web analytics

Information Directory

Reference Directory

August 25, 2016 – Press Pieces

On August 25th, 2016, posted in: Latest News, Press Pieces

August 25, 2016- Trend News Agency – Turkey ratifies agreement with China on atomic energy – Turkey has ratified an agreement with China on use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, the Official Gazette (Resmi Gazete) reported Aug. 25. The agreement signed in Beijing between Turkey and China in 2012, has been ratified by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Earlier, Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said that three nuclear power plants will be built in the country.

August 25, 2016 – Bloomberg – FBI Files Say China Firm Pushed U.S. Experts for Nuclear Secrets – A state-owned Chinese power company under indictment in the U.S. pressed American nuclear consultants for years to hand over secret technologies and documents they weren’t supposed to disclose — and in some cases it got them, several of the consultants have told the FBI. Summaries of the consultants’ interviews with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were filed this month in a federal court where the company, China General Nuclear Power Corp., has been charged with conspiring to steal nuclear technology. The FBI documents surfaced shortly after the same company became a focus of concerns across the Atlantic: The U.K. last month delayed approval of the country’s biggest nuclear power station in a generation as questions swirled about whether China General Nuclear’s investment in the plant poses a security risk.

August 25, 2016 – Unioversity of California – MRI scans may be able to diagnose CTE in living patients – UCLA doctors have found what may be an earlier and easier way to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a disorder that is thought to affect some former football players and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. Using a new software tool for analyzing MRI scans, the researchers detected the shrinkage of several key brain regions in a former football player with cognitive problems. The same pattern of brain changes is commonly seen in CTE cases that have been confirmed by autopsies after a person’s death. While the findings from this single case report are preliminary, they raise the possibility that MRI scans could be used to diagnose CTE and related conditions in living people. At present, CTE can be diagnosed only by direct examination of the brain during an autopsy.

August 25, 2016 – News24 Nigeria – The link between uranium from the DRC and Hiroshima: a story of twin tragedies – On August 6 – Hiroshima Day – I participated in a groundbreaking event at the South African Museum in Cape Town entitled The Missing Link: Peace and Security Surrounding Uranium. The event had been organised by the Congolese Civil Society of South Africa to put a spotlight on the link between Japan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): that the uranium used to build the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima came from the Shinkolobwe mine in the province of Katanga. This was the richest uranium in the world. Its ore had an average of 65% uranium oxide compared with American or Canadian ore, which contained less than 1%. The mine is now closed, but its existence put it at the centre of the Manhattan Project in the second world war. The Congo was a Belgian colony at the time and the Congolese suffered from the harsh colonial reality of racism, segregation and extreme inequities.

August 25, 2016 – Space Daily – NIST’s compact gyroscope may turn heads – Shrink rays may exist only in science fiction, but similar effects are at work in the real world at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). After successfully miniaturizing both clocks and magnetometers based on the properties of individual atoms, NIST physicists have now turned to precision gyroscopes, which measure rotation. The NIST team has demonstrated a compact atomic gyroscope design that could, with further development, be portable, low power, and accurate enough to be used for navigation. Gyroscopes, traditionally based on mechanical components that spin or vibrate, are common in navigation applications and are increasingly used in consumer electronics such as smartphones. The new NIST device might find uses in applications requiring ultra-precise navigation with extreme size, weight and power limits, such as on spacecraft or submarines.

August 25, 2016 – Independent Enterprise – Idaho home to outstanding nuclear research – I had the opportunity recently to join with fellow Idaho Senator Jim Risch in honoring Idaho National Laboratory (INL) researchers Dr. Terry Todd and Dr. Mark DeHart, who were recently recognized as Fellows by the American Nuclear Society. Senator Risch and I submitted a Congressional Record Statement acknowledging this achievement in the official record of the U.S. Senate. Their accomplishments are a reminder of the excellent work conducted at the lab, and the exemplary Idahoans working daily, in a broad range of occupations, to make important advancements.

August 25, 2016 – KOLO TV 8 – Nevada radon poster contest open to students – Nevada students are invited to showcase their artistic talents and promote radon awareness by entering the 2017 Nevada Radon Poster Contest, offered by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Radon Education Program. The contest ends Oct. 31. The contest is open to all children ages 9 to 14 years old enrolled in public, private, territorial, tribal, Department of Defense and home schools. Children can also enter through a sponsoring group, such as art, computer, library, reading, science, scouting, youth or 4-H clubs.

August 25, 2016 – Deccan Chronicle – Mumbai safe from mobile tower radiations: DoT – In a recent joint effort to analyse electromagnetic frequency emissions (EMF), noted telecom experts and doctors found out mobile towers in Mumbai were safe from radiation, and well within prescribed limits in India. A team of experts led by officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) tested telecom tower sites at Baldota Bhawan, Jolly Bhawan 2 and Haji Ali Juice centre and measured EMF emission levels across these areas and stated that all towers were safe, substantiated by the low levels of radiation that showed up in the tests. The average radiation from three towers inspected in Mumbai was 9.14 per cent of the limits set by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT); well within the prescribed limits.

August 25, 2016 – Community Financial News – ViewRay Inc. (VRAY) Director David P. Bonita Buys 1,138,074 Shares – ViewRay logoViewRay Inc. (NASDAQ:VRAY) Director David P. Bonita purchased 1,138,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.95 per share, for a total transaction of $3,357,318.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. ViewRay, Inc designs, manufactures and markets MRIdian, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided radiation therapy system to image and treat cancer patients simultaneously. The Company offers radiation therapy technology combined with magnetic resonance imaging. MRIdian integrates MRI technology, radiation delivery and the Company’s software to locate, target and track the position and shape of soft-tissue tumors while radiation is delivered.

August 25, 2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat – Rouhani Hit by Arrest of Official in Nuclear Negotiations Team – London-Doubts gathered steam on Wednesday concerning the arrest of the financial official in the Iranian nuclear negotiation team, Abdol Rasul Dori Esfahani, who is accused of spying for western states, at a time when the Iranian Foreign Ministry had denied for the second time in the past 72 hours “claims” about his detention. Numerous websites close to the Revolutionary Guards had spoken about the details of the arrest and the identity of Esfahani, confirming he holds a second nationality of Great Britain. Local reports also revealed that the detainee was an employee at the U.S. Treasury Committee, who had returned from the U.S. in 1979 to work at the Iranian Defense Ministry, and had become responsible of the Iranian money seized in the U.S.

August 25, 2016 – All Africa – South Africa: Nuclear Site Licence Applications Above Board – Eskom says it has complied with the set regulations in its application for nuclear plants in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape. “Eskom has complied with the process of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) in its application for the Nuclear Installation Site Licence (NISL) in Thyspunt [in the Eastern Cape] and Duynesfontein [in the Western Cape]. “Eskom takes exception to OUTA’s misinformed campaign that alleges Eskom is trying to rush through the process,” said the power utility on Wednesday.

August 25, 2016 – Plymouth Herald – Plymouth scientist warns of radiation risk to sea life – Radioactivity and warming seas could make the seas near the proposed Hinkley Point nuclear power station more dangerous for marine creatures, a Plymouth scientist warns. EDF, which will build the Somerset power station if Theresa May, the Prime Minister, gives the green light, already has an Environment Agency permit to release water containing tritium into the seawater. Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen, found naturally in small doses, and at much higher levels in nuclear power stations’ cooling water.

August 25, 2016 – Real Clear Energy – Nuclear Waste: Human Danger or Hidden Opportunity – Some day in the near future, the first of many loads of the most toxic industrial waste ever known will be transported secretly by truck or rail, inevitably past populated areas, to a facility buried deep in a dry, geologically stable rock formation. Once filled, the facility itself – along with others to follow around the world – will have to be kept off-limits to humans and animals for at least 100,000 years. For decades, chlorine-36, neptunium-237, and other nuclear energy byproducts – some with a half-life of over 2 million years – have been accumulating at power plants and temporary holding depots on almost every continent, with responsible officials knowing something more permanent would eventually have to be done. The New Mexico-based Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, for the disposal of weapons-related radioactive material, became operational in 1999, and pressure is growing to similarly confine civilian waste.

August 25, 2016 – Daily Tar Heel – Q&A with joint professor David McNelis on using nuclear energy – How is nuclear energy currently used in North Carolina? DAVID MCNELIS: We have five nuclear plants in North Carolina and they produce about 36 percent, roughly, of the electricity that we use. RELATED CONTENT Hearing delayed in Duke Energy coal ash settlement BENJI SCHWARTZ 5 HOURS AGO Trump campaign switches North Carolina director amid controversy CAROLINE METZLER 5 HOURS AGO Graduate assistants at Duke, other universities granted collective bargaining rights DANIELLE CHEMTOB 6 HOURS AGO NC scientists pitch in to help fight spread of Zika virus KENT MCDONALD 08/24/16 12:52AM NC Senate race heats up with challenger Deborah Ross SAM KILLENBERG 08/24/16 12:57AM DTH: How does North Carolina compare to other states in using and developing nuclear energy? DM: So about 20 percent of the electricity (in the U.S.) comes from nuclear power. And like I said, in North Carolina we’re about 35 percent so, on the average, we have more electricity coming from nuclear power.

August 25, 2016 – Aiken Standard – MOX responds to Nuclear Regulatory Commission about construction violations – AREVA MOX Services, project management contractor for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, or MOX, delivered a response letter after receiving official notification of construction violations. In a letter dated July 25, 2016, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, notified MOX of violations connected to installation of ledgers. They were said to be undersized, less than specified length, undercut and had code prohibited joint design. The ledgers are structural installations designed to support floor panels in a number of operations rooms. Due to the sensitive nature of MOX operations, details about operations were not made available. The MOX plutonium disposition project has been a hot-button item for politicians and nuclear watchdogs and is the crux of a lawsuit filed by South Carolina against the U.S. Department of Energy. In attempts to shutter the project, the Obama Administration has called construction past deadline and over budget.

August 25, 2016 – Becker Hospital Review – Power plant tax dispute risks shuttering Texas community hospital: 5 things to know – Efforts by Dallas-based electric company Luminant to drive down its property taxes are putting Glen Rose (Texas) Medical Center at financial risk, according to a report from Texas Observer, an investigative newspaper. Here are five things to know about the situation, based on the Texas Observer report. 1. Luminant is currently embroiled in a legal battle over the valuation of several of its coal and nuclear power plants. The plant nearest GRMC is the Glen Rose-based Comanche Peak nuclear power plant, which was valued at $2.4 billion by the local appraisal district in 2015. Luminant sued, claiming the facility was only worth $450 million. A judge upheld the local appraisal district’s valuation in March, but the electric utility appealed and the case is back in the courts, according to the report. 2. While the dispute is being ironed out in the courts, by state law Luminant only has to pay property taxes on its $450 million valuation of Comanche Peak. Because the nuclear plant accounts for 80 percent of the community’s property taxes, this is putting significant financial strain on Somervell County government, school district and the community hospital, according to the report.

August 25, 2016 – KABCC – Cleanup Bill at Nuke Waste Dump Could Rival Three Mile Island – An explosion at a nuclear waste dump in New Mexico two years ago is now looking like what might be one of the most expensive cleanups in US history, the Los Angeles Times reports. Long-term damage was far greater than federal officials let on after a drum filled with radioactive waste blew up at the nation’s only underground dump near Carlsbad in February 2014, a Times investigation finds, and the bill could top $2 billion-rivaling the cleanup after nation’s worst nuclear accident at Three Mile island in 1979. And with the New Mexico dump still offline, thousands of tons of radioactive waste are sitting in other states, delaying processing and angering local officials. “There is no question the Energy Department has downplayed the significance of the accident,” Don Hancock of the watchdog group Southwest Research and Information Center, told the Times.

August 25, 2016 – Grand Canyon News – Air Quality permit renewals for Grand Canyon uranium mines cause concern – On Aug. 15, environmental groups asked the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to deny air permits for three uranium mines near Grand Canyon and to continue monitoring an inactive mine. According to the Grand Canyon Trust, Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, the mines are located within watersheds (surface and ground) that drain directly into Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) and threaten water, air and resources of the greater Grand Canyon eco-region, including soil, wildlife, sacred American Indian sites and the health of people exposed to the heavy metals.