In June of this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission notified Pennsylvania Power and Light of violations at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, which they own and operate. The violations were in relation to eight licensed reactor operators, who were found to not meet minimum health requirements due to permanent disabilities or illnesses, yet were still […]
On Monday, October 28th, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a confirmatory order to Exelon Generation Company, who manages the Dresden nuclear power plant in Illinois, in response to their investigation of the Michael Buhrman and Landon Brittain case. The NRC also acted because Dresden personnel knew about Buhrman’s plan to commit an offsite crime, but […]
Michael Buhrman, 31, began his career in the nuclear industry after being honorably discharged in from the Navy nuclear program in 2005, where he had worked as a reactor operator and nuclear electronics technician. After watching the movie, “The Town” featuring Ben Affleck, which features four friends who decide to rob a bank, Buhrman was […]
Tokyo Electric has continued to conduct measurements around storage tanks which leaked some 300 tons of contaminated water in August. The utility announced on Thursday that 140,000 becquerels per liter of beta-emitting radioactive substances were collected in a water sample from a ditch which runs into the Pacific Ocean. On Tuesday, the utility measured 59,000 […]
A licensed reactor operator at the Oconee nuclear power plant in South Carolina tested positive for alcohol during a random fitness-for-duty test at 6:32 PM on Tuesday October 22nd. The employee has had access to the plant placed on hold. Source: NRC Event Notifications
A supervisor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Maryland confirmed positive for alcohol during a random fitness for duty test at 11:00 am on Tuesday. The employee’s access to the plant has been terminated. Source: NRC Event Notifications
Tokyo Electric has been struggling to deal with contaminated water both above and below ground at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Tunnels connected to the turbine buildings have provided areas for the accumulation of water, additional routes for the movement of the radioactive water, and have increased the headaches for the utility working […]
A licensed reactor operator at the Surry nuclear power plant in Virginia confirmed positive for alcohol during a for-cause fitness for duty test. The employee’s access was not revoked, but was placed on hold. Source: NRC Event Notifications
An opinion poll conducted by NHK of Japan, found that nearly half of those responding were against the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s plan to allow the restart of shut down nuclear reactors after safety checks. Only 19% of responders approved of the plan, 32% were undecided, and 45% were against it. Another question asked if responders […]
The Mainichi Shimbun report that nearly half of Japanese nuclear power plant equipment exported over the last ten years failed to undergo safety inspections through the national government. Instead of requiring all equipment to be subject to the government safety inspections, the Japanese government only conducted the safety inspection if the manufacturer received a loan […]
After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, there has been concern in Japan and around the world about the effectiveness of emergency evacuation guidelines around nuclear power plants. Japan was forced had to rethink its nuclear safety standard in the wake of the nuclear disaster; the new evacuation standard is set at 30 kilometers around nuclear […]
In 2012, two licensed senior reactor operators from the Dresden nuclear power plant – which is owned and operated by Exelon, hijacked a young woman’s car at gun point and attempted to flee the scene. One of the operators, Michael Buhrman, had concocted the plan, held the gun, and been caught at the scene with […]
On Wednesday, Shunichi Tanaka, Chairman of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, suggested that one of the causes of radioactive leaks and other problems at Fukushima Daiichi is due to a decline in worker moral. Tanaka said that the problems would be prevented if the workers had strong morale in a positive work environment. The majority of […]
It started this June in California. Speaking about the problems at the troubled San Onofre nuclear plants through the perspective of the Fukushima nuclear complex catastrophe was a panel of Naoto Kan, prime minister of Japan when the disaster began; Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at the time; Peter Bradford, […]
According to reports, fugitive Michael Buhrman – the former senior reactor operator at the Dresden nuclear power plant in Illinois described by a State Attorney as “dangerous and evil”, was arrested last Tuesday by the Venezuelan intelligence service. He is reportedly under investigation for a number of criminal acts including illegal arms trade, illegal substances, […]
Despite the fact that over the weekend, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe admitted that Japan was in need of international expertise to handle the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi, the continuous string of failures, leaks, and mishaps at the crippled nuclear power complex is doing everything but reassuring the international community of nuclear safety. Officials have […]
Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato is questioning the honesty of TEPCO President Naomi Hirose after the most recent leaks at Fukushima Daiichi. Recently, Hirose had been speaking to the prefectural assembly, when he promised to give highest priority to containing wastewater at the crippled nuclear power plant. This week, the utility’s continued sloppy handling of the […]
Tokyo Electric, the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, has submitted a new plan for handling and discharging contaminated rainwater into the Pacific Ocean. Last month, after a tropical storm hit the site, workers found that the accumulated rainwater had become radioactive, but the operator had no criteria for how to handle […]