Chernobyl legacy to linger long after most humans have gone

Chernobyl fallout covered the entire Northern Hemisphere

The explosion at Chernobyl nuclear power plant 26 years ago has so far claimed at least a million lives, and counting. The core meltdown, which occurred on Saturday, April 26, 1986 at reactor No. 4 of the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Station, as it was then called, left entire regions in three countries—Ukraine, Russia and Belarus—unlivable.

The long-term consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are still disputed.

Birth defects and cancer were the norm for many years following the Chernobyl disaster.  By the time  residents of Pripyat, a town located near the plant, were ordered to evacuate, about two days after the Chernobyl core meltdown had occurred, many had already been exposed to varying doses of radiation poisoning.

Consequences of the Catastrophe. Authors  Alexey Yablokov (Center for Russian Environmental Policy in Moscow), Vassily Nesterenko and Alexey Nesterenko ( Institute of Radiation Safety, Minsk, Belarus) studied about 5,000 reports and scientific  papers mostly published in Slavic languages and compiled their finding in the  book “Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment,” which was published last year on the 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl reactor core meltdown.

“For the past 23 years, it has been clear that there is a danger greater than nuclear weapons concealed within nuclear power. Emissions from this one reactor exceeded a hundred-fold the radioactive contamination of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” They wrote.

“No citizen of any country can be assured that he or she can be protected from radioactive contamination. One nuclear reactor can pollute half the globe,” the authors said. “Chernobyl fallout covers the entire Northern Hemisphere.”

According to the book, a total of about 830,000 people, referred to as the “liquidators,” were responsible for various emergency works at the Chernobyl site including fire extinguishing, decontamination and cleanup.

The authors say between 112,000 and 125,000 of the  liquidators had died by 2005.  The authors also estimate that between 1986 and 2004 some 985,000 people died as a result of Chernobyl fallout [2011 estimates are well over a million deaths.]

“Official discussions from the International Atomic Energy Agency and associated United Nations’ agencies (e.g. the Chernobyl Forum reports) have largely downplayed or ignored many of the findings reported in the Eastern European scientific literature and consequently have erred by not including these assessments.” The authors said.

Chernobyl and Other Nuclear Stats

• More than 95% of the radioactive material (180 metric tons with a radioactivity of about 18 million curies) still remains inside the Chernobyl reactor.
• The  core meltdown at Chernobyl was said to have released radiation estimated at 50 million curies. Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations said in 1995 that the meltdown had released about 140 million curies. [Researchers Alexey Yablokov, Vassily Nesterenko and Alexey Nesterenko say the radiation released from Chernobyl may have been up to 10 billion curies. In comparison, the Hiroshima bomb released about 3 million curies.]
• Immediately after the accident, 237 people suffered from acute radiation sickness, and 31 died within the first 90 days of the disaster.
• About 135,000 people were evacuated from the area surrounding the plant, including 50,000 from the town of Pripyat.
• The Academy’s  estimate for the number of casualties  are more than 90,000 deaths and more than a quarter of a million cancer cases.
• The Ukrainian National Commission for Radiation Protection calculates the number of radiation casualties at half a million  deaths so far.
• In their book, Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, published by the New York Academy of Sciences  on the 24th anniversary of the reactor core meltdown, researchers Yablokov, Nesterenko and Nesterenko maintain that about one million people have died from exposure to radiation released by the Chernobyl reactor [as of 2010 .]
• “In the former Soviet Union at least 9 million people have been effected by the accident; 2.5 million in Belarus; 3.5 million in Ukraine; and 3 million in Russia. In total over 160 000 Km2 are contaminated in the three republics.” source
• As of April 1, 2011, some 437 nuclear reactors were operating in 31 countries ( total capacity of 376 gigawatts) each of which is potentially as lethal as Chernobyl, if not worse. [The above figure may have changed due to the nuclear reactor shutdowns in Japan.]
• An estimated 56 countries operate more than 250 research reactors.
• At least 220 nuclear reactors power military ships and submarines.

Fukushima NPP

Fukushima NPP is said to contain about 4,277 tons of nuclear fuel, about 24 times as much as Chernobyl (~ 180 tons).

“The Fukushima Dai-ichi site has a considerable number of fuel rods on hand, according to information provided Thursday by Toyko Electric Power Co., which owns the atomic complex: There are 3,400 tons of fuel in seven spent fuel pools within the six-reactor plant, including one joint pool storing very old fuel from units 3 and 4. There are 877 tons in five of the reactor cores. Officials have said that the fuel in Unit 4′s reactor vessel was transferred to its spent fuel pool when the unit was temporarily shut in November.” AP reported.

On April 12, Japanese authorities raised the measure of severity of the Fukushima NPP disaster to the maximum level of 7 on INES. (See below for details.)

The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES)

The INES, a logarithmic scale, which was introduced in 1990 by the IAEA to enable prompt communication, classifies the intensity of nuclear incidents as follows:

7 – Major Accident [Chernobyl disaster, criticality accident, April 1986]

6 – Serious Accident [e.g., Kyshtym incident, Mayak, former Soviet Union, steam explosion released up to 80 tons of highly radioactive material into the atmosphere, September 1957. ]

5 – Accident With Wider Consequences [e.g., Three Mile Island accident  Pen State, U.S., partial meltdown release radioactive gases  into the environment, March 1979.]

4 – Accident With Local Consequences [e.g., Sellafield, UK, at least 5 incidents reported between 1955 to 1979]

3 – Serious Incident [e.g., Vandellos NPP, Spain, fire destroyed control systems; the reactor was shut down, July1989]

2 – Incident [e.g., Forsmark NPP, Sweden, a backup generator failed, July 2006]

1 – Anomaly [e.g., TNPC, France, 1,600 gallons of water containing 75 kilograms (170 lb) of uranium leaked into the environment,  July 2008]

0 – Deviation (No Safety Significance) — [e.g., Atucha, Argentina – Reactor shutdown caused by tritium increase in reactor encasement, December 2006.]

What is a lethal dose of radiation from a single Exposure?

Studies of the 1945 atomic bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki show that 100 percent of victims whose bodies were exposed to 600,000 millirems (6,000 mSv) died from radiation. About 50 percent of victims who received  450,000 millirems (4,500 mSv) of radiation also died.

(Note: Rem is a unit of ionizing radiation equal to the amount that produces the same damage to humans as one roentgen of high-voltage x-rays.  Source: MIT)

1 rem = 10 mSv  (1 Sv = 100 rem)

Background Radiation in millirems per year (mrem/yr)

• Average background radiation (US):  300
• Higher altitudes (e.g, Denver): 400

“Safe Levels” of Radiation (U.S.)

Limits above natural background radiation levels (average 300 millirems per year) and medical radiation:

• Occupation Limit: Maximum of 5,000  (the limit for a worker using radiation)
• Average Natural Background: 300

[Note: Lifetime cumulative exposure should be limited to a person’s age multiplied by 1,000 millirems, e.g., a 70-year-old person, 70,000 millirems.]

Adults

• Max single dose for an adult: 3,000
• Annual total dose: 5,000

Under 18

• Max single dose for a person aged under 18 years: 300 millirems (whole body equivalent)
• Annual total exposure: 500

Fetal Exposure

• Maximum limit for fetal exposure during gestation period:  50 millirems per month above background levels

Medical

• Single Chest X-ray (the whole body equivalent): 2 millirem

Air Travel

• Coast-to-coast US round trip flight: 12 millirems

*Note:  Radiation dose of about 2,000 millisieverts (200,000 millirems) cause serious illness.

Half-life of some radioactive elements

[NOTE: Half-life is the time taken for a radioactive substance to decay by half.]

• Cesium-134 ~ 2  years
• Cesium-137 ~ 30 years
• Iodine-131 ~ 8 days
• Plutonium-239 ~ 24,200 years

• Ruthenium-103 ~ 39 days [Ruthenium is a fission product of uranium-235.]
• Ruthenium-106 ~ 374 days
• Strontium-90 ~ 28.85 years  [Strontium-90 is a product of nuclear fission and is found in large amounts in spent nuclear fuel and in radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.]

• Uranium-234 ~  246,000 years
• Uranium-235 ~ 703.8  million years
• Uranium-238  ~ 4.468 billion years

Related Links

• Probability of a Nuclear Disaster – by Country
• Chernobyl: A Night to Remember!
• All is NOT Well at Chernobyl
• World’s Worst Polluted Places
• Chernobyl: The Day After

Related Links:

• Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment
• 1 Million Killed in Chernobyl Disaster

Fort Calhoun NPP Surrounded by Floodwaters, as Berm Collapses

Fort Calhoun NPP containment buildings and electrical transformers surrounded by 70cm of water, as temporary flood berm collapses

The breach in the  inflatable berm protecting the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant occurred at about 1:30 am (1:25am) local time Sunday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said.

An aerial view of Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant taken on June 16, 2011 showing the extent of flooding at the station. Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineer

Reactor shutdown cooling and spent-fuel pool cooling were unaffected, the NRC said.

The plant, operated by the Omaha Public Power District, has been off line since April for refueling.

Emergency diesel generators were activated after the breach, but normal electrical power supply was restored by Sunday afternoon, the agency said.

Containment buildings at the Fort Calhoun plant are watertight, and the reactor cooling system and spent-fuel pool cooling ponds were unaffected, NRC added.

The 2.7m (8 foot) high, 600m long inflatable flood berm surrounding the plant collapsed after being punctured by heavy equipment.

Fort Calhoun, which is about 30 km (19 miles) north of Omaha, was shut down for refueling on April 7 and has not since been restarted. It remains under the Unusual Event declared on June 6.

The 480-megawatt plant which is located north of Omaha shut down about 10 weeks ago to refuel, but has remained shut since due to flooding, according to Omaha Public Power District (OPPD).

The Fort Calhoun NPP has a single CE pressurized water reactor generating about 480 megawatts of electricity, the smallest commercial power reactor in North America.

OPPD is “a customer-owned utility,” which provides electricity to about 346,000 customers in all or parts of 13 counties in east and southeast Nebraska.

Flooding along the Missouri River to continue until mid-August

Water release from the reservoirs and dams along the Missouri River is expected to continue until at least mid-August, resulting “in near-record flooding along portions of the Missouri River.”

Probability of a Nuclear Disaster by Country

The following probability figures are calculated by FIRE-EARTH on April 8, 2011

• Japan (880)³
• United States (865)
• France (855)
• Taiwan (850)
• Belgium, China, Finland, India,  South Korea, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Armenia, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania,  Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain,  Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,  South Africa, Canada (810)
• Germany, Sweden, Netherlands (800)
• Switzerland  (750)

Notes:

1. The list represents a snapshot of events at the time of calculating the probabilities. Any forecast posted  here is subject to numerous variable factors.
2. Figures in the bracket represent the probability of an incident occurring out of 1,000; the forecast duration is valid for the next 50  months.
3. Probability includes a significant worsening of Fukushima nuclear disaster, and future quakes forecast for Japan.
4. A nuclear incident is defined as a level 5 (Accident With Wider Consequences), or worse, on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). See below.
5. Safety issues considered in compiling these lists include the age, number of units and capacity of nuclear reactors in each country/state, previous incidents, probability of damage from human-enhanced natural disasters, e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, wildfires, flooding… ]
6. The  Blog’s knowledge concerning the extent to which the factors described in (3) might worsen during the forecast period greatly influences the forecast.

(UPDATED: June 26, 2011)

External Links

• Berm Collapses at Nuclear Plant: NRC Claims No Danger
• Japanese parents fume over Fukushima radiation impact

Related Links

• FLOODING AT TWO NEBRASKA NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
• Nebraska Nuke Plant Remains Shut After Missouri River Flooding

FLOODING AT TWO NEBRASKA NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Floodwaters rising at Cooper and Fort Calhoun nuclear power plants, Nebraska

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said in a statement that is was closely watching conditions along the Missouri River where floodwaters are rising at two Nebraska nuclear power plants, the Cooper Nuclear Station and the Fort Calhoun NPP.

The lowest of four levels of emergency notification remain in effects at both plants, NRC said.

“We are closely following events at both plants,” NRC Region IV Administrator Elmo Collins said. “Both plants have activated their flood response plans and taken appropriate steps to protect vital structures, systems and components from rising floodwaters and maintain their plants in a safe condition.”

Cooper NPP, located in Brownville, Nebraska, is currently about 70 cm (two and a half feet) above current river levels, and is operating at full power. However, it remains under the ‘Unusual Event’ declared on June 19, NRC said.

Fort Calhoun, which is about 30 km (19 miles) north of Omaha, was shut down for refueling on April 7 and has not since been restarted. It remains under the Unusual Event declared on June 6.

“The NRC has augmented its inspection staff at Fort Calhoun where there is now two feet of water in many areas onsite,” the report said.

Cooper Nuclear Power Plant on the edge of the Missouri River surrounded by floodwaters on June 15, 2011. Photo: Corps of Engineers

An aerial view of Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant taken on June 16, 2011 showing the extent of flooding at the station. Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineer

Flooding along the Missouri River to continue until mid-August

Water release from the reservoirs and dams along the Missouri River is expected to continue until at least mid-August, resulting “in near-record flooding along portions of the Missouri River.”

Earlier the NWS released the following statement:

“The upper Missouri River Basin (Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota and Nebraska) has received 100 to 800 percent of normal precipitation during the past several weeks. Snow pack runoff entering the upper portion of the river system is more than twice the normal amount.

“These conditions have resulted in Missouri basin reservoirs across eastern Montana and the Dakotas nearing their maximum levels. Reservoir water release rates are expected to stay at high release levels (150,000 cfs) into August. These extremely high flows, combined with normal rainfall, will result in near-record flooding along portions of the Missouri River.”

The graphic above shows where recent river gauge forecasts are available, and are colored according to their values.  They are the most recent guidance forecasts we have issued as of the date/time stamp on the bottom of the graphic.  Orange, magenta, and red dots represent river points that are forecast to be in flood.  Yellow dots represent those which are under flood stage, but are high enough to merit some internal action (e.g., perhaps a crest forecast is issued, or a forecast is issued more frequently).  Green dots represent stages that are below the action stage and are not high enough to merit much hydrologic concern.  Gray dots mean that the status couldn’t be determined (perhaps because no forecasts for these points have been recently issued). Source: NWS Missouri Basin/ pleasant Hill

• UPPER MISSOURI RIVER – Range of peak flows …
• LOWER MISSOURI RIVER – Range of peak flows …
• Missouri Basin River Forecast Center http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mbrfc/

France

Meantime, France’s EDF has denied reports/rumors of radioactive leaks at at least two French nuclear plants since early April this year.

Probability of a Nuclear Disaster by Country

The following probability figures are calculated by FIRE-EARTH on April 8, 2011

• Japan (880)³
• United States (865)
• Taiwan (850)
• Belgium, China, France, Finland, India,  South Korea, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Armenia, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania,  Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain,  Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,  South Africa, Canada (810)
• Germany, Sweden, Netherlands (800)
• Switzerland  (750)

Notes:

1. The list represents a snapshot of events at the time of calculating the probabilities. Any forecast posted  here is subject to numerous variable factors.
2. Figures in the bracket represent the probability of an incident occurring out of 1,000; the forecast duration is valid for the next 50  months.
3. Probability includes a significant worsening of Fukushima nuclear disaster, and future quakes forecast for Japan.
4. A nuclear incident is defined as a level 5 (Accident With Wider Consequences), or worse, on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). See below.
5. Safety issues considered in compiling these lists include the age, number of units and capacity of nuclear reactors in each country/state, previous incidents, probability of damage from human-enhanced natural disasters, e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, wildfires, flooding… ]
6. The  Blog’s knowledge concerning the extent to which the factors described in (3) might worsen during the forecast period greatly influences the forecast.

Related News headlines

• NRC: “Two Feet of Water” at Fort Calhoun But Nuke PLant Still “Safe”
• “About 12,000 people are told to leave their homes, most of them in the city of Minot, as the Souris River swells to record levels. It is expected to rise 8 feet more before cresting.”
• 600 Iowans told to evacuate
• Evacuations widespread in northwest Missouri
• Residents of Craig in northwest Missouri are under orders to evacuate

Related Links

• Japan’s Nuclear Industry: Mega Disaster in the Making
• Japan Earthquakes, Disasters: Recent History and FIRE-EARTH Forecasts
• Major floods forcing evacuations from North Dakota to Missouri
• Nebraska Nuke Plant Remains Shut After Missouri River Flooding

Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment

The book is available online.  http://bit.ly/mo29TZ 

Related Links

• Chernobyl nuclear disaster: 25th anniversary
• Probability of a Nuclear Disaster – by Country
• Chernobyl: A Night to Remember!
• All is NOT Well at Chernobyl
• World’s Worst Polluted Places
• Chernobyl: The Day After

Other Related Links

• Remarks by Ralph Nader on the 25th anniversary of the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, Ukraine

Radiation Leak Found at Fukushima

Japan Nuclear Disaster Update – Apr 2

Radiation near Reactor 2 in Fukushima NPP measures 1,000 millisieverts per hour

TEPCO, operator of the crippled Fukushima NPP, has found radioactive water leaking into the sea from a cracked concrete duct near Reactor 2, NHK said.

A TEPCO employee points to the inlet of a cracked concrete duct containing power cables near Reactor 2 at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant where contaminated water,  emitting radiation at 1,000 millisieverts per hour, is  leaking into the sea, April 2, 2011. Source: TEPCO

“With radiation levels rising in the seawater near the plant, we have been trying to confirm the reason why, and in that context, this could be one source,” said deputy head of Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA).

“There could be other similar cracks in the area, and we must find them as quickly as possible.”  Mr Nishiyama added.

TEPCO  is planning to pour concrete into the duct in an attempt to stop the leak, a company spokesman was quoted as saying.

The US Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, estimated on Friday that about 70% of one reactor core and 30% of another were severely damaged. However, these figures have not been confirmed by TEPCO.

What is a lethal dose of radiation from a single Exposure?

Studies of the 1945 atomic bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki show that 100 percent of victims whose bodies were exposed to 600,000 millirems (6,000 mSv) died from radiation. About 50 percent of victims who received  450,000 millirems (4,500 mSv) of radiation also died.

(Note: Rem is a unit of ionizing radiation equal to the amount that produces the same damage to humans as one roentgen of high-voltage x-rays.  Source: MIT)

1 rem = 10 mSv  (1 Sv = 100 rem)

Background Radiation in millirems per year (mrem/yr)

• Average background radiation (US):  300
• Higher altitudes (eg. Denver): 400

“Safe Levels” of Radiation (U.S.)

Limits above natural background radiation levels (average 300 millirems per year) and medical radiation:

• Occupation Limit: Maximum of 5,000  (the limit for a worker using radiation)
• Average Natural Background: 300

[Note: Lifetime cumulative exposure should be limited to a person’s age multiplied by 1,000 millirems, e.g., a 70-year-old person, 70,000 millirems.]

Adults

• Max single dose for an adult: 3,000
• Annual total dose: 5,000

Under 18

• Max single dose for a person aged under 18 years: 300 millirems (whole body equivalent)
• Annual total exposure: 500

Fetal Exposure

• Maximum limit for fetal exposure during gestation period:  50 millirems per month above background levels

Medical

• Single Chest X-ray (the whole body equivalent): 2 millirem

Air Travel

• Coast-to-coast US round trip flight: 12 millirems

Megaquake and Tsunami Death Toll

The latest figures released by the authorities put the number of dead at about  12,000 with 16,000 people still listed as missing.

Related Links

• Japan Nuclear Disaster Update – Apr 1

• Japan Nuclear Disaster Update – March 31
• Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Update – March 30
• Tokyo Water Radiation “TOO HIGH” for Infants
• FUKUSHIMA NPP: No 4 REACTOR ON FIRE, NEW EXPLOSION ROCKS No 2

• M6.4 Shock Strikes Off Fukushima Coast
• TOKYO AREA QUAKE WARNING
  Large Earthquake Could Strike Tokyo Area – Megaqauke measuring up to 9.2Mw could strike Tokyo / Chiba Area:  FIRE-EARTH Forecast

• FIRE-EARTH Forecasts: Japan Earthquakes
  As Many as 4 Large Earthquakes [Megaquakes measuring ≥8.0] Could  Strike Japan Region by 2015

• M6.5 Aftershock Strikes Offshore Miyagi
• Significant Seismicity in Tohoku Region, Japan
• Japan Earthquakes: FIRE-EARTH Forecasts and Recent History

Chernobyl: The Day After

Chernobyl Happened Yesterday!

City of Chernobyl had managed to live for 793 years…

Reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on April 26, 1986 at about 1:00am local time.  The explosion killed at least  four plant employees instantly.

By the time  residents of Pripyat, a town located near the plant, were ordered to evacuate, about two days after the Chernobyl core meltdown had occurred, many had already been exposed to varying doses of radiation poisoning.

Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant underwent a core meltdown [center] in 1986 with disastrous consequences. This image was taken by authorities in the former Soviet Union

The Incident: A meltdown of the reactor’s core in the Chernobyl power plant killed thirty people in 1986. About 135,000 people were evacuated. It is believed that about one hundred times more radiation was released in the accident than by the atom bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Legacy: More than 4000 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed among children and adolescents between 1992 to 2002 in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Victims under 14 years were most severely affected by the elevated concentrations of radioiodine found in milk.

Incidents of skin lesions, respiratory ailments, infertility and birth defects were readily found among the more than five million people who inhabit the affected areas of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine for many years following the accident.

Disputed Facts: The above facts, however, have been disputed by a number of individuals including the author of a recent WHO report, and the retired “nukophile” British academic, James Lovelack. Local and international experts, however, have dismissed the WHO report findings. A UN report released in 2005 estimated the number of victims at just 4,000. Their figure is hotly disputed  by NGOs and independent experts.

“A report by Alexey Yablokov, Vassily Nesterenko and Alexey Nesterenko which appeared in the Annals of the New York Academy of Science showed that by 2004, there were 985,000 additional deaths worldwide caused by the nuclear disaster, including 212,000 of them within Western Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.”

The Poisoned land. Up to 5 million people continue to live on radioactive contaminated land. About 85% of the children who live in contaminated areas of Belarus today are ill, a near 6-fold increase compared to the time before the explosion (15%), according to The Belarusian National Academy of Sciences.

Chernobyl and Other Nuclear Stats

• More than 95% of the radioactive material (180 metric tons with a radioactivity of about 18 million curies) still remains inside the Chernobyl reactor.
• Immediately after the accident, 237 people suffered from acute radiation sickness, and 31 died within the first 90 days of the disaster.
• About 135,000 people were evacuated from the area surrounding the plant, including 50,000 from the town of Pripyat.
• The Academy’s  estimate for the number of casualties  are more than 90,000 deaths and more than a quarter of a million cancer cases.
• The Ukrainian National Commission for Radiation Protection calculates the number of radiation casualties at half a million  deaths so far.
• Some 436 commercial nuclear power reactors are  operating in 30 countries ( total capacity of 372,000 MWe) each of which is potentially as dangerous as Chernobyl, if not worse.
• An estimated 56 countries operate more than 250 research reactors.
• At least 220 nuclear reactors power military ships and submarines.

Related Links:

• Chernobyl: A Night to Remember!
• All is NOT Well at Chernobyl
• Indian Power Workers Drink Radioactive Water
• Obama Goes Nuclear!
• World’s Worst Polluted Places
• Three Mile Island Cats Have 9 Lives, Too?
• French Nuke Waste Plagues Siberia

–

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Democracy in Spain Mainly Falls Flat …

Nuclear Waste? YES PLEASE!

How many mad town councilors does it take to risk contaminating a region with nuke waste?

Small Spanish town of Asco in the northeastern Catalonia region, needed only a handful—seven.

Despite strong opposition from the regional government and repeated street protests by the town residents, Asco town council voted by seven votes to two to bid for a nuclear waste dump in the region.

The dump would reportedly cost about a $1 billion to erect and creates 300 jobs for less than five years.

Apparently, those stats were good enough for the the town mayor, Rafael Vidal.

“We have the opportunity to build an Asco…which will spur controversy but doubtless bring important revenues to the local economy,” Mayor said in comments broadcast on a TV channel, Reuters reported.

The president of the Catalan regional government, Jose Montilla, has already declared his objections to building a nuclear dump in Catalonia, though the region has 3 of Spain’s eight nuclear power plants.

“Catalan power stations produce 40 percent of all of Spain’s power. We’ve done our bit,” he said.

“Spent nuclear fuel in Spain is currently stored on site in power stations, but the government predicts they will begin to fill up in 2013. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has urged Spain to begin work on a purpose-built site.” Reuters reported.

Spain’s socialist govt under its Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero has promised to freeze building nuclear power plants, but will allow the existing outlets  to operate for at least 10 more years.

Related Links:

• Indian Power Workers Drink Radioactive Water
• Three Mile Island Cats Have 9 Lives, Too?

Indian Power Workers Drink Radioactive Water

Water Glows at Kaiga Nuke Plant, India

Tritium Leaked into Drinking Water at India’s 660 MW Kaiga Nuclear Plant

Indian authorities revealed that radioactive substance had leaked into drinking water at a nuclear power plant in southwest India.

Officials at the high-security nuclear power plant in Kaiga, near Bangalore, said the leak may have been deliberate. – Photo: AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Radioactive tritium leaked into a water cooler at Kaiga nuclear power plant in Uttar Kannada district in Karnataka, exposing at least 55 workers who drank the contaminated water to high doses of radiation.

The authorities at the plant in Kaiga claimed that the leak in high-security plant may have been deliberate. Kaiga nuclear power plant  is located on the southwest coast of India about 450 km from Bangalore.

“Mischief is not ruled out. Investigations are on,” the director of the plant, J.P. Gupta, told Reuters.

The workers were reportedly back at the plant, Gupta said. “This incident has (in) no way affected (the) public, safety, health and environment.”

The dead fish may tell a different story, however.

Later, the Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar, reportedly speaking on the national TV, called the incident “an act of sabotage” and blamed it on “an insider who has played mischief.”

Kaiga plant was closed in October for “routine maintenance,” but will  reopen soon, the authorities said.

XXX
Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant Location Map.

India’s Nuclear Power Industry:

Nuclear power is India’s fourth-largest source of electricity, preceded by thermal (fossil fuels), hydro and renewable sources. India’s existing 17 nuclear power plants generate about 4,120 MW of electricity with at least 6 other under construction with a projected capacity of about 3,160 MW.

India’s Electricity Generation Capacity (MW) by Type of Power Plants. Date: 31 December 2008. Source of Data:  India Ministry of Power – CEA. Chart by FEWW.

India’s Nuclear Power Plants

• Tarapur Atomic Power Station, Tarapur, Maharashtra
• Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, Rawatbhata, Rajasthan
• Madras Atomic Power Station, Kalpakkam, Tamilnadu
• Narora Atomic Power Station, Narora, Uttar Pradesh
• Kakrapar Atomic Power Station, Kakrapar, Gujarat
• Kaiga Atomic Power Station, Kaiga, Karnataka
• Jaitapur nuclear power project — Maharashtra
• Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
• Mumbai — Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

Related Links:

• Murphy’s law has no time vector!
• Three Mile Island Cats Have 9 Lives, Too?
• Nation marks 25 years of non-stop cover-up of Three Mile Island nuclear accident

• French Nuke Waste Plagues Siberia
• Mafia Solves Nuclear Waste Problem
• All is NOT Well at Chernobyl
• Fish, Fish Eggs Holocaust
• Another fire at TEPCO nuclear plant

• This’s Got to Be the Year of Radioactive, Chemical and Oil Spills, Too!
• Another Hole in Areva’s Nuclear Cheese
• French Water!
• Radioactive Leak at TEPCO Unit Near Tokyo
• World’s Worst Polluted Places

Three Mile Island Cats Have 9 Lives, Too?

Or will it be third time unlucky for the TMI puss?

Radiation leak at TMI, home of the worst U.S. nuclear power disaster: No threat to public health and safety

Those of us who are old enough to remember the 1979 near complete core meltdown at Unit 2 of  TMI, or smart enough to have carefully studied the case of the nuclear industry’s Titanic, are probably also familiar with the routine cover-up the goes on within the nuclear power industry.

Nuclear energy is unsafe and UNNECESSARY. The answer to the US and world energy problems is in the new kind of economy and lifestyle.

Three Mile Island (TMI), on the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On the right is mothballed Unit 2, which almost completely melted down in 1979, and is now is owned by FirstEnergy. Unit 1, to the left, is owned and operated by a subsidiary of Exelon Corp. Image and Caption [dated March 28, 2004]: Ohio Citizen Action

TORONTO, CANADA — “In May, 1983, my father-in-law, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, told me that at the time of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor accident, a full report was commissioned by President Jimmy Carter. He [my father-in-law] said that the report, if published in its entirety, would have destroyed the civilian nuclear power industry because the accident at Three Mile Island was infinitely more dangerous than was ever made public. He told me that he had used his enormous personal influence with President Carter to persuade him to publish the report only in a highly ‘diluted’ form. The President himself had originally wished the full report to be made public. In November, 1985, my father-in-law told me that he had come to deeply regret his action in persuading President Carter to suppress the most alarming aspects of that report,” Jane Rickover, sworn statement, July 18, 1986. Source

The following News Release was issued by Exelon Corp the operators of TMI

Exelon Corp News Release: No threat to public health and safety (Nov. 21, 2009)

About 150 employees working inside the shutdown Three Mile Island Unit 1 containment building were sent home about 4:00 p.m. EST Saturday after an airborne radiological contamination alarm inside the reactor building sounded.

The unit has been shut down since Oct. 26 for refueling, maintenance and steam generator replacement.

No contamination was found outside of the containment building. Radiological surveys showed that the contamination was confined to surfaces inside the containment building.

The event posed no threat to public health and safety.

A monitor at the temporary opening cut into the containment building wall to allow the new steam generators to be moved inside showed a slight increase in a reading and then returned to normal. Two other monitors displayed normal readings.  Full Text

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Chernobyl: A Night to Remember!

Image of the Day: Memorial for firefighters who died from the Chernobyl meltdown

A man holds a candle at a memorial dedicated to firefighters who died from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, during a night service in the city of Slavutych, Ukraine April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• All is NOT Well at Chernobyl

All is NOT Well at Chernobyl

Chernobyl Spin Nuked

Anyone who tells you animal populations are rebounding around the the Chernobyl, all is well at the site of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant which underwent a meltdown in 1986, and that nuclear energy is green and safe, is either a pathological liar, or has a personal stake in the industry. FEWW

Chernobyl animals worse affected than thought: study

Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:01pm EDT
By Nick Vinocur

LONDON (Reuters) – Radiation has affected animals living near the site of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear disaster far more than was previously thought, a study showed Wednesday, challenging beliefs that local wildlife was on the rebound.

The study showed that numbers of bumble-bees, butterflies, spiders, grasshoppers and other invertebrates were lower in contaminated sites than other areas because of high levels of radiation left over from the blast more than 20 years ago.

The findings challenge earlier research that suggested animal populations were rebounding around the site of the Chernobyl explosion in Ukraine, which forced thousands to abandon their homes and evacuate the area.

Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant underwent a core meltdown [center] in 1986 with disastrous consequences. This image was taken by authorities in the former Soviet Union.

Estimates of the number of deaths directly related to the accident vary. The World Health Organization estimates the figure at 9,000 while the environmental group Greenpeace predicts an eventual death toll of 93,000.

“We were amazed to see that there had been no studies on this subject,” Anders Moller, a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research in France, who led the study, said in telephone interview.

“Ours was the first study to focus on the abundance of animal populations.”

Researchers said they had compared animal populations in radioactive areas with less contaminated plots and found that some were nearly completed depleted of animal life.

“There are areas with an abundance of 100 animals per square meter,” Moller said. “And then there are areas with less than one specimen per square meter on average; the same goes for all groups of species.”

The researchers also found that animals living near the Chernobyl reactor — which was covered in a protective shell after it exploded in April 1986 — had more deformities, including discoloration and stunted limbs, than normal.

“Usually (deformed) animals get eaten quickly, as it’s hard to escape if your wings are not the same length,” Moller said. “In this case we found a high incidence of deformed animals.”

The findings challenge the view of Chernobyl as ecologically sound, despite the fact that Ukrainian officials have turned it into a nature reserve, with wolves, bison and bears.

Earlier research into the area ignored the fact that animal populations had grown unimpeded in the absence of humans for many years after the blast, Moller said.

“We wanted to ask the question: Are there more or fewer animals in the contaminated areas? Clearly there were fewer,” said Moller, who has worked on Chernobyl since 1991.

While researchers focused on the 30 kilometer radius around the Chernobyl reactor, the fallout from the explosion covered a vast swathe of Eastern Europe, including parts of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

The findings probably apply to those areas as well, Moller said, adding that any decontamination effort was unlikely due to the extent of the fallout. Copyright Reuters.

Radioactive Leak at TEPCO Unit Near Tokyo

TEPCO Leak Caused by Earthquake?

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the world’s biggest private electric power company, discovered a small leakage of radioactive water within one of its nuclear units north of Tokyo on Thursday.

The utility has not ruled out whether a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 that shook the area early Thursday morning had caused the leakage of contaminated water.

The leak, TEPCO said, had “no environmental impact” outside of the nuclear power plant.

A map of Japan showing Thursday’s magnitude 6.7 earthquake’s epicenter north of Tokyo (Photo: AFP) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice. The quake was one of a series of strong quakes that hit in the Pacific Ocean off Ibaraki prefecture, about 100 km northeast of Tokyo.

Related Links:

• Strong earthquakes hit Japan

• Japan admits greater nuclear leak (2007)
• Water leak at Japan nuclear plant (2006)
  
• Four workers die in Japanese nuclear plant accident (2004)
• Japan Energy Scan 2002
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• Radioactive News : Radioactive History Database