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Sun, 2011-03-13 17:03 — mdmcdonald
Energy

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New fission suspected at Fukushima nuclear plant National

Wed, 2011-11-02 04:15 — JRees

Nov. 02, 2011 - 03:00PM JST ( 38 ) TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant said Wednesday it feared nuclear fission had resumed inside one of the reactors. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said it had begun injecting water and boric acid into No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which began leaking radiation after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. “We cannot rule out the possibility of a small nuclear fission reaction,” TEPCO spokesman Hiroki Kawamata said, adding that the injection was a precautionary measure. He said there was no fresh danger at the plant, as the reactor’s temperature and pressure, as well as radiation levels at monitoring posts, showed no substantial changes. Fission is the process by which an operating nuclear reactor produces power. The reactor automatically shut down in the wake of the disaster but nuclear fuel is believed to have melted through its container onto the bottom of the outer vessel when the tsunami knocked out the plant’s cooling systems. The injection was ordered after preliminary analysis of gas samples from the reactor building showed the possible presence of xenon 133 and xenon 135, byproducts of a nuclear reaction. The two substances have short half-lives—five days for xenon 133 and just nine hours for xenon 135—indicating that any nuclear fission was a recent phenomenon.

Microbes Generate Electricity While Cleaning Up Nuclear Waste

Wed, 2011-09-07 16:17 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Michigan State University - September 6, 2011

Homeland Security Newswire - September 7, 2011

     

MSU microbiologist Gemma Reguera (right) and her team of researchers have unraveled the mystery of how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste. Photo by Michael Steger.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Researchers at Michigan State University have unraveled the mystery of how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste and other toxic metals.

Details of the process, which can be improved and patented, are published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The implications could eventually benefit sites forever changed by nuclear contamination, said Gemma Reguera, MSU microbiologist.

“Geobacter bacteria are tiny micro-organisms that can play a major role in cleaning up polluted sites around the world,” said Reguera, who is an MSU AgBioResearch scientist. “Uranium contamination can be produced at any step in the production of nuclear fuel, and this process safely prevents its mobility and the hazard for exposure.”

NRC Task Force Review of Insights from Fukushima

Sat, 2011-08-27 23:55 — Kathy Gilbeaux

                                            

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission - July 12, 2011

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has released "Recommendations for Enhancing Reactor Safety in the 21st Century: The Near-Term Task Force Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident." The Near-Term Task Force was established in response to Commission direction to conduct a systematic and methodical review of NRC processes and regulations to determine whether the agency should make additional improvements to its regulatory system and to make recommendations to the Commission for its policy direction, in light of the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Recommendations for Enhancing Reactor Safety in the 21st Century: The Near-Term Task Force Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident (96 page .PDF report)

http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1118/ML111861807.pdf

http://www.nrc.gov/japan/japan-info.html

Environment Ministry Gets Nuke Role

Fri, 2011-08-12 15:35 — Kathy Gilbeaux

The Japan Times - August 12, 2011

                                  

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Cabinet members agreed Friday to set up a new agency in charge of nuclear safety under the Environment Ministry amid the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The accord comes after the government announced last week its plan to create the new entity and said it was considering whether to place the agency under the wing of the Environment Ministry or the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office was dropped as a candidate because of its "ties" with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which loans officials to the office, according to government sources.

In a bid to undertake a major overhaul of Japan's nuclear regulatory structure, Kan has been calling to separate the current Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency from the industry ministry, which promotes the use of atomic energy.

NISA has been criticized for lax government supervision of nuclear facilities and a slow response to the Fukushima plant crisis, which was triggered by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Kan Vows Nuclear-Free Future for Japan on 66th Anniversary of Hiroshima Atomic Bombing

Sat, 2011-08-06 21:19 — Kathy Gilbeaux

ABC News - japantoday.com - August 6, 2011

                 

Doves fly by the Atomic Bomb Dome, center in background, preserved as a landmark for the tribute to the A-Bomb attack, following a speech delivered by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, marking the 66th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing, at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Saturday.  AP

Japan's prime minister Naoto Kan renewed his pledge to help make Japan nuclear-free as Hiroshima marked the 66th anniversary of the US atomic bombing amid the Fukushima crisis.

After the March 11 quake and tsunami triggered the nuclear accident that left radiation leaking into air, soil and sea, Mr Kan said the country must reduce its reliance on atomic power with the goal of eventually becoming nuclear-free.

"The large-scale, long-running nuclear accident has triggered radiation leakage, causing serious concerns not only in Japan but also in the world," Mr Kan said at a memorial ceremony in Hiroshima's Peace Park.

IAEA International Fact Finding Expert Mission of the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP Accident Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Fri, 2011-08-05 20:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

                                        

Report to the IAEA Member States

Tokyo, Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP, Fukushima Dai-ni NPP, and Tokai Dai-ni NPP, Japan

24 May - 2 June 2011

By agreement with the Government of Japan, the International Atomic Energy Agency

conducted a preliminary mission to find facts and identify initial lessons to be learned from

the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi and share this information across the world nuclear

community. To this end, a team of experts undertook this Fact Finding Mission from 24 May

to 2 June 2011. The results of the Mission will be reported to the IAEA Ministerial

Conference on Nuclear Safety at IAEA headquarters in Vienna on 20 24 June 2011.

During the IAEA Mission, the team of nuclear experts received excellent cooperation from all

parties, receiving information from many relevant Japanese ministries, nuclear regulators and

operators. The Mission also visited three affected nuclear power plants (NPP) — Tokai Dai-

ni, Fukushima Dai-ni and Dai-ichi — to gain an appreciation of the status of the plants and

the scale of the damage. The facility visits allowed the experts to talk to the operator staff as

Video - IAEA Chief Surveys Progress at Fukushima Accident Site

Fri, 2011-08-05 12:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

IAEA.org - July 25, 2011

At the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano received on 25 July 2011 an extensive briefing and visited key locations at the nuclear accident site.

Eyewitnesses at Fukushima

3 Top Japanese Nuclear Officials to be Axed Amid Crisis

Thu, 2011-08-04 21:48 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Janine Rees

The Mainichi Daily News - August 5, 2011

                                          

Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda speaks during a budget committee meeting at the upper house of the Diet in Tokyo on Thursday, July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Industry minister Banri Kaieda said Thursday he plans to sack three top officials in charge of nuclear power policy to hold them responsible for the handling of the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The three officials are Kazuo Matsunaga, vice minister for economy, trade and industry, Nobuaki Terasaka, head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, and Tetsuhiro Hosono, head of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

Kaieda said he will reveal details later. The minister, who has expressed his intent to resign to take responsibility for confusion over the stalled restart of nuclear reactors, did not specify when he will do so and only said, "I will decide on my own."

Kaieda said he wants to "put new life" into the ministry with the reshuffle and that he has conveyed the plan to Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Japan Task Force Makes Its Report

Fri, 2011-07-15 19:06 — Kathy Gilbeaux

by Mike Campbell - earthtimes.org - July 13, 2011

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station - San Clemente, California - Image: © iofoto

On 11th March 2011, northeast Japan was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake and an ensuing tsunami. The Fukushima nuclear power plant was directly in the path of the tsunami and was also at the epicentre of some aftershocks. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission established a Japan Task Force which was charged with identifying lessons that the USA should learn from the Fukushima incident.

The task force was led by Charles Miller and it came up with a set of twelve recommendations aimed at improving safety at US nuclear power plants (NPP) and re-evaluating the level of public health protection required to meet needs in the 21st century.

Government Report Calls for 28 Nuclear Safety Steps

Wed, 2011-06-08 23:13 — Kathy Gilbeaux

The Yomiuri Shimbun - Daily Yomiuri Online - Associated Press - June 9, 2011

In a report submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the government has called for a drastic revision of nuclear reactor design standards, including the development of air-cooling devices and a reconsideration of the location of temporary storage pools for spent nuclear fuel rods.

The report concerning the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami was submitted to the IAEA on Tuesday.

The report included 28 proposals to strengthen the safety of nuclear plants, drawing on lessons from this year's earthquake-triggered nuclear crisis.

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) the same day instructed electrical utility companies that operate nuclear power plants to take emergency measures to prevent hydrogen explosions and secure sufficient equipment to measure radiation levels.

The report may significantly affect the operations of about 50 nuclear reactors in the nation, observers said.

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