Bad news on the international front. The Indian Government survived the left’s attempt to block the U.S. Indian plan to expand nuclear development between the two counties. The Rocky Mountain News Has done a fabulous job of laying out the health impacts of the nuclear fuel-cycle! This series is a must read! And just in, there’s been another large earthquake in Japan (6.8). There was a facility not far away, but they are reporting no major problems according to first reports.
Top Nuclear Stories Index
| Reactors | Security | Safety | Fuel Cycle | N-Waste |
| Policy | Weapons | DOE | Energy News | Oped |
Nuclear Reactor News
BBC NEWS | Europe | Concern over French nuclear leaks
A French nuclear monitoring body has expressed concern at the number of leaks from French nuclear power stations in recent weeks. The director of Criirad, an independent body, said the organisation was worried by the numbers of people contaminated by four separate incidents.
India: Just say NO to Indo-US Nuclear Pact
I am not a Communist by any stretch of imagination but on the issue of signing the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement, I am with the Communists of India. My reasons for opposing the deal are not based on fear that the American government or other watchdog agencies would interfere in India’s use of nuclear technology but are based on common sense.
6.8 quake rocks Tohoku (The Daily Yomiuri)
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 struck the Tohoku region early Thursday, injuring at least 126 people, 28 seriously. According to the Meteorological Agency, the quake, which struck at 12:26 a.m., measured upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Hironocho in Iwate Prefecture and lower 6 in Nodamura in the prefecture and part of Aomori Prefecture, including Hachinohe.
Entergy: Yankee component cracks from natural aging: Rutland HeraldÂ
Vermont Yankee’s steam dryer has withstood the additional stress from a 20 percent jump in power production despite developing an increasing number of cracks, Entergy engineers told a panel from the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Wednesday. And if the steam dryer was going to show serious problems, as it has at other, similar nuclear power plants which have increased power production, it would have by now, Larry Lukens, an Entergy Nuclear engineer, said.
Green River ‘preferred’ nuke plant site; three other Utah locales also candidates – Salt Lake Tribune
Proponents of Utah’s first nuclear power plant have their eyes on a new industrial park near Green River as a possible reactor site. Reed Searle, strategic relations director for Transition Power Development, called the industrial park near the intersection of Route 6 and Interstate 70 “the preferred location” last week. On Tuesday, Transition’s chief executive officer, Aaron Tilton, balked at the term “preferred” but confirmed the new industrial park is a strong candidate for reactors that could generate 3,000 megawatts of electricity. “What is preferred about it is that there is a lot of local support,” said Tilton, a Republican legislator representing Springville who added that up to three more Utah locations are being reviewed.
Ignalina nuclear power plant asks permission to increase price on electricity: Baltic Course
At present, Ignalina nuclear power plant buys the nuclear fuel for about 80% higher price than over the previous year. Network distribution companies are also preparing plans for raising prices. Ignalina nuclear power plant intends to present the request to the State Control Commission for Prices and Energy until October 2008 on the increase of the sale price for the produced electricity.
Bloomberg.com: Uranium Leaks Rattle France’s Nuclear Support, Anger Villagers
For years, Sophie Delmas took her horse and her four dogs for a swim in the Trop-Long lake, a stone’s throw away from the Tricastin nuclear site in southeast France. Not anymore. About 74 kilograms (163 pounds) of uranium leaked two weeks ago from a nuclear waste plant owned by Areva SA at the site behind her mother’s home in Bollene.
Yankee hearing touches on shutdowns: Rutland Herald
Members of the Atomic Safety Licensing Board peppered expert witnesses from Entergy Nuclear and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tuesday about Vermont Yankee’s history of emergency shutdowns and the lack of public oversight in the reactor re-licensing process. Tuesday marked the second day of testimony in the federal hearing on several unanswered issues about the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant that were raised by the New England Coalition, with the Vermont Department of Public Service joining the challenge.
Hitachi, GE to develop mid-size nuclear reactors | Reuters
Japan’s Hitachi Ltd (6501.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday it will develop mid-size nuclear reactors together with General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to tap growing demand for smaller nuclear power plants in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets.
NRC:Â NRC Licensing Board to Webcast July 30 Session on Bellefonte Reactor Application as Part of Pilot Program
The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), an independent judicial arm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, will provide a live video stream of its July 30 initial prehearing conference in Scottsboro, Ala., concerning the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Combined License application for the Bellefonte site near Scottsboro. The live video stream is part of an ASLB pilot program examining how information technology can enhance the public’s ability to observe the Board’s activities. The video stream, which will not be archived, will be available at this Web site: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=50055. The video, scheduled to start shortly before 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time, will be available in Windows Media and QuickTime formats.
The Associated Press: France lifts water ban from spill at nuclear site
Authorities in southern France have lifted a ban on water sports and fishing in two rivers that was imposed after a leak at a nearby nuclear site. Other bans on drinking well water in three towns or watering crops from the Gaffiere and Lauzon rivers are also being lifted.
Russian reactor designer and constructor to merge
Russian reactor builder AtomStroyExport (ASE) and design organization St Petersburg Scientific Research and Design Institute AtomEnergoProekt (SPbAEP) are to merge to boost their chances in the international nuclear reactor market.
FR Doc: NRC: Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2; Notice of Intent To Prepare an EIS
Nuclear Management Company, LLC.; Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process Nuclear Management Company, LLC. (NMC) has submitted an application for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses No. DPR-42 and DPR-60 for an additional 20 years of operation at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 (PINGP). PINGP is located in the city of Red Wing, Minnesota, on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
NRC: NRC Meeting Aug. 7 in Victoria, TX, to Discuss Review Process for Expected New Reactor Application
Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct a public meeting in Victoria, Texas, on Thursday, Aug. 7, to discuss how the agency will review an expected Combined License (COL) application for two reactors at the Victoria County site, about 13 miles south of Victoria. The prospective applicant, Exelon, has told the NRC it intends to apply later this year for a license to build and operate two Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactors (ESBWR) at the site.
NRC:Â NRC Conducting Special Inspection at Hatch Nuclear Plant
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at the Hatch nuclear plant to assess the failure of one of the emergency diesel generators associated with Hatch Unit 1. The Hatch plant is located near the town of Baxley in south Georgia and is operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company.
‘Nuclear incident exercise’ scheduled for Prairie Island – TwinCities.com
Dakota, Goodhue and Pierce county residents should not be alarmed by the extra activity at the Prairie Island nuclear plant on Tuesday, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. State emergency responders will be participating in an exercise simulating a nuclear incident, said DPS spokesman Doug Neville. The exercise is designed to test the capabilities of emergency responders during a nuclear incident.
German govt has approved enough wind parks to replace nuclear power plants – Topix
he German government has approved plans to build 24 offshore wind parks with a capacity of up to 24,000 megawatts, enough to replace all 17 German nuclear power plants, Focus magazine said, citing the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). In an excerpt of an article to be published on Monday, the magazine also said the BSH, which is the federal authority responsible for the approval of offshore activities, has received filings for an additional 50 projects.
FR Doc: NRC: Notice of Consideration of Approval of the Proposed Transfer of the Catawba Nuclear Station, Unit 1,
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation; Saluda River Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Catawba Nuclear Station, Unit 1; Notice of Consideration of Approval of the Proposed Transfer of the Catawba Nuclear Station, Unit 1, Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-35 and Conforming Amendment, and Opportunity for a Hearing Regarding Transfer of the Saluda River Electric Cooperative, Inc.’S Undivided Ownership Interest in Catawba Nuclear Station, Unit 1, to Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, a Current Owner and Operator and North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, a Current Owner
Nuclear Health and Safety News
NRC: Radiation came from many sources (phillyBurbs.com) | Courier Times
The Limerick Nuclear Power Plant wasn’t the source of radioactive sludge that was to be sent to two local landfills from a Royersford sewage treatment plant. The Montgomery County power plant was one of about a dozen clients that sent radiation-tainted uniforms to a commercial laundry that serves nuclear plants and nuclear-medicine facilities throughout the region, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday.
Sen. Salazar goes to bat for Rocky Flats workers. – The Denver Post
Sen. Ken Salazar told reporters Wednesday that he would introduce legislation to address how workers from the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant are compensated for illnesses incurred as a result of exposure to radioactive materials. He termed as “abhorrent” the manner in which the Department of Labor has managed programs intended to compensate employees for their illnesses.
Wild Clearing – Between the Ice Ages – The Exposed: Poisoned Nuclear Workers
We’re now developing a documentary on nuclear workers who have become poisoned by heavy metals, radiation and other contaminants and who are also struggling for adequate compensation for their illnesses for those who are yet alive but sick, and for acknowledgement that those who have died did so as a result of limited or no recognition that their illnesses were caused by exposure to contaminants, flawed human safety procedures and limited care.
Levi Samora got a stack of rejection letters one on the day he received aid : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
For five years, former Rocky Flats worker E. Levi Samora Jr. was denied compensation meant for sick nuclear weapons workers, even though he had a diagnosis of a bomb-related illness from Rocky Flats doctors. Early in the compensation program, chronic beryllium disease was considered a rare, almost certain approval. Unlike invisible radiation, beryllium leaves its mark. Samora, 48, had the medical test that tied his lung damage directly to the unusual metal, which was used to make nuclear weapons in the sprawling plant northwest of Denver.
As workers await relief, program doles out big bonuses to its own : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
Executives at the U.S. Department of Labor are apparently happy with the operation of the program to compensate sick nuclear weapons workers. More than $3.2 million in bonuses has been paid to those administering the program since it started in 2001. That doesn’t include any bonuses that may have been paid to people working on the program in other agencies, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or the U.S. Department of Energy.
Ross Williams is too weak for the tests he needs to receive compensation : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
To prove he is sick enough to deserve the federal compensation promised to former uranium miners such as himself, 86-year-old Ross Williams must take a lung-function test. The problem is, Williams and some others like him are too sick to complete the required test. With measured breath, he explains in his native Navajo language what has happened each time he has tried to take it.
Condemnation from lawmakers : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
“Senator McCain would strongly oppose any waste and inefficiency in providing benefits and compensation to eligible claimants. The intent of the legislation should be fulfilled – these workers should be adequately compensated and treated for their injuries and illnesses. The health problems of these individuals are tragic and this program should administer benefits and compensation in an effective and timely manner.”
Deadly denial: Navajo miners stand ground in a different kind of Cold War : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
TUBA CITY, Ariz.  This spring, officials from the U.S. Department of Labor sat around a small fire, touching sweet corn pollen to their tongues and inhaling spicy cedar smoke in a traditional Navajo ceremony. Larry Martinez, who manages the Office of Navajo Uranium Workers, had organized the ceremony hoping to improve a working relationship that he described as “difficult and getting worse” between the Navajo and the labor department, which manages a federal program to compensate sick nuclear weapons workers.
NRC: NRC Proposes $9,600 Fine Against Louisana Company for Violation Requirements for Shipping Radioactive Materials
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $9,600 fine against Source Production and Equipment Co., Inc. (SPEC) in St. Rose, Louisiana, for failing to comply with NRC safety requirements regarding the use of a specific shipping package for transporting radioactive material.
NRC: NRC Names New Member to Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed Dr. Michael T. Ryan to its Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), an independent group of technical experts which advises the Commission on licensing and operation of nuclear power plants and related safety issues. Dr. Ryan previously chaired the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste & Materials, which was merged into the ACRS earlier this year.
Fifteen French workers exposed to low-level nuclear radiation _English_Xinhua
Fifteen French workers were slightly exposed to nuclear radiation at Saint-Alban nuclear station in Iser province, but their health was unaffected, local media reported Monday. A manager with France’s national power company said regular medical checks found traces of radiation materials in the workers’ bodies after they carried out routine repair and maintenance tasks at the nuclear station on July 18.
Feds apparently disregarded toxic links to illnesses : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
The U.S. Department of Labor says it can find “no known” link between toxic exposure and at least 77 medical conditions. Sick workers have come to call this the “no pay” list. But the Rocky Mountain News found that at least seven of those listed diseases actually have “good” or “strong” evidence linking them to toxic substances. The Rocky discovered the links through a simple search of an Internet database of disease studies compiled by doctors for the nonprofit Collaborative on Health and the Environment.
Dee Hasenkamp’s husband died; she was told to figure out why on her own : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
Gerald Hasenkamp was in excruciating pain. Cancer had invaded his colon, his mouth, his lungs and finally his bones. When his wife, Dee, tried to prop him up in bed, his collarbone snapped. When a nurse tried to take a blood sample, his arm broke. Finally, the doctors told Dee Hasenkamp that she had to tell her husband to let go. His fight was over.
Charlie Wolf should be dead, but six years later, he’s still fighting for aid : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
The compensation program is, by law, supposed to be claimant-friendly. In signing the law to aid nuclear weapons workers who fell ill, or the families of those who died from their jobs, President Bill Clinton said in 2000 that the program should be “compassionate, fair and timely” and that the government should help ill workers with their claims and “ensure that this program minimizes the administrative burden on workers and their survivors.”
Deadly denial: Shifting rules drowning sick nuclear workers : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
At the height of the Cold War, hidden away in the nation’s heartland amid grazing cattle and glistening cornfields, a top-secret installation bustled with hundreds of workers assembling nuclear warheads. Denny Daily worked for 14 years as a security guard at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in rural Des Moines County. He had the highest level of security clearance and guarded the clandestinely named “Line 1,” where the warhead work took place, and the “igloos” where the warheads were stored in earthen and concrete bunkers.
Final decisions on aid veiled in secrecy : Deadly Denial : The Rocky Mountain News
Criminals have the right to know what evidence is used against them, but sick nuclear weapons workers do not. If a sick worker fights all the way through the federal program meant to compensate those made ill building atomic bombs, the government gets the last word  in the form of a secret report.
The Downwinders: Gloria’s story | thespectrum.com | The Spectrum
In 1989 Mabel Mitchell published a little book called Gloria. It tells of one woman’s struggle with nuclear fallout. We have been given permission to pass this story along. Many of you knew her or know of her. Many of you are related to her, went to school with her, laughed and cried with her. Gloria Leavitt Gregerson was born in Bunkerville in 1941. In 1983, her body lay in a chapel in Bunkerville after a five-year battle with acute myelogenous leukemia. That was the last of many battles with disease she waged.
Las Vegas Now | Downwinder Screening May Come to an End
In 1958, Troy Wade worked at the Nevada Test Site. His knowledge of that era comes in handy as president of the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas. “The Soviet Union tested their own atomic bomb, and suddenly this country was faced with a very different problem. Instead of developing weapons to be used against another country, suddenly this country had to defend itself against nuclear weapons developed by somebody else. That led to the establishment of the Nevada Test Site in 1950,” he said.
NRC: NRC Proposes $6,500 Fine Against Pennsylvania Company for Violations Of NRC Requirements
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing a $6,500 fine against Precision Calibration and Testing Corporation in York, Pa., for willful violations of NRC requirements.
Industry’s spotty safety record makes it a questionable solution | www.azstarnet.com
America’s twin crises of sky-rocketing energy costs and cat- astrophic climate change effects shouldn’t be a convenient excuse to push nuclear power as a viable replacement for coal, oil and natural gas power-generating plants. The nuclear disaster at the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 and the near-disaster at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979 are reasons enough to strike nuclear power from the list of acceptable non-fossil and carbon energy sources.
FR Doc: NIOSH: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort
SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000.
Atomic bomb veterans receive £8k compensation – but no apology – Sunday Mirror
He is the first of the few – a veteran of Britain’s atomic bomb tests finally compensated for 50 years of suffering. But for Ernie Moore the £8,000 he has been awarded is worthless without the apology he has waited half a lifetime for.
Compensation plan forged within cauldron of politics : Special Reports : The Rocky Mountain News
Richard Miller, a longtime union policy analyst, arrived in a formal Capitol Hill conference room in the summer of 2000 eager to share his ideas. He had worked for years trying to help sick nuclear weapons workers. Now that the Clinton administration had dramatically reversed the federal government’s decades-old policy of fighting workers’ claims of job-related illness, it was time to iron out the details of a remedy for past harm.
Nuclear Security News
Radioactive woman sparks evacuation | NEWS.com.au
AUTHORITIES evacuated the airport terminal in Vladivostok, in Russia’s far east, after a flight arriving from Seoul set off a radiation alarm. The alarm was called off when security officials pinpointed the source – a woman who had just received radiation therapy, Interfax news agency reported today.
Nuclear Fuel Cycle News
Bloomberg.com: Kazakhstan Want Be Biggest Uranium Miner in 2009
Kazakhstan, the world’s third- biggest uranium miner, plans to overtake Canada and Australia next year by producing 12,826 metric tons of the radioactive metal. The country is aiming to become the world’s biggest producer of uranium, Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the president of state- run Kazatomprom, told reporters in Almaty today. The company plans to produce more than 9,000 tons of uranium this year, he said.
Uranium,:Â Maps and Graphics at UNEP/GRID-Arendal
UN global uranium maps
Nuclear Waste News
Health officials to test wells near nuclear plants – Myrtle Beach Sun News
The state’s health agency will be testing water from wells near three nuclear reactor sites around South Carolina. The Department of Health and Environmental Control says its staffers will visit residents Thursday and take samples from wells near Duke Energy Inc.’s nuclear power plants in York and Oconee counties and near the V.C. Summer plant in Fairfield County, which is co-owned by South Carolina Electric and Gas and state-owned utility Santee Cooper.
Galloway: Waste Management’s actions ‘sneaky’ (phillyBurbs.com) | Courier Times
State Rep. John Galloway, D-140, has demanded that Waste Management “suspend indefinitely†any plans for radioactive waste at the local landfills and condemned the company for “seemingly deceptive†public notices about the project. Officials in Tullytown and Falls Supervisor Dorothy Vislosky also joined Galloway in objecting to Waste Management’s plan to import 750 tons of radioactive sludge at landfills along the Delaware River.
Peter Rickards: Idaho’s ‘new waste deal’ is nothing short of false advertising | Opinion | Idaho Statesman
No deal! The politicians promoting the “new” nuclear waste deal have broken yet another promise to Idaho families who depend on clean water. This is over a ton of plutonium buried over our water. Billions of cancer-causing plutonium particles spread all over. They promised to remove it all in 1970 and again in 1995.
Radioactive waste plan ‘suspended’ (phillyBurbs.com) | Courier Times
Waste Management has “suspended†plans to dump 750 tons of radioactive sludge at its landfills in Falls and Tullytown after news reports in the Courier Times. The landfill operator said it received a “surprising†public response to the project, which was authorized by both the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The radiated material originated at the Limerick Nuclear Power Plant.
WRS | Swiss ‘playground’ for radioactive waste testing
Deep inside the Swiss Alps, scientists from around the world are testing how to dispose of radioactive material. The Grimsel Test Site is a series of tunnels dug deep into the mountains. It’s operated by the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (NAGRA). The cooperative was started in 1972 by nuclear power plant operators and the Swiss government. World Radio Switzerland’s Alex Helmick reports from the underground laboratory near the Grimsel Pass on the cantonal border of Bern and Valais.
Nuclear Policy News
BBC NEW: EDF to buy British Energy
It’s been one of the longest negotiations in corporate history, but I have learned that EDF of France – in partnership with Centrica – is likely to announce early next week that it is buying British Energy, the UK’s nuclear power generator, for more than £12bn.
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Cumbria | Coast £2bn masterplan is unveiled
A masterplan to invest £2bn and create 16,000 energy jobs in west Cumbria have been unveiled. The aim is to turn the area into an “energy coast” and boost its economy with a new reactor at Sellafield as well as a national nuclear laboratory.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | New opposition alliance in India
India’s communists and several other opposition parties have launched a joint campaign over rising prices and a controversial nuclear deal with the US. The new group contains four left-wing former allies of the government and a Dalit leader tipped as a future PM.
FR Doc: NRC: License Nos. DPR-57 and NPF-5 Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia; City of Dalton, GA [Docket Nos. 50-321 and 50-366 ] Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment To Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Ugly Indian debate sets scene for election
In the end, it was a relatively comfortable win for the Indian government. In particular, it was a decisive victory for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had staked his personal reputation on the Indo-US nuclear agreement, a deal that many in his own party were not convinced about.
FR Doc: NRC: Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on ESBWR 8-21 & 8-22
Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS); Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on ESBWR; Notice of Meeting The ACRS Subcommittee on the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) will hold a meeting on August 21-22, 2008, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
The Hindu: CPI(M) to strengthen protest against nuclear deal
The CPI(M) today said the party will strengthen protests against the Indo-US nuclear deal notwithstanding results of tomorrow’s trust vote in the Lok Sabha. “The Government had destroyed our trust on assurances of discussing the deal before going ahead with it. Now we will strengthen our protests if the Government still remains adamant about pursuing the deal after the trust vote,” CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said.
Support for nuclear energy rises in California
Support for the construction of more nuclear power plants in the US state of California has grown over the past two decades, with half of Californians now in favour of new reactors, according to a recent poll conducted by Field Research Corp.
Canada: Snafus plague nuclear bodies
Ahead of the release of a report on the troubled relationship between Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and its nuclear regulator, documents obtained by Canwest News Service show communications between AECL and the regulator were fraught with problems. The report by an independent consultant is expected to focus heavily those problems.
Nuclear Power A Thorny Issue For Candidates : NPR
Nuclear power doesn’t usually make for an applause line in a stump speech, but it has come up on the campaign trail. Both Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain see it as a way to combat climate change, though they’ve sometimes chosen their words with care.
FR Doc: NRC: Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 6.2, “Integrity and Test Specifications for Selected Brachytherapy Sources
Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 6.2, “Integrity and Test Specifications for Selected Brachytherapy Sources,” was issued with a temporary identification as Draft Regulatory Guide DG-6004. This guide directs the reader to the type of information acceptable to the NRC staff to evaluate the integrity and test specifications for selected brachytherapy sources.
Nuclear Weapons News
RIA Novosti – Russia – Russia could place bombers in Latin America, N.Africa – paper
Russian strategic bombers may soon be deployed at airbases in Cuba, Venezuela and Algeria as a response to the U.S. missile shield in Europe and NATO’s expansion, Russian daily Izvestia said on Thursday. Moscow has strongly opposed the possible deployment by the U.S. of 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and an accompanying tracking radar in the Czech Republic as a threat to its national security. Washington says the defenses are needed to deter a possible strike from Iran, or other “rogue” states.
BBC NEWS | Americas | Rosenberg evidence kept secret
A New York judge has ruled against releasing secret testimony from the spy trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The couple were convicted of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union and executed by electric chair in 1953. Campaigners have sought to challenge the evidence used to convict Ethel Rosenberg after a key witness admitted he fabricated details.
Russian Bombers Could Be Deployed to Cuba – washingtonpost.com
Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons could be deployed to Cuba in response to U.S. plans to install a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, a Russian newspaper reported Monday, citing an unnamed senior Russian air force official.
AFP: US general warns Russia on nuclear bombers in Cuba
Russia would cross “a red line for the United States of America” if it were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba, a top US air force officer warned on Tuesday. “If they did I think we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America,” said General Norton Schwartz, nominated to be the air force’s chief of staff.
Department of Energy News
Members picked for DOE advisory board | Chillicothe Gazette
The Energy Department Wednesday released the names of the 20 board members for a new advisory board at the Piketon uranium enrichment facility and set the board’s first meeting The board, which will meet for the first time in September, will advise the DOE on environmental matters. Among the members are Piketon Mayor Billy Spencer and Waverly school board member Sharon Manson, Lorry Swain of the Southern Ohio Neighbors Group, Ohio University chemical engineering professor Nicholas Dinos and Shawnee State history professor Andrew Feight.
aikenstandard.com -Teachers get lesson in nuclear energy
Over the past three days, teacher LaLisa Folk learned about the Savannah River Site, the Environmental Protection Agency, nuclear energy and the nuclear industry, reactor design and the basics of radiation. For the past decade, the U.S. Department of Energy has hosted the TREAT workshop for teachers – Teaching Radiation, Energy and Technology. The program is funded through an environmental grant with Savannah State University.
DOE – Top DOE Nuclear Energy Official to Highlight DOE’s Role in Nuclear Power Expansion at Nuclear Renaissance Summit
On Wednesday, July 23, 2008, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis R. Spurgeon will deliver keynote remarks at the 2nd Annual Nuclear Fuel Cycle Monitor Global Nuclear Renaissance Summit hosted by Exchange Monitor Publications and Forums. Assistant Secretary Spurgeon is expected to discuss the Department’s role in spurring nuclear expansion domestically with a nuclear energy policy that is technologically robust, economically sound, and publically acceptable.
Department of Energy – Events for the next two months
DOE-Sponsored Public Meetings and Workshops
FR Doc: DOE: Advisory Board, Oak Ridge Reservation AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of open meeting and retreat.
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Oak Ridge Reservation. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.
Other Energy News
Britain tries to block green energy laws | Environment | The Guardian
Britain is trying to water down tough new European legislation to boost the uptake of renewable energy, despite a pledge by Gordon Brown last month to launch a “green revolution” based on clean technology. Documents obtained by the Guardian show the UK wants to block attempts to give renewable electricity sources such as wind farms priority access to the national grid. The European official who drafted the legislation accused Britain of “obstructing” EU efforts on renewables and said UK officials wanted to protect traditional energy suppliers and their coal, gas and nuclear power stations.
Speculators not behind oil rise: U.S. task force | Reuters
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Tuesday that a government interagency task force has found that the huge jump in oil prices is due to “supply and demand factors” and that speculators are not to blame for high fuel costs.
Costs of climate change, state-by-state: Billions… ( Climate change will carry a price t…)
Climate change will carry a price tag of billions of dollars for a number of U.S. states, says a new series of reports from the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER). The researchers conclude that the costs have already begun to accrue and are likely to endure. Combining existing data with new analysis, the eight studies project the long term economic impact of climate change on Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey and Ohio. Studies on additional states are in the works.
Public Utility Commissions by state
This is a list and links to every single utility commission in the U.S., ordered alphabetically by state.
BBC NEWS | Business | GE in $8bn Abu Dhabi investment
General Electric (GE) is joining forces with Abu Dhabi investment firm Mubadala Development to provide $8bn (£4bn) of finance in the Middle East and Africa.
William Rusher :: Townhall.com :: We Must Break Our Dependence on Oil
T. Boone Pickens is one of America’s biggest independent oil producers, so he could be forgiven if he simply chose to sit back and pile up his profits. But the Texas entrepreneur is convinced that America must break its dependence on oil as a major source of energy, and has announced that over the next few weeks he is going to outline in the major media a plan for doing exactly that. He is right on the money, and I am going to listen carefully to what he has to say.
Big LED Breakthrough at Purdue University Could Change the World : TreeHugger
The incandescent lightbulb that wastes 90% of the electricity as heat is dying, we all know that. But a new breakthrough in solid state lighting might also kill compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) faster than some expected. Scientists at Purdue University have figured out how to manufacture LED solid-state lights on regular metal-coated silicon wafers (more details below). What this means is: much lower costs.
Scotland Leapfrogs Europe’s Wind Energy Industry
Europe’s largest onshore windfarm, able to generate enough power for 320,000 homes, has been approved by the Scottish government.
Growing risk of a shooting war over energy
Once again, the week’s most important energy news has gone unreported by media in the U.S. Most of the U.S. news media still doesn’t understand that the important energy news is happening outside the United States. Once again this week, cameras rolled as the White House and Congress bickered for partisan advantage, this time over offshore oil drilling. Meanwhile, half a world way, three events – one indicative of the growing risk of a shooting war over energy – were completely ignored.
Who Will Profit from Native Energy? | Project Censored
Energy on Native American land is becoming big business. According to the Indigenous Environmental Network, 35 percent of the fossil fuel resources in the US are within Indian country. The Department of the Interior estimates that Indian lands hold undiscovered reserves of almost 54 billion tons of coal, 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 5.4 billion barrels of oil. Tribal lands also contain enormous amounts of alternative energy. “Wind blowing through Indian reservations in just four northern Great Plains states could support almost 200,000 megawatts of wind power,†Winona LaDuke told Indian Country Today in March 2005, “Tribal landholdings in the southwestern US…could generate enough power to eradicate all fossil fuel burning power plants in the US.â€Â
Netroots on climate and energy | Gristmill: The environmental news blog | Grist
PDF: Windpower and the UK Resource
This is an internal UK government report documenting the growing windpower potential within the country
The peak oil crisis: The blackouts spread | Energy Bulletin
Of the 266 distinct nations or entities on the world today, nearly 100 are now reporting continuing energy shortages, mostly in the form of inadequate electricity supply, but in a growing number of cases, shortages of liquid fuels and natural gas. The actual number of countries affected is probably well over 100 but there are dozens of isolated island-states scattered around the world that are rarely heard from and are almost certainly suffering in silence while waiting for the next oil tanker to come in.
Intersolar: Germany’s 40MW Solar PV Project More Than Halfway Done « Earth2Tech
And you thought the U.S. was getting big solar photovoltaic projects (like the one being built by SunPower for FPL, or SunEdison for Duke). But those will deliver just a little more than half of what a Godzilla-like solar PV project in Germany will soon provide. The managing director of solar builder Juwi Solar, Michael Martin, said Juwi has already built over half  or 26 MW  of what, at 40 MW, he claims will be the world’s largest solar PV project, which could be completed as soon as the end of the year.
Solar Industry Growth Prediction: US Largest Market by 2011 : TreeHugger
Despite an unstable regulatory environmentâlâ€renewable energy tax incentives are stalled in the senate, BLM policy has been inconsistent the United States will surpass Germany to be the largest market for solar power in the world by 2011, according to a report by JP Morgan, cited in Greentech Media. By 2011, the US will have an installed capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (with 920 MW in California alone), surpassing Germany’s expected capacity of 1.35 gigawatts. The third largest market by this time will be South Korea with 957 megawatts of capacity.
Scientists achieve chemical breakthrough that converts sawdust into biofuel (Re-Issue) – Thaindian News
A team of Chinese scientists has made a chemical breakthrough that efficiently turns the lignin in waste products such as sawdust into the chemical precursors of ethanol and biodiesel.
Nuclear Editorial and Opinions
Don’t fall for nuclear power — dailypress.com
While the presidential hopefuls trade barbs and accuse each other of flip- flopping, they agree with President Bush on their enthusiastic support for nuclear power. Sen. John McCain has called for 100 new nuclear power plants. Sen. Barack Obama, in a July 2007 Democratic debate, answered a pro-nuclear power audience member, “I actually think that we should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix.”
Invest in the future, not in nuclear power | Tallahassee Democrat
Ourgovernment has studied ways to warn future generations of the danger of nuclear energy waste, “long after society and languages have changed,” as government documents phrase it. Advertisement One idea was to invite the Native American tribes near the proposed disposal sites to pass the information related to this danger from generation to generation, by word of mouth. In other words, tradition might be one of the best ways to communicate that the yellow and black placard means death, and that it would be a good idea to stay away from this area for several thousand years.
www.kansascity.com | Pro-Con: Should Congress authorize construction of more nuclear power plants? NO
America’s twin crises of sky-rocketing energy costs and catastrophic climate change effects shouldn’t be a convenient excuse to push nuclear power as a viable replacement for coal, oil and natural gas power-generating plants. The nuclear disaster at the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 and the near-disaster at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979 are reasons enough to strike nuclear power from the list of acceptable non-fossil and carbon energy sources.
‘N-deal, a dangerous game plan’ – Newindpress.com
Even after withdrawing support to the UPA Government at Centre, the Left leaders are blasting the Central Government for its attempt to conclude the Nuclear deal with the USA. Terming the deal as a ‘dangerous game plan’,West Bengal Civil Defence Minister Srikumar Mukherjee observed that America has hidden agenda behind the N-deal and it would not meet the demands of energy security of India.
The Top Nuclear Stories is published twice weekly. It is a produced using a combination of social bookmarking and programming. You can view or join the public group and add your own stories by going here -> http://groups.diigo.com/groups/nukenews