Rough waters cause nuclear shutdown NBC3 16 Oct 07 by Katrina Smith
“SCRIBA, N.Y. (AP) – Turbulent water and a build-up of lake debris in a water intake forced operators of the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant near Oswego to shut down the reactor over the weekend.
It was the second time in just over a month that the Lake Ontario facility’s water intake became clogged. This time, FitzPatrick spokeswoman Bonnie Bostian says lake algae blocked the intake screening system. As a result, plant operators manually shut down the nuclear facility early yesterday morning………………..A heavy storm on September 12th caused a similar problem………………”
Windscale: A nuclear disaster BBC News By Paul Dwyer 7 Oct 07
Windscale: Britain’s biggest nuclear disaster “Fifty years ago, on the night of 10 October 1957, Britain was on the brink of an unprecedented nuclear tragedy.
A fire ripped through the radioactive materials in the core of Windscale, Britain’s first nuclear reactor………………………………..Now tapes of the inquiry into the accident, heard for the first time in a BBC film, reveal the reasons why the politicians covered up the causes of the accident. Scientists had been warning about the dangers of an accident for some time.
……………………the politicians and the military ignored the warnings; instead they increased demands on Windscale to produce material for an H-bomb. A succession of prime ministers since the war had been determined to persuade the Americans to share the secret of their nuclear weapons with Britain.
Prime Minister Harold Macmillan believed that, if Britain could develop an H-bomb on the scale of the Americans’, they would treat it as a nuclear equal and form an alliance. ………………………………”
Heat Wave Shuts Down Alabama Reactor - Slashdot 18 August 07 “In a first for the US, one of three nuclear reactors at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama has been shut down because the Tennessee River is too hot to provide adequate cooling for the waste heat produced by the reactor.
This is happening as the TVA faces its highest demand for power ever, reports the Houston Chronicle.
This effect has been seen in Europe in the past, forcing reduced generation, but the US has until now been immune to the problem. The TVA will buy power elsewhere and impose higher rates, blaming reduced river flow as a result of drought.”
Japan Barely Dodges Nuclear Disaster in Latest Earthquake - Cleveland Leader 16 July 07 – “Shortly after 10am local time on Monday, an earthquake rocked northwestern Japan. Hundreds of homes were destroyed, roads and bridges buckled, and fire started at a nuclear power plant.
So far, at least seven people have died and hundreds more have been injured.Japan’s Meterological Agency measured the earthquake at 6.8 magnitude, while the U.S. Geological Survey said they registered it as a 6.7. Either way, this was a strong one, causing buildings to sway 160 miles away in Tokyo…………
……The hardest hit area appears to have been Kashiwazaki, a city of about 90,000 in the prefecture of Niigata. And while the affects of the earthquake have thus far been disasterous,
Japan can count their blessings on one thing – the fact that they narrowly escaped the destruction of a nuclear reactor.
The earthquake caused a fire to start, as well as an explosion, at the Kashiwazaki nuclear plant. Plant officials have said that water containing some radioactive materials leaked after the quake, and may have been discharged into the sea.
944 incidents reported in German nuclear power plants reported over a six-year period – Islamic Republic News Agency Berlin 11 July 07 – “German nuclear power plants have reported 944 incidents between the period of early 2000 and late 2006, the daily Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung quoted Wednesday statistics released by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS).
Meanwhile the number of registered breakdowns in German nuclear power plants since 1993 stands at 1,945………….The BfS statistics have gained special relevance in the wake of a fire at the north German Kruemmel nuclear plant on June 28 as new disclosures about botched safety procedures to shut down the nuclear facility have surfaced…………………………” .
Power firms hid 10,000 problems’ - Japan Daily Yomuiri Online The Yomiuri Shimbun 7/4/07 – “Utility firms have concealed problems or altered data at power plants more than 10,000 times, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan announced Thursday. Federation Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata reported the findings of an investigation to a Liberal Democratic Party investigation committee Thursday morning. ……………….
The federation reexamined the numbers after receiving a request from the LDP to more accurately count the number of irregularities……………….. According to the new report, there were 450 irregularities at nuclear power plants……………”
India’s processed uranium selling in International black market - Daily Times Pakistan 27/2/07 – “ISLAMABAD: India’s Jaduguda uranium mines in Jharkhand are becoming notorious for the smuggling of processed uranium, or ‘yellow cake’, which is being sold in the international black market, according to ‘WMD Insights’ – a reputable US-based magazine.More recent reports dealing with international discussions on the smuggling of nuclear and radioactive materials have said that uranium ores stolen from the Jaduguda mines in India have found their way to Nepal, from where they are sold to international buyers. An Indian newspaper, Vijay Times, wrote, ‘In an alarming development, smugglers are sending highly radioactive yellow cake or processed uranium, used in making nuclear weaponry, to Nepal through the clandestine narcotic route via the Jharkhand-Bihar-West Bengal conduit, and it is suspected that the destination might be Al Qaeda.’ India is being projected by some as a responsible nuclear-capable state. In fact this has been cited as a prima facie by the US to offer India civilian nuclear cooperation. However, the facts belie any such presumption…………………….”
Nuclear plant managers let radioactive particles flow into sea - NEWS.scotsman.com 7/2/07 LOUISE HOSIE - “NUCLEAR plant operators yesterday admitted illegally dumping radioactive waste and releasing nuclear fuel particles into the sea more than 40 years ago.The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) pleaded guilty to four chargesunder the Radioactive Substances Act 1960. The breaches happened at the Dounreay site in Caithness…………………The charges were brought against UKAEA after it was reported to the procurator-fiscal following an investigation by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)……………………..”. TIMELINE11 July 07 944 incidents reported in German nuclear power plants reported over a six-year period – June 07 Two German nuclear power stations closed due to transformer station fireJune 07 China – generators at the Lingao nuclear power plant shut due to high temperaturesJune 07 Scotland -Hunterston B power plant in Ayrshire due to temperature problemsJune 07 USA cracks discovered in a component at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plantMay 07 USA Hope Creek nuclear plant shut down due to fault causing decrease in water level24 May USA Newly restarted nuclear reactor at TVA’s Browns Ferry power plant shut down after fluid leak9 May 07 USA – Nuclear Fuel Services shut down enriched uranium facility due to radioactive spillApril 07 Japan – Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan announced Power firms hid 10,000 problems – 450 irregularities found at nuclear power plantsApril 07 USA Explosion At Indian Point Nuclear Power PlantApril 07 USA – Fire in transformer shuts Indian Point 3 nuclear plantMarch 07 Japan – cover-up revealed regarding 3 serious accidents at Shika Nuclear Power Station in 1999March 07 Czech Republic 3,000 litres of radioactive water leaked in Temelin nuclear plantMarch 07 USA 2 Incidents Reported at Nuclear Plant Near WashingtonMarch 07 USA Two spills of an enriched uranium solution at Oakridge nuclear weapons plant USAMarch 07 uranium missing from Congo’s nuclear research reactor..March 07 Tokyo Electric Power Co admits nine cases in which data on nuclear power plants was falsifiedFeb 07 India’s processed uranium reported to be selling in International black marketFeb 07 UK Atomic Energy Authority pleads guilty to illegally dumping radioactive waste and releasing nuclear fuel particles into the seaJan 07 USA tractor-trailer overturned with radioactive plutonium on boardJan 07 USA Hanford Nuclear Reservation – A radiation leak and employee falsified recordsJan 07 USA Rats caused wildfire near Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant17 Jan 07 USA Monticello nuclear power plant remains shut down indefinitely – large metal component broke loose inside the plant,Jan 07 Radioactive leak at British nuclear power stationJan 07 USA radioactive leaks at Braidwood, Dresden and Byron nuclear power plants24 Dec Fire Breaks out at Japanese Nuclear PlantDec 06 Texas – Truck carrying uranium crashes in N.CJune 1999 Japan 3 serious accidents atShika Nuclear Power Station
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