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united Nations Agency down
plays increased radiation in Europe www.infowars.com

6.3 magnitude earthquake hits Pakistan 2011-11-07
www.chinadaily.com.cn

Shrouded in secrecy and jealously guarded by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, there is little public debate about Pakistan's nuclear safety record in the wake of what is happening at Fukushima. There are two main reactors used for energy production in Pakistan: the ageing plant on the coast near Karachi (Kanupp) and the nuclear plant near Chashma Barrage on the Indus River (Chasnupp I). Between them, they provide only about 350 MW of energy, just 2% of Pakistan's energy demand. A second nuclear reactor at Chashma (Chasnupp II) is being tested and should start operations soon. They are extremely costly, at about US $1bn for each of the Chasma reactors, plus they are very unsafe, according to two of the country's top physicists who teach at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. "Kanupp only produces 50MW while Chasnupp I produces 300MW. Chasnupp II only came on line in March this year and will produce another 300MW as well," says nuclear physicist Dr Pervez Hoodhboy. "The PAEC would become irrelevant without them – it is a matter of ego for them to keep the reactors going … they are nothing more than toys." Kanupp, which is under repairs, is currently being run at only 30% of its capacity. "It generates enough electricity to power just 3% of the city [Karachi]", says physics professor A H Nayyar.
To make matters worse, the safety aspect of the plant is alarming. Kanupp came into commercial operation in 1972 and has outlived its 30-year lifespan, but the PAEC – which is part of Pakistan's Ministry of Defence – has given it a 10-year extension and now intends to keep it going even longer with some repairs and replacements. "The operators working there privately say that this reactor has gone beyond its life and they are afraid that something could go wrong," says Dr Pervez, who has visited Kanupp. "The structure has been weakened by decades of radiation."
He says that the plant is only superficially monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, who "do not have the capacity to look at everything important in a reactor". Kanupp is located next to the Arabian Sea and in the 1990s radioactive cooling water accidentally leaked from the plant, but officials played down the incident. The spent fuel is stored onsite and should an accident occur, the devastation would be very great.
There are also several major faults around Karachi and the southern coast of the Makran, so earthquakes and tsunamis cannot be ruled out. In November 1945 there was a tsunami that hit the coast triggered by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake. Should an accident occur, the coastal winds could blow the radioactive plume over Karachi, which has grown to a population of nearly 15 million in the past 30 years and there are homes close to the reactor now. "There is the absence of a safety culture. Then there is the incapability of the authorities to deal with anything of this magnitude," says Dr Pervez.
www.guardian.co.uk

APNewsBreak: Va. nuclear plant gets OK to restart www.sacbee.com

@bojack54 the NYT link is asking me to sign in/create and account to have access to article. :(

KARACHI: The licence of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kanupp) expires in December this year but its management is seeking an extension despite heightened fears of a contamination leak after a recent accident, officials told The Express Tribune on Thursday.

“A renewal of the licence depends on a thorough review of the plant’s performance,” said Zaheer Ayub Baig, the director-general of the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA). “We will also take into account the international standards and their implementation at Kanupp before taking a decision.”

The 80-megawatt Kanupp declared a temporary emergency on Wednesday morning after a pipe carrying heavy water to the reactor leaked leading to fears that radiation had spread. “A heavy water spill is a matter of routine,” said Ayub. “These plants are designed considering that such problems will occur.”

PNRA has no reports about radioactivity in the heavy water exceeding the permissible limit, he said. “We have already taken a lot of precautions and one of those is that Kanupp won’t produce more than 80 MW.”
tribune.com.pk

The French government has given the go-ahead to Electricite de France to increase the amounts of radioactive tritium it discharges into the sea and the air at Flamanville on the Normandy coast.
In future the two power generating nuclear reactors will be able to discharge another 20,000 billion becquerels of tritium per year.
www.channelonline.tv

Link to MaryW's post: www.therepublic.com

I was already looking a few minutes ago :-)

Ha Edano! Here's a little FYI: CHARACTERISATION OF SODIUM FIRE

In the event of sodium leakage in the air filled enclosures of FBRs, the liquid sodium can undergo combustion in the form of column, spray, drop and pools depending of the leakage conditions. Sodium fire is a complex manifestation of exothermically runaway oxidation of sodium metal by oxidizing components of air such as oxygen, moisture and carbon-di-oxide. The sodium combustion is always accompanied with production of heat, light, smoke and flame..The severity of consequences of sodium fire depends on the degree of dispersion, sodium-to-air ratio, the heat transport properties of container and its contents. The spray fires are more severe than pool fires. Sodium flame height is an order of magnitude lower than that of liquid organic fuel (LOF) allowing close approach for active fire fighting. Ignition, combustion and self-extinction behaviour of liquid sodium differs drastically from those of the conventional LOF. Liquid sodium pool cannot be ignited with the help of the electric spark. Hence it does not have flash point like LOF. The ignition temperature of sodium pool is sensitive to moisture content of air and hence varies from 1800C to 350 �C unlike the LOF. Heat release rate of liquid sodium pool is 15 times lower than that of LOF. But smoke production rate from sodium is extremely high due to which visibility is reduced in closed room. Experimental and theoritical studies are planned to be carried out in the large scale facility under construction.

Ooops, sorry Edano, I forgot

Rad Levels Czech www.suro.cz (keep hitting the return be error)

Russian space engineers scrambled Wednesday to salvage an ambitious science mission to Mars after the unmanned spacecraft became stranded in Earth orbit. If they are not successful, the probe, which is loaded with toxic fuel, could re-enter the atmosphere within days or weeks. www.nytimes.com

please view fuku1liveChannel on 2011.10.22 17:00-18:00 and yes there is a hole on the side of R#2 check the TBS cam

Reuters provides slides from J-village as well: www.reuters.com