Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2817

fukushima.over-blog.fr
by Pascal 12/27/2011 6:52:46 PM

Hi scribbblers-I left a link about Limerick (PA)'s NPP renewal requests from Excelon. I think I got stock in moderation (not sure I used the correct old username). The operating license on unit 1 is set to expire in 2024 and unit 2 in 2029. Exelon is requesting a 20 year renewal. A newly formed panel will determine the validity of a request by the NRDC for a hearing on Exelon Nuclear’s application to renew its operating license for the Limerick Generating Station.

Called an “Atomic Safety and Licensing Board,” it was created to deal with the request that was filed Nov. 22 by the Natural Resources Defense Council. In its Nov. 22 filing, NRDC charged that “Exelon has failed to conduct a legally adequate environmental analysis because it fails to properly identify and evaluate all new information and ignores or distorts the significance of this new information.”

One of the NRDC’s concerns is an analysis known as the “severe accident mitigation design alternatives analysis.” NRDC charges that this analysis was adopted as the result of a court settlement and was issued by NRC even though it “was never evaluated for accuracy, completeness, or compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.”

“Exelon now relies on that (SAMDA) analysis, unmodified, to meet its NRC regulatory obligation to fully consider alternatives” to relicensing and continued operation. from www.thereporteronline.com
by momof3 12/27/2011 6:53:49 PM

@momof3littles weird, why are they renewing if the license doesn't expire until 2024 or later?
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 6:53:59 PM

ack sorry that posted while I ws updating. My bad.
by momof3 12/27/2011 6:54:09 PM

@momof3 no worries, just saw it stuck in mod and passed it to the page
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 6:54:33 PM

Lily-the thought is that they want the earlier renewal before people start asking more questions down teh road. I'll see if I can dig up an earlier article about it from one of the hearings.
by momof3 12/27/2011 6:54:34 PM

@momof3 it is just bizarre. You can't say what a plant would be like in a decade or more. That is what they are trying to do, get a promise they can keep running something in the future while ignoring any future damage or aging. It is criminal. Excelon is just the worst in my book. :-( They keep making excuses for these ancient plants that boils down to "shut up" as their rationale
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 6:58:14 PM

story from sept 2011 (following public hearings) Thomas Saporito, a former nuclear industry worker-turned activist opposing nuclear power, called from Florida Thursday evening to testify that the early application was “a foot race” that the industry and NRC were engaged in to lock down license extensions before Congress acts to ask for more study in the wake of the disaster in Japan and possibly stricter regulation.

“What you’re going to see is a rubber-stamp of license extensions,” Saporito said.

In an email Thursday, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said “71 of the 104 operating power reactors in the U.S. have been approved for license renewal. There are currently license renewal applications for 13 reactors, including the two Limerick units, under review.” from: www.pottsmerc.com
by momof3 12/27/2011 6:58:47 PM

So act now, get the extension, and beat any new requirements that may roll out.
by momof3 12/27/2011 6:59:58 PM

@momof3 reminds me of the recent game the NRC played to get the AP1000 ram-rodded through. Jaczko tried to stop it for more review and was out voted. The current NRC commissioners need to be investigated. Their objectivity is obviously lacking and there is a reason...
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 7:04:16 PM

Limerick has had a few issues in the past year. They had 3 unplanned scrams in May/June of 2011 www.montgomerynews.com and of course, I'm still curious about the iodine 131 in Philly's water supply (supposedly from thyroid patients). Our rain levels of iodine 131 around the time of Fukushima were some of the highest in the US.
by momof3 12/27/2011 7:06:02 PM

Areva in exclusive talks to sell Eramet stake www.reuters.com
Last paragraph is important.
by Peter 12/27/2011 7:06:16 PM

Thanks to all of you for your continued efforts. I'm amazed that you can keep up the fight. I pop in from time to time for updates and I am just amazed at all you've done.
by momof3 12/27/2011 7:06:47 PM

@Peter I think there is a race to do all of this nuclear renewal/construction before the world wises up
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 7:17:47 PM

@lillymunster , I guess the fear that such accident could happen here propels them forward.
by Peter 12/27/2011 7:20:14 PM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc
Needs to spread! Go to onecandleinthedark.blogspot.com and www.cbsyousuck.com for thousands of pages of evidence and links to the original source research on the Internet Wayback Machine.
by Ian 12/27/2011 7:31:04 PM

by Ian 12/27/2011 7:31:21 PM

Panel: Wide Communication Gaps Hampered Response In Fukushima. Dec 27.2011. The task force was established at the crisis management center in the basement of the Prime Minister's Official Residence soon after...
But Kan's group... gathered on the fifth floor to discuss how to respond to the accident as well as deciding on the evacuation zones. ...There was no legal basis for the formation of Kan's group...communications between the fifth floor and the basement were insufficient," the interim report said. webcache.googleusercontent.com
by MaryW 12/27/2011 7:32:51 PM

@Ian Wow, that guy scares me :[]
by MaryW 12/27/2011 7:47:07 PM

Uranium and other contaminants in hair from the parents of children with congenital anomalies in Fallujah, Iraq
http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/5/1/15 The illnesses and unusual changes in the sex-ratio at birth, were shown to appear following the US-led attacks on the town in 2004.Many believed that Depleted Uranium weapons were employed but no evidence of this was available. USA forces denied using DU. Now, one year after this, the authors have nailed down the cause of the genetic and genomic effects found in Fallujah.
by MaryW 12/27/2011 8:04:00 PM

oops, here link again... www.conflictandhealth.com
by MaryW 12/27/2011 8:05:55 PM

PLYMOUTH —

Night and day.

One moment the Board of Selectmen was clearly against it, and the next it voted unanimously to place a non-binding referendum on the ballot of the May town election calling for a freeze of the relicensing process for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.

One moment the plant’s owner, Entergy, was a remote, benign entity discussed only in executive sessions or during highly controlled public forums, and in the next they were “the problem.”

The board’s sudden U-turn surprised even proponents of the initiative.
www.patriotledger.com
by M.I.A. 12/27/2011 8:09:33 PM

@M.I.A. The illusion, its cracking....

“The Old Colony recently had a poll in which 75 percent of the people said they wanted to see a referendum question on the regular election ballot. I would think that as elected officials you would all like to get a sense about how your constituents feel by allowing this to be put on the ballot.
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 8:28:39 PM

I find it interesting that lack of understanding is always cited on why people oppose nuclear power. The show meetings like happened in Japan and happened in Virginia where they plant the seats full of nuclear employees and blow sunshine up everyones.... are intended to solve everything.
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 8:33:34 PM

Nuclear Event in USA on Tuesday, 27 December, 2011 at 18:20 (06:20 PM) UTC.
Description
A nuclear plant in Plymouth has been shut down after a suspected leak from the one of the plants safety relief valves. “An Nuclear Regulator Commission Resident Inspector was at the the Pilgrim nuclear power plant Monday to monitor the shutdown, which took place without any complications,” said Nuclear Regulator Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan. The Nuclear Regulator Commission says the Pilgrim nuclear power plant was shut down due to leakage from a valve which provides overpressure protection for the plant’s reactor coolant system. The NRC, in a statement said the valve opens when required, “to discharge reactor steam into the suppression pool, a large, donut-shaped reservoir of water located at the bottom of the reactor building.” NRC inspectors will also monitor the repairs to the valve and then also monitor the service restoration when the plans are completed.
hisz.rsoe.hu
by MaryW 12/27/2011 8:34:21 PM

tsunami debris field hits US & Canada
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 8:37:41 PM

Entergy Shuts Down Pilgrim Nuclear Reactor to Repair Leak. www.bloomberg.com
by MaryW 12/27/2011 8:37:57 PM

6.6-magnitude earthquake hits Russia
CBC News Posted: Dec 27, 2011 11:28 AM ET www.cbc.ca A 6.6 magnitude shaker rattled Russia the day after Christmas. The earthquake was said to hit Siberia in the southwest near Kyzyl, and in some cases, is being called at 6.9 magnitude several hours after striking. www.huliq.com
by MaryW 12/27/2011 8:42:42 PM

As Iraq War Ends, No Parade for Troops Is Planned. Dec 27.2011. www.nbcnewyork.com
by MaryW 12/27/2011 8:59:31 PM

No-man's land around damaged plant attests to Japan's nuclear nightmare www.thespec.com
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 8:59:45 PM

radioactive-food detection with a Geiger, first I've seen. Goes from background 0.1 mSv/h to over 2 and once as high as 3.8 mSv/h.
by Ian 12/27/2011 9:16:14 PM

@lillymunster Think those folks in Plymouth have realized they are lied to by Entergy? YAY YAY
by M.I.A. 12/27/2011 9:20:44 PM

@Ian , it's in microSv/h!
by Peter 12/27/2011 9:24:01 PM

@M.I.A. We need to find the people from the local protest group and give them a heads up about these upcoming "meetings" maybe they already know what will happen but if not maybe they could pre-plan and make sure the seats don't get filled with nuke plant employees like the Virginia meeting did.
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 9:31:25 PM

The news article didn't mention the name of the group fighting Pilgrim but I found this. BTW, they have a decent list of anti-nuclear groups in the US www.pilgrimwatch.org
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 9:38:07 PM

Huh- Electricity prices paid by German households may rise 20 percent by 2020 as Chancellor Angela Merkel pushes to overhaul the country’s energy mix, according to state-owned researcher Dena Energy Agency. www.bloomberg.com Price rose 8% in USA from 1st Qtr. 2008 to 1st qtr. 2009. 20% in 10 years doesn't sound so bad....
by M.I.A. 12/27/2011 9:43:00 PM

@Peter, lol, yea, that's what I meant. I've gotten so used to talking about the annual dose rate.
by Ian 12/27/2011 9:43:34 PM

@Ian , regardless, I would not want to sit next to this fish for too long, :(
by Peter 12/27/2011 9:46:30 PM

@Peter, much less eat it. I hope that level's over the "safety" limit, omg! Ground readings that high are troublesome. I think this is an indication of how severe the ocean contamination is. It's hard to detect food contamination with a Geiger counter, especially if it's not dried because water is radiopaque.
by Ian 12/27/2011 9:49:48 PM

@Ian I would love to know what the actual contamination level is on it if they put it through a normal food detector.
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 9:53:51 PM

@lillymunster, right. And sorry, not only did I mean micro, not milli, but I meant 0.38, not 3.8, oy vey!
by Ian 12/27/2011 10:02:55 PM

@Ian it is still about 3x background level in the house. Yum yum :-P
by lillymunster 12/27/2011 10:04:12 PM

@lillymunster, and that's just the gamma and high-energy beta emissions that are making their way through the fish mass and radiopaque water in the tissues.
by Ian 12/27/2011 10:10:19 PM

J Environ Radioact. 2011 Dec 22. [Epub ahead of print]

Indicators of the Fukushima radioactive release in NW Romania.

As a result of the Fukushima nuclear release, (131)I was found in different environmental media (rainwater, sheep and cow milk, herbage, sheep meat and thyroid tissue) in north-west Romania. On April 4, 2011 a maximum value of 1.40 ± 0.21 Bq/L in (131)I activity was found in rainwater obtained from the Arad region. The obtained value corresponded with the maximum of (131)I concentration in air, as measured by Toma et al. (2011) for the Piteşti area. One day later, sheep milk from the Cluj area was found to contain a maximum activity of 9.22 ± 0.95 Bq/L. A value of 0.85 ± 0.07 μSv was calculated as the total monthly effective dose received by the population as a result of the ingestion of sheep milk and sheep meat contaminated with (131)I. Only rainwater samples contained (134)Cs and (137)Cs at levels close to minimum detectable activity. Since the determined values could be influenced by Chernobyl (137)Cs, the (137)Cs concentrations are subject to uncertainty. The radioiodine transfer coefficients (Fm) and the concentration ratio (CR) from herbage to sheep milk, as well as sheep meat, from the Cluj-Apahida area are also presented.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by Ian 12/27/2011 10:11:06 PM

J Environ Radioact. 2011 Dec 22.

Radioactive pollution in Athens, Greece due to the Fukushima nuclear accident.

As a result of the nuclear accident in Fukushima Daichi power plant, which started on March 11, 2011, radioactive pollutants were transferred by air masses to various regions of the Northern hemisphere, including Europe. Very low concentrations of (131)I, (137)Cs and (134)Cs in airborne particulate matter were measured in Athens, Greece during the period of March 24 to April 28, 2011. The maximum air concentration of (131)I was measured on April 6, 2011 and equaled 490 ± 35 μBq m(-3). The maximum values of the two cesium isotopes were measured on the same day and equaled 180 ± 40 μBq m(-3) for (137)Cs and 160 ± 30 μBq m(-3) for (134)Cs. The average activity ratio of (131)I/(137)Cs in air was 3.0 ± 0.5, while the corresponding ratio of (137)Cs/(134)Cs equaled 1.1 ± 0.3. No artificial radionuclides could be detected in air after April 28, 2011. Traces of (131)I as a result of radioactive deposition were measured in grass, soil, sheep milk and meat. The total deposition of (131)I (dry + wet) was 34 ± 4 Bq m(-2), and of (137)Cs was less than 10 Bq m(-2). The maximum concentration of (131)I in grass was 2.1 ± 0.4 Bg kg(-1), while (134)Cs was not detected. The maximum concentrations of (131)I and (137)Cs in sheep milk were 1.7 ± 0.16 Bq kg(-1) and 0.6 ± 0.12 Bq kg(-1) respectively. Concentrations of (131)I up to 1.3 ± 0.2 Bq kg(-1) were measured in sheep meat. Traces of (131)I were found in a number of soil samples. The radiological impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident in Athens region was practically negligible, especially as compared to that of the Chernobyl accident and also to that of natural radioactivity.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by Ian 12/27/2011 10:19:40 PM