August 30, 2016 – Lower Hudson News – NY’s heat waves test electric power grid, but not nuclear energy – With temperatures soaring into the upper 90s and suffocating humidity pushing heat indices upwards of 110 degrees, New Yorkers are doing anything they can to stay cool this summer. Senior citizen centers, Salvation Army branches and even libraries are transformed into cooling shelters, where people huddle in front of air conditioners to get relief. Swimmers flock to the city’s public pools and beaches, grateful for extended hours. As New York residents brace for the extreme heat – so does its electric grid. Con Edison has repeatedly asked people to forgo doing laundry, to close blinds and to turn off lights. The company has even reduced voltage in several key neighborhoods to make sure electricity demand can be met.

August 30, 2016 – Santa Fe New Mexican – Workers at WIPP practice handling nuclear waste – Workers at the nation’s only underground nuclear waste repository are undergoing training as they prepare to handle radioactive waste for the first time since a leak shut down the New Mexico facility two years ago. Department of Energy experts kept an eye on radiation control technicians and waste handlers during the exercise last week at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, and workers wore a layer of protective clothing, the Current-Argus newspaper in Carlsbad reported Friday. An inappropriately packed container of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory ruptured and contaminated part of the facility in February 2014. The closure derailed cleanup at federal sites around the nation, and recovery is costing the Energy Department hundreds of millions of dollars.

August 30, 2016 – Victoria Harbor Times – Fleurieu protesters stand against nuclear storage – “Nuclear waste, what a disgrace,” was chanted loud and clear by more than 100 participants in the Walk Against Nuclear Waste Importation as they gathered on the steps of the Willunga Hub on August 24. Inside was a consultation team who welcomed the walkers with feedback forms and Know Nuclear information packs, taking an opportunity to inform the community about what the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission recommendation on storing international radioactive waste. “The proposal before us is an economic one: $5.5 billion per annum, $445 billion over the life of the facility,” said John Phalen, Director, Engagement, Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission Consultation and Response Agency. “What we are asking people to do is examine the opportunity,” he said.

August 30, 2016 – Oil Voice – Eiffel Towers in the North Sea – Shell’s decommissioning plans another Brent Spar PR disaster? – Shell is preparing to start the decommissioning of its four gigantic oil platforms in the famous Brent field in the Scottish part of the North Sea – a huge undertaking. Unfortunately, write Professor Alex Russell of the Oil Industry Finance Association and Professor Peter Strachan of Robert Gordon University, the company plans to dismantle only the topsides of the platforms. It wants to leave the Eiffel-tower sized legs, including 64 giant storage cells at the base of these structures, in place. They will take hundreds of years to disintegrate. Russell and Strachan call on the UK government and other North Sea governments to call a halt to these plans. They also demand that the Scottish government will have a say in the project. Fancy a night or two in a police cell? If so, change your car oil, mix it up with mud, add some carcinogenic radioactive sludge and a menu of other waste products, wrap it in concrete, and then dump it in the North Sea. And when you are undergoing questioning by Mi5 to ensure you are not a terrorist, tell them the concrete is thick enough to last 1000 years and there’s nothing to worry about!

August 30, 2016 – RegistrarDaily – Global Radiological Detection Equipment Market 2016 – Global Radiological Detection Equipment Market 2016The Global Radiological Detection Equipment Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Radiological Detection Equipment industry. Firstly, Radiological Detection Equipment Market report provides a basic overview of the Radiological Detection Equipment industry including definitions, classifications, applications and Radiological Detection Equipment industry chain structure. Global Radiological Detection Equipment Market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, Radiological Detection Equipment industry competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status on Radiological Detection Equipment Market scenario.

August 30, 2016 – Manilla Times – DOE sees nuke energy potential – The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking at the viability of nuclear energy as the Philippines intensifies its electrification programs amid increasing population and strong economic growth. DOE data showed that demand for electricity is expected to grow by an average of 5 percent per year until 2030, or around 126 terrawatthours (TWh) from the 2015 level of 82 TWh. “To meet this requirement, we have to weigh all our options, with emphasis not just on meeting capacity requirements, but sustainability and environmental obligations as well,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said on Tuesday during the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Conference on the Prospects of Nuclear Power in the Asia-Pacific Region. “Given its known characteristics, nuclear technology can be a viable choice for the country. We are told that on a [level]basis, nuclear power is an economical source, high on productivity and reliability, and low on costs and emissions. It is also said that the nuclear infrastructure and system is more cost-efficient in the long-term,” Cusi noted.

August 30, 2016 – Photonics.com – Testing the Limits of Excimer Lasers: Annealing for Advanced Displays – Low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) is increasingly used as the thin-film transistor material on the glass backplanes of high-performance displays, particularly for smartphones. These thin films are fabricated on large glass panels that then are singulated into hundreds of individual screens. Mass production of LTPS on these panels is uniquely enabled by excimer lasers, moreover excimer lasers with extremely high pulse energies. These high pulse energies are needed in order to reach the requisite high process threshold intensity over a large area. There is a fast-growing interest in extending LTPS to process larger area panels for several reasons: greater economy of scale, better and brighter mobile LCD screens, and the adoption of active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) smartphones and tablets. But as processes evolve to support ever-larger panels, new requirements are placed on the ultrapowerful excimer systems and the associated beam delivery and beam shaping optics used in the process. In what follows, the authors examine why excimer systems (laser, optics and internal diagnostics) are using modular architecture to deliver higher and higher energies with improved pulse-to-pulse stability and beam uniformity. For display manufacturers this means faster process throughput (screens per minute) and even better process consistency.

August 30, 2016 – Neonnettle – Russia Launched A Complete Ban Microwave Ovens, Here’s Why – The Health hazards of microwave food seems to go generally unchecked in the west, but a study in Berlin dating back to 1942 found some disturbing results, so much so it lead Russia to launch a complete ban in 1976. The ban was lifted, not because of a green light for health, but because the country needed to promote free trade with the west – so the problems still exist today and Russia still issues warnings for microwaves and cell phones.

August 30, 2016 – Belleville News Democrat – Don’t Miss This: Stereotactic radiosurgery now available in metro-east – Two metro-east radiation oncologists are tailoring cancer treatments for their patients and offering radiation technology that was once available only at cancer treatment centers in St. Louis. The cancer treatment — stereotactic radiosurgery — has proven effective, according to Dr. Jason Lee and Dr. Susan Laduzinsky, radiation oncologists at the Memorial and St. Elizabeth’s Cancer Treatment Center in Swansea. Stereotactic radiosurgery is a highly precise form of radiation therapy initially developed to treat small brain tumors and functional abnormalities of the brain. However, Laduzinsky said the technology can be used to treat a variety of cancerous lesions, including in the brain, lungs, prostate and liver.

August 30, 2016 – PhysOrg – MEPhI tests detector prototypes for future experiments at Large Hadron Collider – In June and July 2016, a group of young scientists at MEPhI tested detector prototypes for future experiments at the Large Hadron Collider with the participation of colleagues from LPI (Russia), MSU (Russia), the University of Bonn (Germany) and the University of Bari (Italy). The prototypes should accomplish the division of various particles, including protons and kaons, at energies of several teraelectron volts (TeV). A sharp growth in high-energy particle production in proton collisions on the LHC is connected with increased energy of colliding particle beams. Since 2015, the collision energy on the accelerator has grown up to 13 TeV. Together with the decrease of the interval between collisions, this change should expand the horizons of existing research up to the scale of energies and conditions achievable only during the Big Bang.

August 30, 2016 – Pollstarpro.com – Nuke Festival Canceled – Nuke festival was to take place Sept. 3, in Graz, Austria. Promoter Arcadia Live spoke of an “ill-starred” festival season. The “summer of 2016 was a tough one from a promoter’s perspective, and we weren’t spared,” an official statement cancelling the event translates. Nuke relaunched last year after a five-year break from 2010-2014. Since 1999 it had taken place at different sites, starting out at the unused nuclear power plant in Zwentendorf, which gave the festival its name. Arcadia Live took over the festival in 2015, attracting some 25,000 visitors. This year, Fritz Kalkbrenner, AnnenMayKantereit and German rap veterans Die Fantastischen Vier were on the bill.

August 30, 2016 – Energy Business Review – NPCIL’s second 1GW unit at Kudankulam nuclear plant in India connected to grid – The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has synchronized the unit 2, with 1GW capacity, at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KNPP) located in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, a state in India, to the grid. The unit, which achieved criticality on July 2016, has been synchronized to the southern power grid situated at Abhishekapatti. Currently generating 245MW of power, the unit 2 synchronization follows completion of several successful tests and also received approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). Power generated by the power plant will be supplied to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Pondicherry.

August 30, 2016 – Middle East Monitor – Iran deploys defence system to protect its nuclear facilities – Iran has deployed S-300 surface-to-air missile defence system which it received from Russia, at its Fordow nuclear facility, Iran’s state TV reported. The TV aired a video report showing the S-300 rockets. “Our main priority is to protect Iran’s nuclear facilities under any circumstances,” the Commander of the Iranian Air Defence Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said. “Today, Iran’s sky is one of the most secure in the Middle East.”

August 30, 2016 – Inquirer.net – Pimentel: Law needed before gov’t pursues nuclear energy – Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Tuesday it is preferable for the Philippine government to pass a law first before constructing nuclear power plants. “Wala po tayong problema dyan but because of the huge expenditure involved, plus the controversial nature of the decision, I believe we need a law to be in place before we can pursue a nuclearization of our energy sector,” Pimentel said at the sidelines of the Conference on the prospects of nuclear power in the Asia-Pacific region.

August 30, 2016 – Power-Technology.com – AEOI to commence construction of nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran – The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) expects to commence construction of its second nuclear power plant in Bushehr in October. AhlulBayt News Agency quoted AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying: “We try to start construction of the next nuclear power plant in Bushehr within the next one and a half months.” Being constructed by Rosatom, the facility is expected to be in operation by October 2024. Sputnik reported Rosatom intends to launch the plant’s third unit by 2026. The first nuclear plant in the province commenced operations in 2011 and achieved full capacity in 2012.

August 30, 2016 – KVOA Tucson – Utility wants New Mexico regulators to act on rate request – New Mexico’s largest electric provider wants state regulators to act on a proposed rate increase rather than delay a decision with more hearings. Public Service Co. of New Mexico filed a response Monday with the state Public Regulation Commission, saying extensive testimony and exhibits submitted over the course of the yearlong case provide enough information for commissioners to make a decision. The commission last week indicated it would reopen hearings if PNM agreed to provide more information regarding transactions related to an Arizona nuclear power plant and pollution controls at its coal-fired plant in northwestern New Mexico.

August 30, 2016 – Reuters – Philippines may open mothballed Marcos-era nuclear power plant – The Philippines is looking into operating the country’s only nuclear power plant, built four decades ago at more than $2 billion but never used, to ensure the long-term supply of clean and cheap electricity, its energy minister said. The Southeast Asian country is joining more than two dozen other countries looking to add nuclear power to their energy mix, including neighbors Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said on Tuesday reviving the mothballed 620-megawatt nuclear plant in Bataan province, northwest of Manila, will require a $1 billion investment. Nuclear generation is one of the options for the Philippines to meet its growing power needs, with annual electricity demand expected to rise by an average 5 percent until 2030, he said.

August 30, 2016 – Power Engineering International – De Rivaz urges UK government to back Hinkley nuclear – Vincent de Rivaz, the chief executive of EDF, has used a newspaper article to appeal to the British government to grant approval to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. A decision is due in a matter of weeks following Prime Minister Theresa May’s time out to consider the deal in greater detail. There has been much negative publicity in the media about the strike price agreed for the plant’s power, it being deemed too expensive. “Hinkley Point will have a lasting impact on our industrial capacity and will create thousands of jobs and hundreds of apprenticeships. Billions of pounds will be invested into the economy of south-west of England. Across Britain, dozens of companies and our own workforce are ready to deliver this project. Their motivation remains high and they are looking forward to getting on with the job.”

August 30, 2016 – Daily Post North Wales – Theresa May urged to show Wylfa Newydd commitment by nuclear boss – Prime Minister Theresa May has been urged to show her commitment to Wylfa Newydd. Hitachi is concerned that Theresa May might pull the plug on the project after her surprise last-minute decision to call in the Hinkley Point project for review. Now they have asked her to release a statement on the Government’s position on the multi-billion pound nuclear project on Anglesey. Talking to the Sunday Times, Horizon’s chief executive Duncan Hawthorne said: “We’ve spent £1.2bn on this project that we may never see again if we don’t get a successful conclusion.

August 30, 2016 – International Business Times – North Korea reportedly setting up special military units with ‘nuclear backpacks’ – The North Korean military is reportedly setting up special military units which carry “nuclear backpacks”. Top performing North Korean soldiers are claimed to be handpicked from several military divisions to form the special battalion-sized units. A North Korean source, who knows about the developments, told Radio Free Asia (RFA): “Outstanding soldiers were selected from each reconnaissance platoon and light infantry brigade to form the nuclear pack unit the size of a battalion.” Pyongyang is thought to have been building this division since March 2016. It is close to impossible to independently verify any of this information in the highly isolated and secretive country.

August 30, 2016 – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Suit seeks to block nuclear waste from trucking through Western Pa. – Approximately 150 truckloads of unstable, liquid nuclear waste may soon roll from Canada through Western Pennsylvania on Interstate 79, unless a federal lawsuit by seven environmental organizations stops them. The lawsuit, against the U.S. Department of Energy, claims that the first-ever long-distance shipment of weapons-grade enriched uranium in liquid form is very dangerous. The suit also claims that the department failed to conduct a required environmental impact study, circumvented public notice and comment requirements, and didn’t consider safer alternative waste disposal options. The suit, filed Aug. 12 in Washington, D.C., seeks an injunction to stop the waste shipments, which will originate from the Chalk River Laboratories in southeast Ontario and travel 1,100 miles to the DOE’s Savannah River Site, near Aiken, S.C., for reprocessing and recycling.

August 30, 2016 – Los Alamos Daily Post – NNSA Announces Elimination Of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) From Indonesia – The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), Indonesian Nuclear Industry, LLC (PT INUKI), the National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN), and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (BAPETEN) of the Republic of Indonesia announced the completion of a collaborative effort to down-blend Indonesia’s stocks of highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU). With the completion of this operation, Indonesia becomes the 30th country plus Taiwan to be declared free of HEU (defined as possessing less than 1 kilogram of HEU in-country), joining fellow Southeast Asian countries Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines in working with DOE/NNSA to eliminate all of its weapon-usable nuclear material. With this most recent milestone, the entire region of Southeast Asia is now free of HEU.

August 30, 2016 – Public News Service – N.M. Nuclear Safety Group Blasts Results of Government Reports – A local nuclear safety group is speaking out after four government reports released in August on the country’s nuclear stockpile show management issues, delays and cost overruns at eight labs across the country, including two in New Mexico. The audit reports from the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Energy’s Inspector General were part of a program which will spend a trillion dollars over the next 30 years to modernize the nation’s nuclear weapons. Joni Arends, executive director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety in Santa Fe, questioned the need for such a massive investment in nuclear technology. “The Department of Energy and its contractors want to move forward with programs that will provide profit to the private corporations that run the Department of Energy sites such as Los Alamos National Laboratory or Lockheed Martin at Sandia National Laboratory,” Arends said.

August 30, 2016 – Tri-City Herald – CH2M Hill adds 300 employees, takes on more Hanford work – About 300 Hanford workers become employees of CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. or its subcontractors Aug. 29. After 11 years, Hanford Washington Closure is wrapping up its contract at the Hanford nuclear reservation at the end of September and has done its last work in the field. At its peak in 2012, with the help of economic stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Washington Closure employed about 1,200 workers. On Aug. 29, its work force drops to just fewer than 100. The number of employees is expected to decline through September to about 30 people, who will remain for several months in a contract closeout office working on audits, documenting completed projects and finishing up other paperwork.