Enformable

Month: May 2013

March 16th, 2011 – Estimate time for boil-dry times for a typical spent fuel pool

Estimate time for boil-dry times for a typical spent fuel pool Source: RTM Table D-1 (see figure below) Assumptions: (1) Full core recently discharged (see box in figure) (2) 100 days after shutdown (full core unloaded) (3) constant decay heat at 100 days on (4) Neglect sensible heating from the table (- 10 hr) (5) […]

Japanese regulators inspect Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 isolation condenser

Officials from Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority inspected the Unit 1 reactor building at Fukushima Daiichi on Friday to inspect the possibility that critical components were damaged by the earthquake on March 11th, 2011.  The NRA decided to further study the cause of the nuclear disaster and how it evolved earlier this month, after a commission […]

Monju fast-breeder reactor will not restart in 2013

The Nuclear Regulation Authority in Japan officially ordered the Japan Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday to cease all preparations to restart the Monju fast-breeder reactor located in Tsuruga City.  The NRA ordered that the utility not only set aside enough manpower and funds to set up a maintenance and management system, but also a system […]

Tape, broomsticks, and safety cones used at nuclear power plants to manage leaks

Many, if not all of our readers, saw the photo that was leaked out of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to the press, which showed a massive pipe that had been leaking saltwater which had been directed into a floor drain using plastic, tape, and broomsticks. “If that’s nuclear technology at work and that’s […]

Senator Boxer calls for Justice Department to conduct probe of San Onofre problems

Senator Barbara Boxer has expressed her desire for the Justice Department to investigate executives at Southern California Edison, the utility which operates the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, to determine whether or not they deceived federal regulators during the steam generator replacement process.  Boxer received a internal letter written by a senior executive at the […]

TEPCO to begin measuring groundwater inflow into Fukushima Daiichi reactors

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has announced that it plans to install water gauges in the basement of the reactor buildings of Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex.  Workers at the crippled nuclear facility will start installation of the water gauges in Unit 1 and Unit 2 […]

Supervisor at Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant fails fitness for duty test

A supervisory employee at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant confirmed positive for alcohol during a random fitness for duty test on Wednesday.  The employee’s access to the plant has been terminated. Source: NRC Event Notifications http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2013/20130524en.html#en49065

Supervisor at Fort Calhoun fails fitness for duty test

A contract supervisor at the Fort Calhoun nuclear generating station owned by the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) failed a random fitness for duty test on Tuesday.  The employee’s access to the plant has been revoked. The Fort Calhoun nuclear generating station has been shut down since April 2011 due to repeated problems and regulatory […]

Fukushima compensation scheme accused of denying hundreds of claims

Just under 700 residents from the Hippo district of Miyagi prefecture have sounded the alarm that they have been unjustly denied full compensation because the government’s basic compensation scheme only covers Fukushima residents, despite the fact that recorded radiation levels in the local area after the onset of the nuclear disaster were greater than those […]

30,000 protestors demonstrate against nuclear power in Taiwan

On Sunday, tens of thousands of Taiwanese marched through the capital city, chanting slogans urging the government to cease the construction of the nuclear power project.  Organizers said over 30,000 people took part in the demonstration. For over thirty years nuclear power has polarized life in Taiwan, but today many people in Taiwan are so […]

Fugutive nuke operator described as “dangerous and evil”

Michael Buhrman, the infamous former licensed senior nuclear reactor operator turned fugitive who is believed to have fled the country to evade capture by authorities, was convicted last month of aggravated vehicular hijacking and vehicular hijacking and sentenced to 40 years in prison.  It took the DuPage County jury less than an hour to reach […]

Tsuruga nuclear power plant sitting on active fault says Japanese regulator

After 6 months of investigation, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority released a final report on Wednesday which officially concludes that the Unit 2 reactor of the Tsuruga nuclear power plant in central Japan rests upon an active fault.  The fault, known as the D-1 fault, runs directly underneath the Unit 2 reactor building and is located […]

Licensed reactor operator at Grand Gulf nuclear power plant confirmed positive for alcohol

A licensed reactor operator at the Grand Gulf nuclear power plant confirmed positive for alcohol during a for cause fitness for duty test.  The employee’s access to the plant has been terminated. While random fitness-for-duty tests are administered in a lottery-style system and “winners” report to the medical office for testing, for cause tests are […]

Alcohol discovered within Protected Area at Monticello Nuclear Power Plant

Workers at the Monticello nuclear power plant in Minnesota discovered a small bottle of alcohol within the Protected Area.  The seal ring on the bottle was broken and it was approximately 2/3 full.  The bottle was discovered beneath a deck structure to a temporary trailer that was being demolished by workers. Source: NRC Event Notifications […]

NRC investigation unable to answer questions related to ANO accident

Investigators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are still unable to explain why a crane accident at the Arkansas Nuclear One nuclear power plant which killed one twenty-four year old employee and injured eight others happened.  On Thursday night a meeting was held at the nuclear power plant in Russellville, Arkansas to discuss the findings where […]

Congressman: NRC needs to get serious on Palisades

Congressman Fred Upton is demanding accountability and a permanent fix to the leaking tank at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant on Lake Michigan, and says that he is “outraged” by the announced leak that escaped into the Great Lake over the weekend.  “This situation is not acceptable and demands full accountability,” Upton said in a […]

Highly radioactive debris recovered from atop crippled Fukushima Daiichi reactor

Workers at Fukushima Daiichi were working this week to remove rubble from atop the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 reactor building with remote-controlled cranes, when they discovered the radiation dose from a piece of debris they removed from the 5th floor of the reactor building was highly radioactive and releasing a dose rate over 540 […]