Radiation Protection

News for August 20, 2008

Policy and Regulations

India nuclear deal could trigger arms race: US lawmakers (AFP) 
A nuclear energy deal between the United States and India could fuel an arms race with Pakistan unless it is amended to ensure New Delhi is banned from producing new weapons-grade material and from conducting nuclear test explosions, two US lawmakers said Wednesday.

Radioactive Waste

• Spain government vows firm action on nuclear leak (Reuters) 
  Spain's government said on Tuesday it would take firm action against a nuclear plant after the watchdog pressed for charges over its handling of a radioactive leak for which 2,600 people had to be screened.

Yucca

• Nuke-waste repository under review (Denver Post)
  As the presidential candidates tweak their positions on the proposed nuclear-waste repository in Nevada, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving ahead with its review, NRC chairman Dale Klein said Tuesday.

Hanford

• Hanford waste initiative dead after no appeal made (Tri-City Herald)
  The state of Washington will not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments on the Hanford waste initiative, ending any chance that it will become law.

Safety and Security

• Georgia chaos halts nuclear security effort (Boston Globe)
  Over the past decade other radioactive materials, including plutonium, have also been intercepted on the black market. Last week, at previously scheduled.
• New low for US radiation dose (World Nuclear News)
  American nuclear safety regulators said that 2007 saw the lowest ever collective radiation dose to the country's nuclear workers.

Export and Import of Nuclear Materials

• Pekkarinen: Export of nuclear electricity could compel Finland to (Helsingin Sanomat)
  Electricity for export in nuclear power plants could oblige Finland to accept imports of nuclear waste from abroad for storage in this country.

Risk Assessment

• Do uranium mines belong near Grand Canyon? (Christian Science Monitor)
  On a ragged outcrop just a short walk from a Grand Canyon overlook where millions of visitors annually come to gawk at one of the world’s most stunning vistas sits the old Orphan uranium mine. Soil radiation levels around it are 450 times higher than normal. It’s encircled by a protective fence.

Nuclear Power

• North Korea pours cold water on nuclear talks (International Herald Tribune)
  North Korea said on Wednesday it saw as "unjust" calls from global powers such as the United States for Pyongyang to verify claims it made in disarmament talks about producing arms-grade plutonium.
• Iran to continue 'positive' nuclear talks with IAEA (AFP)
  Iran said on Wednesday that talks on its controversial nuclear drive with top UN atomic watchdog official Olli Heinonen were "positive" and would continue.

Nuclear Weapons

• Nuclear agency OKs new bids for KC weapons parts plant (Bizjournals.com)
  The National Nuclear Security Administration bolstered Kansas City’s hopes of retaining 2,100 high-paying jobs by authorizing resolicitation of bids for a new $500 million nuclear weapons parts plant in south Kansas City.

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News for August 19, 2008

Radioactive Waste

• Fears Marshall Island atomic waste leaking (ABC Online)
  It's made of concrete and it's at least 30 feet high and inside lie about around about three million cubic feet of radioactive waste.
• Nuclear is the answer: Liberals (The Age)
  He dismissed fears of a Chernobyl-type disaster, saying that "burying mere tonnes of radioactive waste in geological stable rock" was low-risk.
  
  Hanford
• The Cold War cleanup of radioactive waste has hardly begun (Plenty Magazine)
  Some 525 million gallons of radioactive waste were generated by Hanford between 1944 and 1988, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

Safety and Security

• NYC Police Have Plan To Track Cars (Hartford Courant)
  Police officials say Operation Sentinel would rely on license-plate readers, radiation detectors and closed-circuit cameras installed at the 16 bridges.
• New detector can sniff out even low levels of gamma radiation (Thaindian.com)
  The gamma rays produced by radioactive materials can pass through containers relatively easily, but uranium produces only small amounts of such radiation.
• Numerex, USTRANSCOM Join Forces for Improved Cargo Tracking (PR Newswire-press release),
  The testing program will also fulfill Military Standard 810-F and Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance "HERO" certification requirements.

Health

• Bystander Effect Hints at Dangers of Low-Dose Radiation (Science Now)
  That lead apron you wear during a dental x-ray is supposed to protect the rest of you from radiation. But it may not work very well, according to a new study. When cancer-prone mice were placed in lead containers and irradiated on just the lower half of their bodies, they developed brain tumors. The results suggest that radiation could be riskier than scientists thought.

Nuclear Power

• Diablo nuclear reactor shut down (Lompoc Record)
  There was no danger of a radiation leak, and the reactor was shut down as part of standard safety procedures at the Central Coast facility.
• Atomstroyexport completes repairs on Chernobyl protective shell (RIA Novosti)
  Several million more people are believed to have been exposed to different degrees of radiation. The disaster is thought to have released at least 100 times.
• Reactor shut down after fire at California nuclear plant (Entire Article Below)
  SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Authorities are investigating a fire at a California nuclear plant that forced a reactor to be shut down.  Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant spokeswoman Sharon Gavin said Monday that there was no danger of a radiation leak after a fire the day before.  The blaze was in a nonnuclear part of the plant.  Gavin says one of two reactors was shut down as part of standard safety procedures. She doesn't know when it will be restarted.  The plant started supplying electricity in 1985 and generates power for about 3 million homes in northern and central California.
• Radioactive waste now harmless (BBC News)
  Tonnes of radioactive liquid metal - a legacy of the experimental fast reactor programme at Dounreay in Caithness - have been destroyed.
• Clarification requested on Loviisa 3 EIA report (Your Industry News-press release)
  It also involve building on-site facilities for the treatment, storage and disposal of used nuclear fuel and low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.
• Report: Iran to build more nuclear power plants (AP Online)
  Iran's official news agency says the country is preparing to build more nuclear power plants.

Nuclear Weapon

• Iran Test-Fires Rocket Able to Put Satellite into Orbit (RedOrbit)
  The announcement was "troubling," calling it part of a pattern of Iranian activity to build a nuclear program and the means to launch a potential weapon.
• Georgia chaos halts nuclear security effort (Boston Globe)
  Although the nuclear weapons that had been stationed on its territory during the Cold War have been removed, Georgia has three nuclear research facilities.

Science

• NASA Gets Down to the Nitty-Gritty (RedOrbit)
  Ordinary soil naturally emits a small amount of low-energy microwave radiation; all warm objects do. "By analyzing those microwaves we can tell how much moisture is in the soil.”

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News for August 18, 2008

Radioactive Waste

• Pipes carrying Radioactive wastes burst in Jadugoda in Jharkhand State of India (American Chronicle)
  The tailing pipes carrying the radioactive and toxic slurry from the mills of the Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) burst for the third time on Saturday night in the Dungridih village under the Jadugoda police station of Potka block of East Singhbhum in Jharkhand State of India, spewing the village with uranium waste.
• Where bombs were once born, birds now flock (The Associated Press)
  The rest of the radioactive waste — more than a million tons — was shipped to storage and disposal sites in Nevada, Utah and Texas.
  
  Hanford
• Hanford relieved, nuclear waste tank not leaking (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
  A leak has been ruled out as the cause for a drop in the level of highly radioactive waste in a tank at the Hanford nuclear reservation.
   
  Yucca
• PG&E begins relocation of spent nuclear fuel rods(The Eureka Reporter)
  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing a license for the Department of Energy’s storage facility planned for Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

Nuclear Power

• Time to Strengthen the IAEA (Global Politician)
  Ensuring safety in the use of nuclear energy and the security of nuclear and other radioactive materials must also be high priorities.
• Spain nuclear watchdog seeks sanctions over leak (guardian.co.uk)
  Spain's nuclear watchdog on Monday pressed the government to bring charges against a nuclear plant for seriously breaching safety rules in handling a radioactive leak for which more than 2,600 people were screened.

Nuclear Weapon

• Nursing a nuclear test hangover(Tenterfield Star)
  Below lie thousands more cubic metres of radioactive waste. After studying emailed photographs of the site, one of the world's leading experts on concrete.
• Russia considers nuclear missiles for Syria, Baltic (Hürriyet)
  Release of advanced weapons systems withheld until now to Iran , with the S-300 air-missile defense system, and the nuclear-capable Iskander to Syria.
• Potential for Conflict Grows With Government's Use of Contractors (Washington Post)
  For years, Science Applications International Corp. served as an adviser to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the development of rules for when radioactive materials could be released from nuclear facilities for recycling.
• Iran tests rocket for future launch of satellite (Washington Post)
  Saturday's test of the two-stage rocket, called the Safir-e Omid, or Ambassador of Peace, was successful, state TV said, broadcasting images of the nighttime launch.

Other

• Musharraf resigns as Pakistan presidentAFP)
  Resigned on Monday, bringing down the curtain on a turbulent nine years in power to avoid the first impeachment in the nuclear-armed nation's history.

News for August 15, 2008

Radioactive Waste

• Marathon admits mistakes at uranium project (The Australian)
  The company apologized for its mistakes that led to the suspension of its exploration license in February for wrongly disposing of waste at its Mt Gee uranium project.

                        Hanford

• Leak ruled out in probe of Hanford's underground tank waste (Mid Columbia Tri City Herald)
  That's been the good news at the Hanford tank farms this summer, as an equipment malfunction has suspended work at the only tank where radioactive waste was.
• Cold Jet part of Hanford nuclear waste cleanup (Cincinnati Business Courier)
  It is one of the most contaminated nuclear sites in the United States, with more than 53 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste.
• Finnish ministry wants more information on planned nuclear reactor (Earthtimes-press release)
  Energy group Fortum has been asked to provide more information about the impact of cooling water from a planned nuclear reactor near the Finnish town of Loviisa.

                        WIPP

• Northern NM advisory board tours WIPP (Carlsbad Current Argus)
  And much of the waste contains radioactive products.  Phelps said the group's interests include closure options for an area at LANL called Material Disposal Area G — which includes transuranic waste.

                        Yucca

• Nevada granted 60 days to file for Yucca (SmartBrief)
  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has doubled the time Nevada has to file challenges to a license application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site.

Safety and Security

• County assures nuclear safety (So Md News)
  County employees showed up at a public hearing on a proposed third reactor for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant to assure residents that local government is confident that the project would be safe.

Health

• Gas Drilling Raises Water Well Concerns (American Agriculturist)
  "Radioactive substances are not uncommon in Pennsylvania groundwater to begin with," he says. And, waste fluids that come with gas production also may contain high levels of salt, metals such as iron and manganese, and traces of barium, lead and arsenic.
• Scientists listen to plants to find water pollution (Reuters)
  Algae suffering from lead poisoning, like waste discharged from battery and paint manufacturing plants, will produce a different sound than those suffering from lack of iron or exposure to other toxins.
• Plutonium found in half of Boulder workers (Denver Post)
  Inexperienced and untrained researchers began work on the detector project using the radioactive sources. - Researchers developed an inappropriate work plan.

Nuclear Weapon

• The best strategy for curbing Tehran's nuclear ambitions (International Herald Tribune)
  There have been welcome indications recently that the Bush administration intends to continue with purely diplomatic efforts to dissuade Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.
• West steps up diplomatic efforts to ease Georgia tension (Houston Chronicle)
  He pointed out that Russian military doctrine permits the use of nuclear weapons "against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way.

News for August 14, 2008

Radioactive Waste

• Cotter Uranium Mill Cited For Contamination (cbs4denver.com)
  The state has cited the Cotter Corp. uranium mill for radioactive contamination at an adjacent golf club.
• EDF Could Complete UK Nuclear Line-up (BBC News)
  When measured by volume, some 65% of Britain's nuclear waste is stored at Sellafield in Cumbria, where all of the UK's high-level waste is stored.

                       Hanford

• Federal Government Releases Review of Hanford Waste Treatment Plant (KUOW NPR)
  The More Than 12–Billion–Dollar Waste Treatment Plant Is Being Built To Clean Up Hanford's Radioactive Legacy In South–Central Washington.
• Cold Jet Supplies Integrated Dry Ice Production and Blast Cleaning Systems for Hanford Nuclear (Market Wire -press release)
  While plutonium production stopped many years ago, the site is now home to more than 53 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored underground.
   
           Yucca
• Nevada Gets More Time to File Yucca Challenges (Las Vegas Review – Journal)
  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today granted Nevada 30 additional days to file license challenges to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste.
• Michigan Nuclear Plan Likely Faces Heavy Cost (Michigan Business Review - MLive.com)
  Although nuclear waste still must be stored on site due to the nation's inability to so far bring the Nevada Yucca Mountain site into use.

Safety and Security

• Homeland Security setting up counterspy unit (Sauk Valley Newspapers)
  It includes divisions that protect the country's borders, develop new radiation detection equipment, study and test infectious diseases, enforce immigration.

Nuclear Power/Nuclear Energy

• Bruce shuts Ontario Bruce 3 reactor for short work (Reuters India)
  Bruce Power LP shut the 750-megawatt Unit 3 at the Bruce A nuclear power station in Ontario on Aug 13 for short work to fix a condenser tube leak.
• Air Force pushes the envelope on renewable energy (GovExec.com)
  Nuclear power plants emit no greenhouse gases, but uranium needs to be mined and radioactive waste needs to be stored, both of which can have significant environmental consequences.

Nuclear Weapon

• US diplomat arrives in China for NKorea talks (Fort Mills Times)
  The State Department's top Korea expert arrived Thursday in Beijing in a bid to advance efforts to verify North Korea's nuclear program.
• Ahmadinejad arrives in Turkey for nuclear talks (Thaindian.com)
  Many countries in the West suspect that Iran has a nuclear weapons development programme in the guise of a nuclear power plan. Tehran has denied the charge.

Cosmic and Space Radiation

• Cosmic Rays (Symmetry magazine)
  Within four weeks of writing these notes, Fermi submitted a paper titled "On the Origin of the Cosmic Radiation" to the journal Physical Review.
• Students from US University Build and Launch a Cosmic Radiation Detector in Space (Newspost Online)
  Students from OSU’s (Oklahoma State University’s) Radiation Physics Laboratory have built and successfully launched a cosmic radiation detector.

Other

• Nuclear Renaissance Having Impact on Higher Education (Media Newswire-press release)
  This field, which requires an understanding of both chemistry and radioactive materials, provides the training for various work settings.
• Germany Faces Shortage of Atomic Experts (Spiegel Online)
  Here, a radioactive waste treatment facility in France. Agreeing to phase out nuclear power is one thing. But having the technical wherewithal to carry it out, warns a group of German researchers, is quite another. 

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