating subordinates and picking fights with his fellow NRC commissioners when he doesn't get his way. That's pretty much the totality of the bill of particulars Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) put out in December in support of a concerted, albeit unsuccessful, campaign to drive Jaczko from his job.
(Jaczko has acknowledged that there are strong disagreements within the agency, but vehemently denies being especially tough on women, another charge made by Issa.)

What the report on Jaczko issued by Issa's committee on oversight and government reform didn't delve into too deeply, however, were the policy issues underlying the personal friction. That's too bad, because the disagreements concerned Jaczko's efforts to tighten safety and security regulations for the nation's 104 nuclear power reactors, in the face of the other commissioners' efforts to slow him down.
...
Read full article here

Editor's Note: Map of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

3/4/2012 San Onofre Power Plant To Get A Visit From Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman

Source: Huffington Post
Date: 04/ 4/12 03:49 PM ET
By: MICHAEL R. BLOOD

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko (Associated Press) 

LOS ANGELES — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Wednesday that its chairman will visit the ailing San Onofre nuclear power plant on the California coast, where twin reactors have been sidelined because of excessive wear in tubing that carries radioactive water.
...
Read full article here

[Editor's Note: Map of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map ]

3/26/2012 Tokyo Soil – Blanketed With Fukushima Radiation – Would Be Considered “Radioactive Waste” In the United States

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 3/26/2012

Tokyo Slammed with Radiation

We noted in August that some parts of Tokyo have more radiation than existed in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zones. And see this and this.

There are indications that radiation levels are increasing in Tokyo.

Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen took 5 random soil samples in Tokyo recently, and found that all 5 were so radioactive that they would be considered radioactive waste in the United States, which would have to be specially disposed of at a facility in Texas:

Tokyo Soil Samples Would Be Considered Nuclear Waste In The US from Fairewinds Energy Education on Vimeo.
Video Description

While traveling in Japan several weeks ago, Fairewinds’ Arnie Gundersen took soil samples in Tokyo public parks, playgrounds, and rooftop gardens.

All the samples would be considered nuclear waste if found here in the US. This level of contamination is currently being discovered throughout Japan.

At the US NRC Regulatory Information Conference in Washington, DC March 13 to March 15, the NRC's Chairman, Dr. Gregory Jaczko emphasized his concern that the NRC and the nuclear industry presently do not consider the costs of mass evacuations and radioactive contamination in their cost benefit analysis used to license nuclear power plants.

Furthermore, Fairewinds believes that evacuation costs near a US nuclear plant could easily exceed one trillion dollars and contaminated land would be uninhabitable for generations.

Indeed, shortly after the earthquake, U.S. government officials noted widespread contamination throughout northern Japan, including Tokyo, and said:

Entire region would be required to be posted as radiological area.

No wonder the potential evacuation of Tokyo has been quietly discussed by Japanese officials ever since the earthquake hit.

3/27/2012 UPDATE 1-U.S. agency to keep SCE's Calif nuclear units shut

Source: Reuters
Date: Tue Mar 27, 2012 5:28pm EDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission o n T uesday said it will not allow Southern California Edison's San Onofre nuclear generator in California to restart until the agency is sure that the company has addressed premature degradation of tubes in the unit's steam generators.
...
Read full article here

[Editor's Note: Map of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map ]

3/16/2012 U.S. nuclear expert recounts Fukushima disaster

Source: CBS
Date: March 16, 2012 7:01 PM
by: Scott Pelley

(CBS News) One year ago Friday, rising radiation forced evacuation of most emergency workers from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The tsunami that struck Japan five days earlier set off an emergency unlike any before: the meltdown of three reactors at the same time.

One of the experts sent into the emergency is Charles Casto. He's a former nuclear plant operator working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He was America's top expert at the scene and an eyewitness to history. CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley caught up with him to talk about the Fukushima disaster. 
...
Read the rest here and for transcript

3/18/2012 NRC dispatches Augmented Inspection Team after California nuclear facility fails test

Source: Activist Post
Date: 3/18/2012
by: Madison Ruppert

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station

After a safety test at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente, California (which we discussed in this episode of End the Lie Radio), resulted in a “significant issue,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has moved to send out a so-called Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to determine the cause of the failure.
...
Read the rest here

[Editor's Note: Map of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map ]

3/15/2012 Key nuclear plant safety order likely to be delayed, NRC tells Senate

Source: The Washington Post
Date: 3/15/2012 02:31 PM ET
by: Timothy R. Smith

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will likely fall behind schedule in issuing a key safety measure designed for U.S. power plants in the wake of Japan’s nuclear reactor meltdown last year, the agency’s chairman told a Senate committee Thursday.
...
Read full article here