August 29, 2016 – 81 FR 59251 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Information Collection: NRC Form 277, Request for Visit – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a renewal of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, “NRC Form 277, Request for Visit.”

August 29, 2016 – 81 FR 59250-59251 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Information Collection: Criteria and Procedures for Determining Eligibility for Access to or Control Over Special Nuclear Material – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a request for renewal of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, “Criteria and Procedures for Determining Eligibility for Access to or Control Over Special Nuclear Material.”

August 29, 2016 – 81 FR 59249-59250 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Information Collection: NRC Form 237, Request for Access Authorization – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a renewal of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, “NRC Form 237, Request for Access Authorization.”

August 29, 2016 – 81 FR 59203 – DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Hanford – This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Hanford. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. CATES: Wednesday, September 14, 2016, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Thursday, September 15, 2016, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. ADDRESSES: Red Lion Hanford House, 802 George Washington Way, Richland, WA 99352. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Holmes, Federal Coordinator, Department of Energy Richland Operations Office, 825 Jadwin Avenue, P.O. Box 550, A7-75, Richland, WA 99352; Phone: (509) 376-5803; or Email: Kristen.L.Holmes@rl.doe.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of the Board is to make recommendations to DOE-EM and site management in the areas of environmental restoration, waste management, and related activities.

August 29, 2016 – Science Alert – US physicists just revealed plans to build the most viable nuclear fusion devices ever – Physicists around the world have been racing to build a nuclear fusion machine that can replicate the atom-fusing process that’s fuelled our Sun for the past 4.5 billion years, in a bid to provide humanity with clean, safe, and practically limitless energy. And now the US government has just backed plans for physicists to build a new kind of nuclear fusion device that could be the most viable and efficient design yet.

August 29, 2016 – Mexico Star – IAEA Director General Focuses on Cancer at Kenya Conference – In three separate speaking engagements at the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which was held in Africa for the first time, he highlighted the work of the IAEA in making nuclear technology available for development. Mr Amano focused in particular on cancer, noting that breast and cervical cancer are an important focus of IAEA technical cooperation in many African countries. TICAD is an initiative launched by the Japanese government in 1993 to bring the world’s attention to Africa’s development needs and promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners. This year, for the first time, health was one of the main themes.

August 29, 2016 – The Advertiser – Nuclear industry forum for SA students’ held in secret over safety fears – SAFETY concerns over potential anti-nuclear protests have forced a student forum on the industry’s future in South Australia to be staged in secret. More than 150 students from across the state will take part in the forum, organised by the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission Consultation and Response Agency and the Education Department. When asked where the debate was being held, agency director of engagement John Phalen would only say that “safety of the students is our No. 1 priority”. He said the youth voice was an important part of the consultation program being run across the state. The safety concerns come after anti-nuclear protests in June. During a Citizens’ Jury, Premier Jay Weatherill had to walk through a group of noisy anti-nuclear protesters chanting “no dump” outside the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute on North Terrace.

August 29, 2016 – Pharmabiz.com – Radiologists to stop use of ultrasound from Sep 1 citing lack of clarity in PCPNDT Act – Radiologists from across the country are planning to stop using ultrasound machines from September 1, 2016 onwards citing lack of clarity in Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. Since ultrasound examinations can help to diagnose a variety of clinical conditions and to assess organ damage following illness, stopping use of ultrasound will hamper diagnostic services for millions of patients. Ultrasound is a painless procedure to produce pictures of the inside of the body using sound waves. Also called ultrasound scanning or sonography, it involves the use of a small transducer (probe) and ultrasound gel placed directly on the skin. This comes in the wake of government’s hesitation to modify PCPNDT Act which has led to harassment of radiologists by the authorities for minor administrative lapses and not actual sex selection in violation of the Act. Radiologists explain that the violation of the said Act amounts to equal punishment for sex determination and clerical errors.

August 29, 2016 – EIN News – Four Brookhaven Lab Projects Selected as R&D 100 Award Finalists – Four projects from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have been selected as finalists for the 2016 R&D 100 awards, which honor the top 100 proven technological advances of the past year as determined by a panel selected by R&D Magazine. “This was a very strong year for research and development across various markets, led by many outstanding technologies that broadened the scope of innovation,” said R&D Magazine Editor Anna Spiewak in a press release announcing the finalists. “We are honored to recognize these products and the project teams behind the design, development, testing, and production of these remarkable innovations and their impact in the field.”

August 29, 2016 – Time – Why the International Day Against Nuclear Tests Is Special This Year – The Aug. 29 date marks 25 years since a major Soviet Union nuclear test site in Kazakhstan closed. he Soviet Union detonated hundreds of nuclear devices over a period of 40 years at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan—but all of that stopped when the test site closed 25 years ago, on Aug. 29, 1991. Fallout from the mushroom clouds above ground and explosions below ground did severe damage over time on the surrounding populations, especially in the town of Semipalatinsk (now Semey) almost 100 mi. east of the site. Radiation levels are still as much as ten times higher in the soil and water near the town, and babies were born with deformities during and after the period of testing. Cancer leveled the population so that, according to a 2016 report, more than half of the town does not live to 60.

August 29, 2016 – Radio Free Asia – North Korea Sets Up Special Force for Radioactive Bomb Attacks – Top soldiers from North Korea’s military are being selected to serve on new “nuclear pack” attack units under each corps of the People’s Army, North Korean sources said. “Outstanding soldiers were selected from each reconnaissance platoon and light infantry brigade to form the nuclear pack unit the size of a battalion,” said a source from North Hamgyong province who declined to be named. The special units have been formed since March this year, he said. The nuclear pack of the 9th corps stationed in North Hamgyong province was organized as a battalion affiliated with the 45th division, which is located in Munhwa-dong, Chongam-district in Chongjin city, he said. The formation of the new squads of soldiers came at around the same time that the members of the U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed to impose a new round of sanctions on North Korea, following the country’s fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and the launch on Feb. 7 of a satellite-bearing rocket that the world viewed as a disguised ballistic missile test.

August 29, 2016 – Copenhagen Post – Danish particle therapy cancer patients to be treated in Sweden instead of the US – Cancer patients in the Capital Region now have a shorter distance to travel for radiation treatment using particle therapy. The Capital Region has signed an agreement with Region Skåne to send cancer patients to Sweden’s Skandionkliniken in Uppsala. Previously, Danish patients had been sent to the United States. “It is very gratifying we now have the agreement in place,” Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, the regional chairman of the Capital Region, told News Øresund.

August 29, 2016 – PRNewswire – Importance of Myocardial Perfusion Positron Emission Tomography Recognized in New Joint Position Statement by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging – Bracco Diagnostics Inc. (BDI), the U.S. subsidiary of Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a global leading company in the diagnostic imaging business, announced today that the American Society for Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) have e-published a Position Statement to explain why myocardial perfusion positron emission tomography (PET) is most useful in the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease (CAD), and to provide guidance as to when it should be considered for optimal patient care.

August 29, 2016 – tctmd.com – Optical Coherence Tomography Improves Stent Placement, Ups FFR in NSTE ACS – The addition of optimal coherence tomography (OCT) to standard fluoroscopy can influence physician decision-making and quantitatively improves post-PCI vessel function in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes, results from the DOCTORS trial show. The study, said lead author Nicolas Meneveau, MD, PhD (University Hospital Jean Minjoz, Besançon, France), is the first randomized controlled trial to support a role for OCT in this setting, although hard clinical endpoint studies are warranted. “We need additional data,” he acknowledged in a morning press conference. “We need additional studies with clinical endpoints before considering incorporating OCT as the standard to use in ACS patients. But this is an important first step—the first randomized controlled trial showing the potential positive effect by FFR on the results of PCI in ACS patients.”

August 29, 2016 – International Business Times – Nuclear Fusion: US Physicists Examine The Viability Of Spherical Tokamaks In Producing Clean, Limitless Energy – Nuclear fusion has been powering our sun for the past 4.5 billion years. Unlike fission — the process that powers our current nuclear facilities — fusion generates energy by fusing the nuclei of lighter atoms into heavier ones, and produces no long-term radioactive waste. Imagine if we manage to replicate and miniaturize the process taking place in the core of stars. This would not only provide us a low-cost, clean and virtually limitless source of energy, it would also end our unsustainable reliance on polluting fossil fuels. In a recent paper published in the journal Nuclear Fusion, a team of physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), has detailed the design of a viable and efficient fusion device — one that already exists in an experimental form.

August 29, 2016 – WRVO Public Media – Exelon purchase of FitzPatrick will save its jobs, but how many? – Local IBEW 97 labor union president Ted Skerpon said the past year has been a roller coaster for the employees he represents at the FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant and the nearby Nine Mile Point Nuclear Facility. Both were on the brink of closure at one point because of economic losses. But now that New York will subsidize the state’s nuclear industry, Exelon says it will continue operating Nine Mile Point and take over at FitzPatrick. So the next step for the union regarding jobs, Skerpon said, is negotiations. “We will sit down with Entergy and Exelon for the transition and basically determine what’s needed,” Skerpon said. “But everybody should be good. hopefully we can do this all through attrition, and obviously looking at the efficiencies now that you have three plants what’s really needed.”

August 29, 2016 – MehrNews.com – Iran joins stable isotope producers – AEOI deputy Zarean has announced the setting up of a pilot plant for production of stable isotopes which adds Iran to the short list of global producers. Deputy Head of the Atomic Energy Organization Asghar Zarean made the remarks asserting “only countries like Germany, Russia or Ireland could produce stable isotopes while Iran has also joined them.” “The pilot plant to produce raw material for stable isotope was put into operation today in Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) of Isfahan,” said the official Sunday, congratulating the Iranian nation on the great achievement.

August 29, 2016 – Construction.RU – Worker dies at Belarus NPP construction site – On the 26th of August, one of the workers died in performing his duties at a construction site of the nuclear power plant in the Republic of Belarus. As the Information & Public Relations Department of the Belarussian NPP enterprise announced on Monday, the fatal accident occurred in a Russian sub-contract group. At present, investigation into the worker’s death has been opened. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the builder’s death was caused by the fall of an oxygen container upon him. We should remind you that the Belarussian nuclear power plant, being constructed with the participation of Russia in the vicinity of the town of Ostrovets, will consist of two VVER-type power units with a total capacity of up to 2400 MW.

August 29, 2016 – Financial Express – Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 synchronised with southern grid – The 1000 MW second unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) was test synchronised with the southern power grid today, marking generation of electricity from the unit and its supply to the grid, a top KNPP official said today. “Unit two of KNPP was test synchronised with the southern power grid today at 1117 hours. Presently the unit is supplying 245 MW to the southern grid,” KNPP Site Director R S Sundar said. He said clearance was obtained from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for the first synchronisation of the unit with the southern grid. Sundar said the unit would be shut down for mandatory inspection of turbine-generator after a few days of operation.

August 29, 2016 – BDlive – Outa appeals for signatures on nuclear plants – PEOPLE opposed to Eskom’s “surreptitiously slipping” requests in regional government gazettes to approve Thyspunt and Duynefontein as locations for nuclear plants are urged to sign an online petition by the deadline at midnight on Monday, August 29. The online petition is at www.outa.co.za/nuclear (http://www.outa.co.za/site/comment-eskoms-nuclear-license-applications/Organisation) and was set up by Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa). It said it had attracted 17,000 individual submissions by Sunday.

August 29, 2016 – The Mirror – Russians fear nuclear doomsday as giant mushroom cloud appears over skies in Siberia – An enormous mushroom-shaped cloud rises ominously above a Siberian town – sparking fears among witnesses that doomsday has arrived. The terrifying sight could be seen for miles around and was captured on video from the city of Kemerovo, in Russia’s Kemerovo Oblast region. Emergency services were inundated with calls from worried onlookers that a nuclear bomb had been dropped and that annihilation was imminent. The terrifying cloud formation led many to believe Judgement Day was upon them. Others feared there had been an explosion at the coal mines in the nearby Kuzbass region. In fact, the terrifying-looking spectacle was in reality a rather beautiful, naturally occurring thunderstorm cloud.

August 29, 2016 – PhysOrg – Lab team uses pulsed ion beams to probe radiation defect dynamics in nuclear materials – Materials scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a novel experimental method to access the dynamic regime of radiation damage formation in nuclear and electronic materials. Their approach is based on using pulsed ion beams for measurements of defect lifetimes, interaction rates and diffusion lengths. The creation of stable radiation damage in crystalline solids often occurs during migration and interaction of radiation-generated point defects—lattice vacancies and interstitials. Such dynamic damage formation is a complex phenomenon that could span the spatial range from atomic to macroscopic and the temporal range from femtoseconds to years. Due to this complexity, a full predictive capability of radiation damage accumulation still does not exist even for the simplest and best studied materials.

August 29, 2016 – The Telegraph – Iran deploys air defence system around its nuclear facility – Iran has deployed a Russian-made S-300 air defence system around its underground Fordo nuclear facility, state TV reported. Video footage posted late Sunday on state TV’s website showed trucks arriving at the site and missile launchers being aimed skyward. It did not say whether the system was fully operational. Gen. Farzad Esmaili, Iran’s head of air defence, declined to comment on the report in an interview with another website affiliated with state news. “Maybe if you go to Fordo now, the system is not there,” he was quoted as saying Monday. He added that the S-300 is a mobile system that should be relocated often. Russia began delivering the S-300 system to Iran earlier this year under a contract signed in 2007. The delivery had been held up by international sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, which were lifted this year under an agreement with world powers.

August 29, 2016 – Sputnik International – Tehran Allocates Funds for Bushehr-2 Nuclear Plant Project – Behrouz Kamalvandi, the deputy head of the Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) stated that Tehran allocated money for the construction of two new nuclear reactors at the site of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Iran has allocated money for the construction of two new nuclear reactors at the site of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, known as the Bushehr-2 project, the deputy head of the country’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) was quoted as saying by local media. © Sputnik/ Valeriy MelnikovIran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant 2nd Unit’s Start-Up Planned for October 2024Behrouz Kamalvandi did not reveal the amount allocated by Tehran to fund the project when speaking on the matter on Sunday but noted that President Hassan Rouhani gave the go-ahead for construction to commence, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

August 29, 2016 – Aljazeera – Fukushima’s surfers riding on radioactive waves – On 11 March 2011, at 2:46 pm, Japan was hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake which generated a tsunami along the coast. The casualties of the disaster included 18,500 dead, 90 percent of whom drowned in the tsunami wave. The bodies of 2,561 people were never recovered. The tsunami hit the Daaichi nuclear power plant as well, a level-7 catastrophe that was the equivalent of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown disaster. Over the course of five years, nearly 50,000 people have worked to decontaminate the plant and stop leaks according to government press releases. They remove between 5 and 30 cm of contaminated soil every day and place them in plastic bags, which are stored on the outskirts of town, pending a better solution. In Tairatoyoma beach, a prefecture of Fukushima and some 50km from the nuclear plant, was among the most popular areas for Japanese surfers prior to the nuclear accident.

August 29, 2016 – Deutsche Welle – Problems persist at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear reactors – It has been five years and five months since three of the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant were crippled by the biggest earthquake and tsunami to strike Japan in living memory. Work continues at the site to clean up the radioactivity that escaped into the atmosphere and to regain control of the reactors. In its press releases, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) insists that steps taken since the accident are slowly but surely having an effect. But not everyone accepts their assurances – or those of the wider nuclear industry as it seeks public support to restart reactors across the country that have been mothballed since March 2011.

August 29, 2016 – WRVO Public Media – Environmentalists point to FitzPatrick safety incidents in new report – Environmental critics of nuclear power are seizing on a few safety incidents at the FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant detailed in a report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The report notes multiple mishaps, like the oil leak into Lake Ontario that was connected to a temporary shutdown of the plant, and another event when two FitzPatrick employees were unintentionally exposed to radiation. The starkest finding is that solid nuclear waste which had spilled onto the floor of a contained room in the plant has been left untreated for at least four years. NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan said that spill did not leave the site. “This is a locked, highly shielded portion of the plant,” Sheehan said. “Certainly no one from the public can get access to that, but even plant employees can only get in there after they’ve been fully approved to do so.”

August 29, 2016 – Aiken Standard – First Cycle unit at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ H Canyon revitalized – On Aug. 5, Savannah River Site’s H Canyon restarted the First Cycle unit operation for the first time in more than five years, giving the uranium from spent nuclear fuel currently stored at SRS a pathway out of South Carolina. In First Cycle, uranium from spent nuclear fuel is separated from aluminum, fission products and other impurities. This is the fourth out of five unit operations to restart since the Department of Energy’s Amended Record of Decision in 2013, allowing SRS to process 1,000 bundles of spent nuclear fuel and 200 High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR, cores.

August 29, 2016 – WPLG 10 – Turkey Point workers prepare nuclear power plant for possible rough weather – The Turkey Point nuclear power plant is gearing up for the coming storm as workers prepare for bad weather. “Should a storm come like the one that is approaching now, we make sure the site is ready,” emergency preparedness manager Kevin O’Hare said. “As a result of Fukushima, (we) needed another level of protection,” Sergio Chaviano, project manager of the Flex Building, said. Inside a box are backup systems that can deliver power to the entire plant. “We have a pump here to the right, a smaller pump to the left. We have trailers that can carry hoses throughout the plant,” Chaviano said. The hoses can carry water to cool reactors in the event of an emergency, but crews said they’ve been preparing for hurricane season since March.

August 29, 2016 – Richmond Times-Dispatch – Siren test at North Anna station to be repeated – The North Anna Power Station Early Warning Siren test on Aug. 17 revealed an anomaly in the siren duration and the test will be done again at 11:10 a.m. on Thursday. The quarterly tests, which are required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, occur on the third Wednesday of February, May, August and November to ensure the public will be properly notified in the unlikely event of a radiological emergency. Sixty-eight sirens are sounded and heard within a 10-mile radius of the station in Louisa County. If the primary siren system failed during an actual emergency, there is also a back-up siren panel system that can be activated.

August 29, 2016 – The Oak Ridger – Historic day: Last wall to be demolished at last of big five uranium-enriching buildings at ETTP (K-25) – The last wall of the last of the big five buildings once used to enrich uranium at the former K-25 site will be demolished Tuesday. Demolition on the last building, the K-27 Building, started in February. The other four buildings—K-25, K-29, K-31, and K-33—were demolished between 2006 and 2015. All five of the huge buildings once used a process called gaseous diffusion to produce highly enriched uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants, starting during World War II and continuing through the Cold War. The largest was K-25, a mile-long U-shaped building. When K-27 demolition is complete, it will be the first time that all of a site’s uranium-enriching gaseous diffusion buildings will have been cleaned up anywhere in the world, officials said.

August 29, 2016 – The Chattanoogan – Environmental Group Opposes Increase Of Output At TVA Nuclear Plants – The Tennessee Valley Authority has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a license amendment to allow an extended power uprate (EPU) for the three nuclear power reactors at Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant. This would amend its already-licensed steady-state reactor core levels and allow a power level increase of approximately 20 percent for all three units, according to an environmental group that is opposed. BEST/MATRR, a Scottsboro-based chapter of Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, alleges that TVA “has presented analyses that under-predicts the reaction of zirconium and steam that would occur in a loss-of-coolant accident at higher temperatures.”

August 29, 2016 – KRCU 90.9AM – State wins approval to test groundwater near radioactive waste at West Lake Landfill – A special master has allowed the state to proceed with groundwater testing at wells in the portion of the West Lake Landfill where World War II-era radioactive waste has been detected. The decision Wednesday in a circuit court of St. Louis County comes after landfill owner Republic Services tried to stop the testing from moving forward. The tests were scheduled to begin Aug. 22, but the work was delayed when Republic Services attorney Peter Daniel wrote Assistant Attorney General Thais Folta to inform her the company would not permit the sampling. Daniel argued that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has no jurisdiction over the northern portion of the landfill. The Environmental Protection Agency presides over that section of the landfill, labeled as Operating Unit 1, which contains radioactive waste. The state only has jurisdiction over the southern portion, Operating Unit 2, where there is an underground smoldering fire. But the EPA did not object to MDNR’s plans to sample groundwater wells in Operating Unit 1.

August 29, 2016 – Santa Fe New Mexican – Criticism mounts after PRC decides to reopen PNM rate case – The state Public Regulation Commission is facing criticism over its decision this week to reopen hearings for an electric rate increase proposed by the Public Service Company of New Mexico after a hearing officer in the case recommended a drastically reduced rate hike. Commissioners said Wednesday that the PNM rate case could be extended through December if the utility decides to submit more evidence showing that its energy investments are prudent. Reopening the proceedings, which began in April, would undermine a determination earlier this month by hearing officer Carolyn Glick. On Aug. 15, Glick recommended a 6 percent rate increase, a total of $42 million, rather than the 15.8 percent PNM was seeking to cover some $123.5 million in costs. PNM should not be allowed to include in its rate base a $153 million nuclear power investment, she said, because the company failed to show any evidence that the purchase was the utility’s most cost-effective choice.

August 19, 2016 – Business Insider – A typo and a bag of kitty litter might cost US taxpayers billions in nuclear waste cleanup – A typo and a bag of organic kitty litter may end up costing United States taxpayers more than $2 billion in nuclear waste cleanup, according to a new report by Ralph Vartabedian at the Los Angeles Times. Back in February 2014, a drum of nuclear waste burst open inside the cavernous Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP), which is drilled out of a salt deposit nearly half a mile below the deserts of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The US Department of Energy (DOE), which funds the company that runs the nuclear waste dump, quickly suspended operations and launched an investigation to figure out the cause. In their 277-page report, investigators determined the blast vaporized nearly 7.5 lbs of the material inside a single barrel, labeled “Drum 68660.” That material included some radioactive isotopes of americium, plutonium, and uranium — byproducts of Cold War-era nuclear weapons production.

August 25, 2016 – 81 FR 58540-58542 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – South Carolina Electric & Gas Company and South Carolina Public Service Authority; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3; Piping Line Number Additions, Deletions and Functional Capability Re-Designation – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting an exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and is issuing License Amendment No. 39 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF-93 and NPF-94. The COLs were issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), and South Carolina Public Service Authority (the licensee) in March 2012, for the construction and operation of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station (VCSNS), Units 2 and 3, located in Fairfield County, South Carolina. The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1 information requested in the amendment. Because the acceptability of the exemption was determined in part by the acceptability of the amendment, the exemption and amendment are being issued concurrently.

August 25, 2016 – 81 FR 58522-58523 – DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES – National Institutes of Health; Submission for OMB Review; 30-Day Comment Request Study To Estimate Radiation Doses and Cancer Risks From Radioactive Fallout From the Trinity Nuclear Test–National Cancer Institute (NCI) – In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review and approval of the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on May 13, 2016, p 29875 and allowed 60-days for public comment. One public comment was received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

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.

August 24, 2016 – 81 FR 57945-57946 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS); Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on Planning and Procedures; Notice of Meeting – The ACRS Subcommittee on Planning and Procedures will hold a meeting on September 8, 2016, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The meeting will be open to public attendance with the exception of a portion that may be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2) and (6) to discuss organizational and personnel matters that relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of the ACRS, and information the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

August 24, 2016 – 81 FR 57945 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS); Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on Metallurgy & Reactor Fuels; Notice of Meeting – The ACRS Subcommittee on Metallurgy & Reactor Fuels will hold a meeting on September 20, 2016, Room T-2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The meeting will be open to public attendance.

August 24, 2016 – 81 FR 57944-57945 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on Digital I&C Systems; Notice of Meeting – The ACRS Subcommittee on Digital I&C Systems will hold a meeting on September 7, 2016, Room T-2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The meeting will be open to public attendance.

August 24, 2016 – 81 FR 57942 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on T-H Phenomena; Notice of Meeting – The ACRS Subcommittees on T-H Phenomenon and Metallurgy & Reactor Fuels will hold a meeting on September 19, 2016, Room T-2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The meeting will be open to public attendance with the exception of portions that may be closed to protect information that is proprietary pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4).

August 24, 2016 – 81 FR 57941-57942 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on Reliability and PRA; Notice of Meeting – The ACRS Subcommittee on Reliability and PRA will hold a meeting on September 7, 2016, Room T-2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The meeting will be open to public attendance.

August 24, 2016 – 81 FR 57942-57944 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units 1 and 2; Annual Updates to License Renewal Application – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption in response to an August 1, 2016, request from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which requested an exemption from the requirement to submit annual updates to its license renewal application (LRA) for Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), Units 1 and 2. The NRC staff reviewed this request and determined that it is appropriate to grant the exemption while the review of the LRA remains suspended.

August 24, 2016 – ARS Technica – Nuclear waste accident 2 years ago may cost more than $2 billion to clean up – The Los Angeles Times is estimating that an explosion that occurred at a New Mexico nuclear waste dumping facility in 2014 could cost upwards of $2 billion to clean up. Construction began on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico’s Carlsbad desert in the 1980s (PDF). The site was built to handle transuranic waste from the US’ nuclear weapons program. The WIPP had been eyed to receive nuclear waste from commercial, power-generating plants as well. According to the LA Times, the 2014 explosion at the WIPP was downplayed by the federal government, with the Department of Energy (DoE) putting out statements indicating that cleanup was progressing quickly. Indeed, a 2015 Recovery Plan insisted that “limited waste disposal operations” would resume in the first quarter of 2016. Instead, two years have passed since the incident without any indication that smaller nuclear waste cleanup programs around the US will be able to deliver their waste to the New Mexico facility any time soon.

August 24, 2016 – Frederick News-Post – 240 apartments planned for property near Fort Detrick – A contractor is building an apartment complex on a property between Fort Detrick’s Area B and Waverley Elementary School. S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. has invested $50 million to develop the property on Waverley Drive, across the street from the school. Morgan-Keller Construction will build the 240-unit apartment complex on about 11 acres. The new apartment complex will be called “The Fred.” Construction is scheduled to be complete in the first quarter of 2018, though tenants may start moving in during summer 2017, Johnson said. Waverley View Investors sued the Army in 2014 for not cleaning up radiological and biological contamination, left from decades of research at Fort Detrick, at a nearby property it still owns on Shookstown Road. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the $37 million lawsuit in 2015 because the developer failed to show the Army was responsible for environmental cleanup activities.

August 24, 2016 – Tri-City Herald – Hanford 324 Building topic of Aug. 24 meeting – Demolition of the Hanford 324 Building, which sits over a highly radioactive spill just north of Richland, will be discussed at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Richland Public Library. The meeting will cover demolition of the building’s four hot cells and two underground vaults after the spill has been cleaned up, a process that could take seven years. More information is posted on the calendar at www.hanford.gov under each day of a comment period that concludes Sept. 9. Participants may attend via an online webinar.

August 24, 2016 – The Inquisitr – It Has Been Zero Days Since The Last Nuclear Catastrophe – Fukushima Daiichi is still pouring radioactive water into the Pacific ocean, the consequences of which we still don’t know in the short term and can’t predict in the long term. I’m pointing this out now because as the slander campaign against Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein ramps up, her criticisms of nuclear power have been coming under fire by people who insist that it’s perfectly safe, sane, and healthy to have hundreds of these power plants dotting our globe when we don’t know when the next Level 7 nuclear event is coming, or how bad it will be. While the most recently-added disaster is literally still happening. TEPCO has been making its latest pathetic attempt at rectifying its crimes against humanity by trying to freeze a one-mile barrier around the four reactors damaged in the 2011 Japanese tsunami over the last five months. Unsurprisingly, it has failed, with the barrier doing “little or nothing” to prevent 300 tons of groundwater per day from becoming polluted by pouring through the highly radioactive meltdown zone. Three hundred tons of groundwater. Per day. Not in 2011. Every single day for the last five and-a-half years. This is currently happening, right now.

August 24, 2016 – Gazette & Herald – Frack-site gas not any danger, expert claims – THE leader of the gas and oil industry body has moved to reassure residents living near the site of an impending fracking operation in Ryedale. Concerns had been raised over the operation leading to a colourless and odourless radioactive gas linked to cancer being inhaled. However, professor Averil MacDonald, chairman of UK Onshore Oil and Gas, said the first monitoring measurements at the area surrounding Third Energy’s well at Kirby Misperton, suggested that radon concentration in the outdoor air was “close to the UK average”.

August 24, 2016 – Whatech – Radiopharmaceuticals market to reach $8,207 million, globally, by 2022 according to market forecasts – Radiopharmaceuticals are pharmaceutical formulations comprising radioactive isotopes that are used in diagnosis and therapeutics. They are simple and small substances that contain a radioactive substance that is used in the treatment of cancer and cardiac & neurological disorders.

August 24, 2016 – Midland Reporter-Telegram – Scan measures visceral fat in abdominal region – Midland Memorial Hospital is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality screening and diagnostic imaging services to the Midland area. Because of this, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the most common method used as a clinical tool to investigate body composition outcomes.

August 24, 2016 – InfraCircle – India may auction 70 atomic mineral deposits in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala – With the department of atomic energy (DAE) submitting a list of around 70 atomic mineral blocks, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala may shortly auction these deposits containing rare earth elements such as monazite. The plan is an integral part of the National Democratic Alliance government’s strategy for India’s resource security, wherein the respective state governments will bid out blocks which contains monazite below the threshold value. The ministry of mines on 18 July notified the Atomic Minerals Concession Rules, 2016, allowing for auction of specific mineral deposits such as monazite, ilmenite and rutile, which are not used for atomic energy production, but have high economic value. “We have received a communication from DAE that it has identified around 70 blocks spread over an area of 1,400 sq. km along the country’s coastline, which can be auctioned by the states,” said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.

August 24, 2016 – The Hankyoreh – North Korea may have reprocessed enough spent nuclear fuel for 2-4 nukes – If North Korea reprocessed spent nuclear fuel from its 5MW nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in the first half of this year, it probably extracted enough weapon-grade plutonium to make between two and four nuclear weapons, an American research institute estimates. The estimate was made on Aug. 22 by David Albright, director of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), an American public policy institute, as part of remarks about a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and about North Korea’s claims that it had reprocessed spent nuclear fuel.

August 24, 2016 – Nanowerk – Atomic gyroscope design – 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 (Applied Physics Letters, “Point source atom interferometry with a cloud of finite size”). 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 24, 2016 – Mumbai Mirror – DOT gets docs to bust phone tower radiation ‘myth’ – To dispel fears that cell phone towers create health hazards for people, the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) got together city-based radiologists and IIT professors to clarify the ‘myth’ surrounding the sensitive issue. Speaking to Mumbai Mirror after a public outreach programme in Mumbai on Tuesday, Telecom Secretary J S Deepak said that the government was set to launch a website to help citizens check radiation levels on a tower-by-tower basis, in exchange for a small fee. Explaining the importance of having fears regarding radiations from telecom towers dispelled, Deepak asked, “How can one expect a top class network without allowing for infrastructure like towers?” He has therefore asked the BMC to treat cellular towers as essential requirements.

August 24, 2016 – Asahi Shimbun – Film focuses on ‘irradiated’ cattle kept alive in Fukushima – For some cattle farmers in Fukushima Prefecture, the thought of destroying their herds is too painful to bear even if they are contaminated with radioactive fallout. A new documentary to be shown here this week records the plight of these farmers, who continue to look after their beef cattle in defiance of a government request to euthanize the animals. “I took on this project because I wanted to capture what is driving farmers to keep their cattle. For all the trouble it is worth, the animals are now worthless,” said Tamotsu Matsubara, a visual director who shot the documentary. Four years in the making, “Hibaku-ushi to Ikiru” (Living with irradiated cattle) is set for its first screening on Aug. 26 at a local community center in the city.

August 24, 2016 – Medscape – Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer? Maybe Yes and No – Does using a mobile phone increase the risk of developing brain cancer? As many times as it has been asked, there is seemingly no simple answer to that question, as studies continue to produce conflicting results. But the answer may lie somewhere in the middle between a yes and a no, according to Dariusz Leszczynski, PhD, adjunct professor of biochemistry, University of Helsinki, Finland. In an article on the Conversation website, Dr Leszczynski poses the intriguing question: What if both views are correct? It could be possible that mobile phone radiation itself does not cause cancer but that long-term exposure increases the risk of developing cancer when other causes are part of the picture.

August 24, 2016 – Daily Pakistan – Pakistan makes a strong pitch for Nuclear Supplier Group’s membership – Pakistan has made a strong case for the country’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 48-nation body that regulates the global trade in nuclear technology, telling the UN Security Council that the exemplary measures Islamabad had taken to strengthen nuclear safety establish its eligibility credentials. “We expect that a non-discriminatory, criteria-based approach is followed for extending NSG membership which strengthens the non-proliferation regime,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, the Pakistan permanent representative to the UN, said on Tuesday. Speaking in a debate on “non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” said Pakistan had implemented a comprehensive export control regime, participated in the Nuclear Security Summit process, ratified the 2005 amendment to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, declared unilateral moratorium on further nuclear testing and reiterated its willingness to translate it into a bilateral arrangement on non-testing with India, all of which established its eligibility to become a NSG member.

August 24, 2016 – Business Tech – You have less than a week to comment on the nuclear plans Eskom tried to hide from you – Civil action group Outa has appealed to South Africans to comment on nuclear procurement plans, which the group says Eskom tried to sneak past the public participation process by gazetting them in a provincial documents. The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) and Eskom are attempting to license new Nuclear construction sites by ‘hiding’ the notice in the Eastern Cape Provincial Gazette (rather than the National Gazette) and shortening the deadline to below the 30 days, as required by law, Outa said. This move his highly dubious, the group said, as legally, if the public fails to comment on a gazette it is deemed to constitute acceptance of the proposal, and thus cannot easily be challenged legally at a later stage. Eskom applied for a site licence to develop a nuclear reactor/power plant at Thyspunt (near Jeffrey’s Bay) and at the existing Koeberg (Duynefontein) nuclear site.

August 24, 2016 – The Korea Times – Does N. Korea have nuclear suicide-bomber corps? – North Korea’s military is said to have established a “nuclear backpack” corps whose members are trained to infiltrate South Korea to detonate a nuclear bomb. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported the corps’ establishment on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources in North Hamgyong Province. Details of the unit are unknown and the credibility of sources is questionable. But what if the corps does exist? That means the North’s nuclear weapons technology has advanced to where it can reduce the size of a nuclear bomb to that of a backpack. A miniaturized nuclear weapon could be carried by ground soldiers or loaded onto a long-range missile, which would pose a grave security threat to South Korea and its allies, including the United States. The South Korean government does not believe the North’s nuclear technology has advanced to that level yet. RFA said the corps’ members did not know what the nuclear backpack looks like. “They receive training with three types of fake bombs,” RFA quoted an unidentified source. “The regime is telling the soldiers that backpacks are not designed to detonate nuclear bombs, but to spread radioactive substances over a wide area.”

August 24, 2016 – Newsmaker.com.au – Graphite Electrodes Market to Grow at CAGR of 10.16% to 2020 – Research analysts forecast the global graphite electrodes market to grow at a CAGR of 10.16% during the period 2016-2020. Graphite is a crystalline form of carbon, which is a semimetal and a native element mineral. It is considered as one of the allotropes of carbon, and has distinct structure and properties. Graphite is the highest grade of coal, and has stable form of carbon under standard conditions. It has characteristics of metal and non-metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity. It is highly refractory and chemically inert with less absorption of neutrons and X-rays that enables it to be used as the main material in nuclear applications.

August 24, 2016 – ArabianBusiness.com – Kuwait abandons plan to build nuclear plant – Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) has cancelled earlier plans to obtain a license from the United Nations to build a nuclear power plant. The decision was made after studies proved the projects was too costly and impractical, according to the ministry, reported Kuwait Times. Instead, the ministry said it would invest in alternative projects related to solar energy and wind.

August 24, 2016 – ITV.com – Nuclear police fight for retirement age of 60 – The Civil Nuclear Constabulary has given their statement regarding the High Court ruling, where the Civil Nuclear Police Federation is seeking for the retirement age for its officers to be set at 60. “The Civil Nuclear Police Federation (CNPF) has brought a Judicial Review into whether the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) is a police force as defined under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. “The Judicial Review will rule on this very specific point of statutory interpretation in relation to the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 and this ruling will provide clarity on the situation, allowing us to continue to develop new pension arrangements for CNC officers in accordance with the Public Service Pensions Act 2013, working closely with relevant government departments and the CNPF.”

August 24, 206 – Science World Report – First Look At USS Independence Shipwreck Photos Taken By Nautilus – The puzzle of the history of World War II is still being discovered with a new underwater study conducted by scientists on Tuesday morning showing a photograph of the USS Independence aircraft carrier. The team made an expedition to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, just 30 miles off the coast of Northern California where the aircraft carrier rests peacefully. They searched for the623-foot-long shipwreck sitting peacefully on Half Moon Bay. The expedition was made available on live broadcast as they travel 2,600 feet under the water. The telecast was open for viewers at nautiluslive.org and ended on Tuesday afternoon, as per the report in Mercury News. The team scanned the ship and confirmed it is safe for humans to get near since it shows negative of any radioactive materials since much of its radioactivity was lost during its early days. They’re very pleased that the ship is submerged below the ocean because water acted as an effective buffer to shield it from any radioactive material. “Any radioactivity will not penetrate water more than an inch or two inches,” Delgado added. He is also among the researchers who unlocked the secrets of The Titanic and plans to pursue a career of exploration and share the wonders of the world as he discovers it.

August 24, 2016 – The Beijinger – Was Your Beijing Sushi Nuked in Japan’s Fukushima Meltdown? – When we read the Economist’s hypothetical piece on a radioactive prawn ending Kim Jong Un, and leading to changes in the geopolitical relations between the two Koreas, we didn’t realize this situation was perhaps more likely than we had previously thought. Or dared to hope. Adding to the list of food scandals in China for us to worry about, there are now warnings of potentially radioactive seafood brought over from China’s most famous historical nemesis: Japan. This week, 14 people were detained in Shandong for smuggling frozen seafood into China, some of it hailing from waters near Fukushima prefecture, the Global Times reported. Seafood imports from the prefecture have been banned by China following the Tōhoku earthquake and resulting nuclear disaster in 2011.

August 23, 2016 – 81 FR 57442-57446 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec International HI-STORM Flood/Wind Multipurpose Canister Storage System, Amendment No. 2 – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1032 for the Holtec International (Holtec) HI-STORM Flood/Wind (FW) Multipurpose Canister (MPC) Storage System. Amendment No. 2 adds new fuel types to the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System, includes new criticality calculations, updates an existing fuel type description, and includes changes previously incorporated in Amendment No. 0 to CoC No. 1032, Revision 1. In addition, Amendment No. 2 makes several other changes as described in Section IV, “Discussion of Changes,” in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

August 23, 2016 – 81 FR 57497-57499 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec International HI-STORM Flood/Wind Multipurpose Canister Storage System, Amendment No. 2 – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to add Amendment No. 2 to the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1032 for the Holtec International (Holtec) HI-STORM Flood/Wind (FW) Multipurpose Canister (MPC) Storage. Amendment No. 2 adds new fuel types to the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System, includes new criticality calculations, updates an existing fuel type description, and includes changes previously incorporated in Amendment No. 0 to CoC No. 1032, Revision 1, and revises CoC Condition No. 8 to provide additional clarity and guidance.

August 23, 2016 – 81 FR 57629-57632 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Virginia Electric and Power Company; North Anna Power Station Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Renewal of Special Nuclear Materials License – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an application for the renewal of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) License No. SNM-2507, which currently authorizes Virginia Electric and Power Company (Dominion) to receive, possess, transfer, and store spent fuel from North Anna Power Station (NAPS), Units 1 and 2, in the NAPS Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The renewed license would authorize Dominion to continue to store spent fuel in the NAPS ISFSI for an additional 40 years from June 30, 2018, the expiration date of the original license.

August 23, 2016 – NextBigFuture.com – Will A President Hillary Clinton Close Down Nuclear Power Plants? – No. In fact, Clinton generally supports nuclear energy. She does not want any nuclear power plants to close prematurely, particularly the New York Indian Point plant. Clinton has said that “rapidly shutting down our nation’s nuclear power fleet puts ideology ahead of science and would make it harder and costlier to build a clean energy future”, agreeing with EPA chief Gina McCarthy and leading climate scientist Dr. James Hansen. Clinton opposes the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository and supports the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations for our nuclear future.

August 23, 2016 – Daily Mail – China’s latest food scare: 5,000 TONNES ‘radioactive seafood’ are imported by gang of smugglers from polluted Japanese waters – Thousands of tonnes of potentially corrupted and dangerous seafood products have been imported into China over the past couple of years, according to investigators, raising significant health fears. Illegal smugglers allegedly brought in around 5,000 tonnes of contraband seafood from Japan to sell cheaply since 2014, much of it sourced from near the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, according to People’s Daily Online. Customs officers in Qingdao, Shandong province, east China, revealed on August 21 that they have seized a large quantity of scallops, king crabs and fish which was being imported by vans licensed in south-west China’s Guangxi province.

August 23, 2016 – Punjab News Express – Shadow over nationwide Radiologist’s strike, Sonologists not joining – Despite the strike call by the Radiologists association, the sonologists who run 70% of the scan centres shall continue working normally. Owing to bitterness amongst the two associations of Radiologists and Sonologists, public will be saved from suffering heat otherwise directed towards government. The Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) had given a call of indefinite strike and paralyzing the ultrasound and other radiology work from September 1, 2016. The anguish of Radiologists body is over the fact that talks between radiologists and the union health ministry on amendments of the PC-PNDT Act had failed. According to the radiologists, they continue to face harsh punishments as well as harassment at the hands of authorities, even for minor clerical errors.

August 23, 2016 – Northern California News – E/V Nautilus to carry out first visual survey of WW-II era naval ship – Expedition ship E/V Nautilus will start a cruise from Monday, August 22, to study the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) and nearby sanctuary water. In this quest, the vessel will also carry out the first visual survey of the USS Independence, a World War II-era aircraft carrier that was intentionally sunk off San Francisco in 1951. The Nautilus will also live telecast of the survey from 7 to 9 pm ET. In 2015, NOAA has mapped the wreckage with the help of autonomous underwater vehicles. Members involved in the mission have affirmed that the ship will also be imaged for photomosaic and microbathymetry data. NOAA scientists were of the view that the Independence is present 2,600 feet of water off California’s Farallon Islands, but then also it is intact. As per the scientists, the ship’s its hull and flight deck are completely visible. About Independence, it has operated from November 1943 through August 1945 in the central and western Pacific. It was one of the more than 90 vessels present as a target fleet for the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests in 1946.

August 23, 2016 – Proactive Investors – NexGen Energy continues to hit high grade uranium near Arrow – NexGen Energy Ltd (CVE:NXE) hailed drill results from multiple holes at the new area 180m southwest of its Arrow deposit on the Rook 1 property in the Athabasca basin, Saskatchewan, which have hit significant high grade uranium. Today’s results are from ten holes from the recently completed winter 2016 drilling program, all of which contained mineralisation. Chief executive of NexGen Leigh Curyer said: “These results confirm the significant expansion potential of Arrow at the 180 m southwest area.

August 23, 2016 – Financial Express – Indore administration’s idea to curb accidents: Stick radium strips on cow horns – In a bid to curb accidents due to vehicles’ collision with stray cows wandering on the streets and roads, Indore administration has come up with an unique idea. The Indore Municipal Corporation with the help of some groups, has started sticking radium strips on cows’ horns and neck belts. These strips glow in the dark and help alert the riders and drivers about the presence of cows on the roads. The riders, after recognising the cow’s presence, may break or turn in time to avoid collision.

August 23, 2016 – Space.com – Probes in Orbit Spot Radiation Belt Zap from the Sun – A probe swinging around Earth through the Van Allen radiation belts was able to pick out near-light-speed electrons following a powerful geomagnetic storm, providing a rare look into the interaction between the belts and the space weather event. A new NASA video explores the shocking phenomenon. The probe witnessed the aftermath of what NASA called “the greatest geomagnetic storm of the preceding decade,” when the sun expelled a burst of charged particles, called a coronal mass ejection, toward Earth in 2015. The interplanetary zap hit Earth’s radiation belts right when a NASA probe was passing through, offering a rare glimpse of the event’s impact.

August 23, 2016 – PhysOrg – Researchers make proton radiation in cancerous tissue visible using ultrasound technology – Using ultrasound technology, physicists from the Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics make proton radiation in cancerous tissue visible. In future, the irradiation of tumors with protons could become more precise. Medical physicists from the Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics (MAP) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), together with physicists from the Technical University (TUM), the Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU) and the Universität der Bundeswehr München (UniBWM) have combined conventional ultrasound technology with proton irradiation of a tumor. Using ionoacoustic technology they developed, they are able to observe the action of proton beams in real time via ultrasound. A large number of tumors can be treated with radiation consisting of protons (positively charged hydrogen atoms), which attack and destroy the cancer cells of the tumor. However, it is crucial that the protons attack and kill only cancerous cells while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Doctors must therefore direct the energy of the protons precisely within the tumor in order to have maximum impact on the tumor cells.

August 23, 2016 – Your Nuclear News – 2 million-pound CA20 module safely lifted into Vogtle Unit 4 nuclear island – Georgia Power announced today the completion of another major milestone in the construction of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 near Waynesboro, Ga. On Saturday, the project team successfully placed the CA20 module into the Unit 4 nuclear island. Weighing nearly two million pounds, or 1,000 tons, and towering more than five stories tall, the module is the heaviest lift at the project so far this year. With a footprint of approximately 67 feet long by 47 feet wide, the critical module will house various plant components, including the used fuel storage area. It was lifted into place using a 560-foot tall heavy lift derrick, one of the largest cranes in the world.

August 23, 2016 – Union of concerned Scientists – UCS Causes Meltdowns at US Nuclear Reactors (no, really) – You won’t see it on our website. You won’t find it in materials we mail out to our members. You won’t hear it in the webinars we hold for prospective donors. But UCS caused a meltdown at a U.S. nuclear power reactor. Well, that’s only half the story. UCS caused meltdowns at two U.S. nuclear power reactors. In our defense, they (being the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the nuclear industry, started it. We only finished it. In March 1996, I still worked in the nuclear industry. Walking through the Charlotte airport, I passed a newsstand with a front window display of four rows by six columns of the current TIME magazine. Two dozen George Galatis faces looked out at me. I’d met George the previous year because we both shared concerns about spent fuel pools in boiling water reactors (Millstone Unit 1 in his case, Susquehanna in mine) and had encountered a Rhett Butler reaction by plants owners and the NRC to the safety concerns (frankly, they just didn’t give a d**n). Eric Pooley’s article in TIME about the NRC’s nonchalance could not be ignored by the federal government any more than I could have failed to notice a window full of Georges that day in Charlotte.

August 23, 2016 – New Europe – As world retreats from nuclear power, Russia pushes faster reactors – In August, a Russia prototype – BN-800 nuclear power reactor started to work at 100% capacity for the first time while an innovative Russian Generation III+ reactor has been connected to the national grid. On August 17, Unit 4 of the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant with BN-800 fast neutron reactor, which should become the most powerful prototype of the commercial reactors of this type, started operating at 100% power for the first time, State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom said in a press release. Thus begins the procedure of comprehensive testing of the unit at its rated power. This procedure is a major and final condition in preparation for the delivery of power in commercial operation. During the 15-day comprehensive test the unit will have to confirm that it is able to consistently run at the rated power load in accordance with the design parameters, without deviation.

August 23, 2016 – Interfax-Ukraine – Energoatom seeks to finance building of spent nuclear fuel facility via issue of bonds in U.S. – National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom seeks to finance building of the centralized spent nuclear fuel storage facility via the issue of securities on the U.S. stock market with the help of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Energoatom announced the start of negotiations with Bank of America Merrill Lynch regarding coordination of due diligence, drafting preliminary financing conditions, cooperation with OPIC in registering the insurance policy and preparation of documents for the issue of the bonds. The expected cost of the agreement between Energoatom and Bank of America Merrill Lynch is $1.5 million.

August 23, 2016 – Syracuse.com – Companies ask regulators to approve sale of FitzPatrick nuclear plant – The companies involved in the $110 million sale of FitzPatrick nuclear plant have asked New York regulators to approve the transaction by Nov. 18, saying the deal could fall apart without prompt regulatory approval. Entergy Corp., the current owner, and Exelon Corp., the buyer, filed a petition Monday asking the state Public Service Commission to approve the sale. They also will seek approvals soon from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the IRS and other agencies. The sale will be automatically canceled, unless Entergy and Exelon mutually agree to move ahead, if PSC approval and other conditions are not met by Nov. 18, according to a copy of the sales agreement provided to state regulators.

August 23, 2016 – Richmond Register – Estill citizens group wants say in landfill settlement – When state officials take action on the illegal dumping of low-level radioactive fracking waste at an Estill County landfill, the local citizens group wants a “seat at the table.” “The Concerned Citizens of Estill County are not satisfied with the plans by the Energy and Environmental Cabinet to allow mere comments on agreements made between the Cabinet and Advanced Disposal Services,” the group said in a letter to Energy and Environment Cabinet Sec. Charles Snavely. Advanced Disposal Services owns the Estill landfill where 2,000 tons of radioactive waste was illegally dumped.

August 23, 2016 – Guam Daily Post – Indigenous Australians fight nuclear dump plan on sacred land – Enice Marsh remembers the black clouds of “poison stuff” that billowed from the northwest after British atomic bomb tests in the 1950s spread fallout across swathes of South Australia. Now a new kind of radioactivity could head to her ancestral home in the remote Flinders Ranges – a nuclear waste dump. “To me, it feels like a death penalty,” said Marsh, 73, standing in the cemetery of the outback town of Hawker, where many of her relatives are buried under red earth. “We are one big family and the land also is family to us. We care for the land just in the same way we care for our family.” South Australia is at the heart of a debate over the nation’s nuclear future that highlights a familiar tension between quick economic gain and long-term custodianship of land occupied by Aboriginal people for more than 50,000 years.

August 23, 2016 – Food Safety News – Hong Kong still testing food imports for Fukushima’s radiation – More than five years ago on Friday, March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 set off a large tsunami sending a 50-foot wall of water over three Fukushima Daiichi reactors. Three of the nuclear cores melted down in the next three days. About 1,600 miles away on the next day, Saturday, March 12, 2011, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) in Hong Kong began stepped up surveillance of fresh foods including milk, vegetables and fruits, imported from Japan for radiation testing. Eleven days later, on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, CFS discovered three samples imported from Japan with radioactivity levels exceeding those considered to be safe by international Codex Alimentarius Commission. CFS is a unit of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong’s City government, which is part of China. The CFS continues to test those Japanese imports but hasn’t found any additional shipments with unsafe radiation levels.

August 23, 2016 – Los Alamos Daily Post – LANL Scientist David L. Clark Receives 2017 Glenn T. Seaborg Award For Nuclear Chemistry – Los Alamos National Laboratory chemist David L. Clark has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry, sponsored by the American Chemical Society Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology. “Dave is well-known for his breadth of accomplishment in actinide synthesis, characterization, and electronic structure elucidation, as well as the development of modern multi-method approaches to the characterization of complex actinide behaviors,” said Alan Bishop, Principal Associate Director of the Laboratory’s Science, Technology and Engineering directorate. Clark was honored for his innovative systematic studies of the fundamental chemistry of actinide elements using novel experimental techniques and giving new insights into chemical bonding of 5f electrons.

August 22, 2016 – 81 FR 56716 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Virginia Electric Power Company; Surry Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Use of AREVA’s M5[supreg] Alloy Fuel Rod Cladding Material – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is correcting a notice that was published in the Federal Register (FR) on August 3, 2016, regarding an exemption issued on July 27, 2016. This action is necessary to correct a typographical error in the SUMMARY section from “September 30, 2016,” to “September 30, 2015.”

August 22, 2016 – 81 FR 56704-56715 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – South Carolina Electric & Gas Company and South Carolina Public Service Authority; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 2 – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting an exemption from the requirements of the Commission’s regulations that require a portion of the operating test, which is part of the operator licensing examination, to be administered in a plant walk-through. The NRC is also approving alternative examination criteria in response to a July 28, 2016, request from South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G or facility licensee).

August 22, 2016 – Environmental Leader – The Granddaddy of the Climate Change Movement is Trying to Save Nuclear Energy in California – Nuclear power has a powerful advocate: James Hansen, the grandfather of the climate change movement. His latest move is to step on behalf of Pacific Gas & Electric’s Diablo Canyon, which is set to retire in 2025. He is asking California’s governor to have the public utility commission delay its decision to close the power plant until the state legislature can weigh in. “There are serious questions about whether this proposal is good for ratepayers, the environment and the climate,” Hansen and other prominent scientists have written to Governor Jerry Brown. California’s aim of cutting carbon emissions by 80 percent by mid Century won’t be reached if the 17,600 gigawatt hours that the plant cranks are retired. That’s 9 percent of the state’s electric generation and 21 percent of its low-carbon generation. “If Diablo closes it will be replaced mainly by natural gas, and California’s carbon dioxide emissions will rise,” the letter states.

August 22, 2016 – Las Vegas Review-Journal – Heller predicts new move to build Yucca Mountain after Reid retires – U.S. Sen. Dean Heller thinks there will be a new effort to kick-start the Yucca Mountain Project after one of its most powerful and outspoken opponents, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, leaves office at the end of the year. Heller, speaking at a Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday, said some members of Congress see the Nevadan’s exit as an opportunity to build the high-level nuclear waste repository in Nevada, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Heller, R-Nev., said the push for the long-debated and hotly contested repository never really disappeared under the strong opposition from Reid, at one point considered the most powerful Democrat in the nation, and then President Barack Obama. Some current members of Congress are there “for only one purpose,” he said: to get the site up and running.

August 22, 2016 – PhysOrg – Improved tests of the weak nuclear force from beta decay – Studies of beta decay, which involves an electron and antineutrino being emitted from a nucleus, can reveal new properties of the weak nuclear force—one of the four fundamental forces in the universe. Scientists performed an exquisitely precise measurement of the angular distribution of neutrinos emerging from beta decay using a completely novel approach to the experimental challenge of revealing the extremely subtle imprint of tensor interactions, subtle processes that have long defied measurement due to their modest imprint on nuclear processes. These new measurements will help hone our theoretical understanding of the weak force; such understanding could one day lead to a deeper understanding of the inner workings of our sun and other stars as well as provide valuable insights for fusion energy. The results are consistent with current particle physics theories and set general limits on possible additional contributions to the weak nuclear force.

August 22, 2016 – Buffalo News – Department of Energy needs to provide more information on planned shipments of liquid nuclear waste – The bureaucrats in Washington should consider slowing down plans for truck transport of high-level liquid nuclear waste over the Peace Bridge and across Western New York’s highways on its way to a South Carolina processing facility. This process could start as early as September and, as opponents claim, without the proper environmental reviews and public comment. After years of protest, letters, legislation and finally a lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Energy has failed to satisfactorily address concerns. If, as the agency claims, the process poses no threat to the public from terrorism or environmental hazard, then it should have no problem addressing the point-by-point issues that have been brought by various groups and a congressman. Given the issues, the department owes Western New York – and all along the trucks’ potential routes – at least that much.

August 22, 2016 – WEKU 88.9 – Advocacy Group Wants Role in Landfill Cleanup Negotiations – A citizens group wants representation at the table as the state of Kentucky negotiates the clean-up of radioactive waste at a Central Kentucky landfill. The best a state official is offering is to hear citizen comments. Representatives with the Energy and Environmental Cabinet are talking with Advanced Disposal Services. It’s the owner of the Estill County landfill where 2,000 tons of radioactive waste was illegally dumped. Concerned Citizens of Estill County is asking that two of its members be included in negotiations. Mary Cromer is with the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center. She says there needs to be transparency in the process and adds, so far that hasn’t happened. “There was an initial meeting with state officials back in March, but the state has pretty much been silent since then,” noted Cromer.

August 22, 2016 – Consumer Eagle – Perma Fix Environmental Services Inc Has Another Bullish Trade, Fundamental Global Investors Bought Stake! – Fundamental Global Investors filed with the SEC SC 13D/A form for Perma Fix Environmental Services Inc. The form can be accessed here: 000114420416120407. As reported in Fundamental Global Investors’s form, the filler as of late owns 7.1% or 817,016 shares of the Industrials–company. Perma Fix Environmental Services Inc stake is a new one for the and it was filed because of activity on August 3, 2016. We feel this shows Fundamental Global Investors’s positive view for the stock.

August 22, 2016 – OpenPR – Nuclear Medicine Market to Cross US$ 4.5 Billion by 2021 – Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as “Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market by Type (Diagnostic (SPECT – Technetium, PET – F-18), Therapeutic (Beta Emitters – I-131, Alpha Emitters, Brachytherapy – Y-90) & by Application (Oncology, Thyroid, Cardiology) – Global Forecasts to 2021”. The nuclear medicine market is expected to exceed more than US$ 4.5 billion by 2021 growing at around 9.0% CAGR for the given forecast period. Nuclear medicine is special category in medical branch used for diagnosis and treatment of disease in a safe and painless way. Nuclear medicine contain radioactive material which combined called as radiopharmaceutical. The small quantity of radiopharmaceutical is given into human body in the form of injection or swallowing. It goes to specific location of a body where there could be disease or abnormality. It emits radiation called gamma rays and contains gamma camera which helps nuclear medicine physician to see inside the body. It takes pictures of inner body which helps physician to diagnose patients’ disease.

August 22, 2016 – Optics.org – NASA mission to map asteroid using lidar and spectrometers – A NASA mission to investigate an asteroid in unprecedented detail with a variety of photonics-based equipment is set to launch September 8 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Kitted out with a lidar altimeter, visible-IR spectrometers and a trio of cameras, the “OSIRIS-REx” mission (short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) is aiming to generate new insights into planet formation and the origin of life on Earth. Arizona scientists are heavily involved in the mission, with Dante Lauretta from the University of Arizona in Tucson heading things up as principal investigator. “The launch of OSIRIS-REx is the beginning a seven-year journey to return pristine samples from asteroid Bennu,” said Lauretta. “The team has built an amazing spacecraft, and we are well-equipped to investigate Bennu and return with our scientific treasure.”

August 22, 2016 – The Guardian – Radon from fracking will not be a threat – In his letter (11 August) Dr David Lowry raised the issue of radon and shale gas quoting studies in Pennsylvania and sought to reinforce his own views by quoting from a study undertaken by Public Health England in 2014. Let me quote the same study, which states, “caution is required when extrapolating experiences in other countries to the UK since the mode of operation, underlying geology and regulatory environment are likely to be different” and “the PHE position remains, therefore, that the shale gas extraction process poses a low risk to human health if properly run and regulated”.

August 22, 2016 – PhysOrg – Scientists create method to obtain the most precise data for thermonuclear reactors – Researchers from the National Research Nuclear University, working as part of an IAEA project, have created the most accurate method to date of obtaining the data needed to reliably operate a thermonuclear reactor. The results were published in the Journal of Nuclear Materials. Thermonuclear facilities attempt to generate electricity using thermonuclear fusion reactions like those that drive the sun. The largest thermonuclear fusion project is ITER, which is currently under construction in France. Constructing thermonuclear reactors poses a number of challenges. For example, choosing the material for the most energetically tense reactor elements, which are in contact with thermonuclear plasma, is difficult. Tungsten is a material of interest, though specialists are still unsure how this metal will behave in the conditions of a working fusion reactor. In particular, researchers are interested in tungsten’s interaction with one of the components of thermonuclear fuel, the radioactive hydrogen isotope tritium. One potential problem is defects of plasma-facing reactor walls caused by tritium radiation.

August 22, 2016 – High Country News – Nuclear power divides California’s environmentalists – At the end of June, nearly 100 environmentalists marched through the streets of Oakland, California, stopping to picket an unlikely foe: the Sierra Club. While most of their comrades waved signs outside the concrete building’s expansive front windows, a small group took the elevators upstairs to the main office and began chanting: “We’re on a mission to stop all emissions!” “We love you, and we’re behind you,” declared Eric Meyer, organizer of the march. “But you’re wrong about one thing: nuclear power.” The protest followed Pacific Gas & Electric’s announcement that it would close the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in 2025. PG&E executives said it would be too expensive to install the new cooling towers and seismic upgrades needed to keep it open. Both the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council pushed for the closure because they say that there’s no long-term disposal method for nuclear waste, and the plants consume too much water. But environmentalists like Meyer argue that Diablo Canyon is currently California’s single largest producer of carbon-free power, and closing it will derail the state’s ambitious efforts to phase out fossil fuels. California already leads the nation in renewable energy, with 22 percent of its electricity coming from geothermal, wind and solar. By 2030, it hopes to more than double that figure.

August 22, 2016 – Los Angeles Times – Nuclear accident in New Mexico ranks among the costliest in U.S. history – When a drum containing radioactive waste blew up in an underground nuclear dump in New Mexico two years ago, the Energy Department rushed to quell concerns in the Carlsbad desert community and quickly reported progress on resuming operations. The early federal statements gave no hint that the blast had caused massive long-term damage to the dump, a facility crucial to the nuclear weapons cleanup program that spans the nation, or that it would jeopardize the Energy Department’s credibility in dealing with the tricky problem of radioactive waste. But the explosion ranks among the costliest nuclear accidents in U.S. history, according to a Times analysis. The long-term cost of the mishap could top $2 billion, an amount roughly in the range of the cleanup after the 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

August 22, 2016 – London School of Business & Finance – Wind and solar power could challenge nuclear energy – One of Hinkley Point’s main advantages is offering continuous, “on-all-the-time” power. However, technology and its lower costs may be erasing the need for the plant to be built. One of those technologies is hi-tech battery storage. Currently being researched are lithium-air, sodium-ion and redox flow batteries. These all offer better energy options if developed, and will be cheaper than electricity. Their potential for energy storage will address complaints that wind and solar are intermittent. The green industry also believes that renewables are cheaper and that they will make the Hinkley project unnecessary. Solarcentury (a solar panel maker) Founder, Jeremy Leggett, said: “Finally the message is getting through that Hinkley, and indeed nuclear, make no sense today simply because wind and solar are cheaper. If we accelerate renewables in the UK, we can get to 100% renewable power well before 2050.”

August 22, 2016 – Sputnik International – Russia Unique in Being Able to Use Fast Breeder Reactors in Nuclear Industry – Russia is the only country able to introduce fast breeder reactors into the nuclear industry, Boris Vasiliev, chief designer of the Fast Neutron Reactors Department in Rosatom’s Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau for Mechanical Engineering (OKBM Afrikantov) said. “Currently, Russia is the only country in the world able to introduce fast neutron reactors into the nuclear power industry. This is because only in Russia have studies of all stages of BN technologies been completed… I must mention the initiative by Russian nuclear experts to develop leading fast breeder reactors under a project named Proryv [Breakthrough]. The main aim of the next stage is to create the pilot and demonstration reactor [called] BREST-300. If it works successfully, it will give us an additional opportunity to develop components of fast breeder reactors,” Vasiliev told RIA Novosti in an interview.

August 22, 2016 – Hartford Courant – Kevin Rennie: Our Bipartisan Battle Against Nuclear Waste Dump – Last week, I wrote about the treachery accompanying the passage of the income tax I witnessed as a state representative 25 years ago this month. It was not, however, the only issue that commanded my attention that year. At a time when cynicism is flourishing, it’s important to hear this story of citizens and their representatives defeating a government plan thought to have been unstoppable. On June 10, 1991, a state agency announced that it had chosen three prospective sites in East Windsor, Ellington and South Windsor for a nuclear waste dump. John Larson, Ed Graziani and I were the legislators for the three towns. With nearby representatives Joe Courtney and Nancy Wyman, we became an unlikely and united bipartisan quintet in fighting this disorienting move by a government agency, the Low Level Hazardous Management Service. An ill-considered federal law required states to take more responsibility for disposing of the radioactive waste generated within their borders. Connecticut and New Jersey had entered into an agreement that required each state to build a facility for storing certain types of radioactive waste.

August 22, 2016 – Cape Cod Times – Challenge to nuclear waste facility heads to trial – After two years of waiting, neighbors of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will go to trial Monday in state Land Court to challenge construction of a massive storage facility for nuclear spent fuel on plant property. The lawsuit, filed in 2014 by a handful of residents who live within two miles of the plant, alleges that the nuclear waste facility will affect property values. The town of Plymouth improperly granted permits to Entergy, Pilgrim’s owner-operator, in 2013, they say. They contend a special permit process with a public hearing should have been required. Defendants in the case are Entergy; Plymouth Building Commissioner Paul McAuliffe, who issued a building permit for a concrete pad where massive dry casks would store spent fuel; and members of the Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals, who upheld the building commissioner’s actions.

August 22, 2016 – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Clean energy doesn’t require a nuclear renaissance – Edward H. Klevans (“Nuclear Power’s Time Has Come,” Aug. 12 Perspectives) praises New York state for providing clean energy credits to keep its otherwise uncompetitive nuclear plants running and finds “an overwhelming case for […] reliance on, and expansion of, America’s nuclear energy infrastructure.” Market reality suggests a limited and temporary role for nuclear power. In California, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced in June that it will phase out Diablo Canyon’s two nuclear reactors over nine years, because they’re too costly to operate and not necessary. Its output will be replaced entirely by efficiency and renewables, burning no fossil fuels, emitting no carbon and costing $1 billion less (net present value through 2044) than continuing to run the high-performing plant (estimated savings according to the National Resource Defense Council).

August 22, 2016 – Amarillo Globe News – Officials, dignitaries gather for Pantex groundbreaking – National dignitaries gathered Thursday for the groundbreaking of the new Pantex Administrative Center, which will house up to 1,100 office employees. “It’s pretty remarkable that this will take roughly a third of the workforce at Pantex that work in conditions that, if anything, are unsure,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz. “It’s a new chapter, a chapter of modernization. It’s already been said that we have a great challenge ahead of us in terms of the life extension of our (nuclear stockpile).” The 343,000-square-foot building is the culmination of 16 months of planning by Consolidated Nuclear Security, the company that manages the Pantex Plant, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Construction is expected to be finished in spring of 2018. The building will be located at the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 2373 and U.S. Highway 60.

August 22, 2016 – AlterNet – The Toxic Legacy of Racism and Nuclear Waste Is Very Much Still With Us in Los Alamos – The air is crisp, cool and fresh. The sun is warm, but not too much. Residents picnic at a pond complete with cruising swans and ducks. The vistas of the Jemez Mountains and the mesas of the Pajarito Plateau are breathtaking. Flowers are in bloom. Everything is green. The historical structures are quaint and rustic, ranch-style houses made of wood and corrugated tin. The city is quiet and peaceful, a perfect slice of small-town America. It’s difficult at times to remember that this is the part of the world where the nuclear bomb was invented. It’s hard to picture the hundreds of thousands who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki while standing in this environment, filling your lungs with fresh air; difficult to imagine the sounds of the celebrations that ensued after receiving the news via telegram from Truman while you listen to the wind rustle through the trees. No one could hear the screams of burning children halfway across the world from all the way up here.

August 22, 2016 – Deseret News – For future nuclear electric power, small is the answer – Small modular nuclear reactors, combined with renewables, are the only opportunity we have to achieve such reductions in carbon emissions and control global warming. On the horizon are U.S.-designed small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) that range from 50 megawatts to 300 megawatts electrical power output. Like renewables (wind and solar), SMRs produce no air pollution or global warming gases, but SMRs are also capable of generating base load electrical power on demand. Almost 50 companies are creating designs for SMRs using 21st-century technology and enhanced features. These designs include modularity, efficient factory construction, rapid siting and exceptional safe operation. Very important is that SMRs are less expensive and easier and faster to site and build than conventional 1,200-megawatt nuclear plants. Reliance on renewables as now pursued by Germany has resulted in 37 cents per kilowatt-hour in U.S. dollars compared with France (75 percent nuclear base) at 17 cents per kilowatt-hour and Utah at 11 cents per kilowatt-hour.

August 22, 2016 – SF Gate – Scientists to examine WWII carrier that survived nuclear tests – Scientists aboard an ocean research ship moored at the Embarcadero are preparing to probe the sunken remains of an American aircraft carrier that was blasted by atom bombs at Bikini during the first postwar tests of the nation’s nuclear firepower. Marine archaeologists and biologists aboard the E/V Nautilus — its initials stand for Exploration Vessel — said Thursday that they will use a remotely operated underwater vehicle to take the first new photographs of the Independence, the famed World War II aircraft carrier that survived the first Bikini atom bomb tests in the Pacific in 1946 and was later used to train sailors for radiation readiness at Hunters Point. The ship was finally sunk by the Navy in 1951 and now lies in 2,600 feet of water near the borders of the Monterey Bay and Greater Farallones national marine sanctuaries.

August 22, 2016 – KREM 2 – Legal papers depict Hanford managers eager to cut back on safety – Legal documents filed by the Washington state attorney general, the advocacy group Hanford challenge and the local 598 pipefitters union detail a trail of decisions by managers at Hanford that, according to the records, explain why a record number of workers have been exposed to suspected chemical vapors and are suffering adverse health effects from them in the last three months. The documents paint a picture of a government contractor eager to cut back on safety protections for the workforce, even during some of the most hazardous work conducted in years. Then, the attorney general and Hanford challenge contend managers didn’t respond accordingly, but instead looked the other way as workers began getting sick in record numbers.

August 22, 2016 – USNRC Press Release (08/19/16) – NRC Makes Yucca Mountain Hearing Documents Publicly Available – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made nearly 3.7 million documents from the adjudicatory hearing on the proposed nuclear waste repository at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain publicly available in the agency’s online documents database. The documents were formerly part of the Licensing Support Network (LSN) created to allow various parties and the public access to documents needed for the hearing on the Department of Energy’s request for a construction authorization for the repository. The NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards had admitted nearly 300 contentions from various parties challenging aspects of DOE’s application. The LSN was shut down when the hearing was suspended in September 2011 after Congress reduced funding.

August 19, 2016 – 81 FR 55455 – DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD – Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board Memberships – This notice announces the membership of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Senior Executive Service (SES) Performance Review Board (PRB). DATES: August 19, 2016. ADDRESSES: Send comments concerning this notice to: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 625 Indiana Avenue NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20004-2001. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Biscieglia by telephone at (202) 694-7041. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(1) through (5) requires each agency to establish, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, one or more performance review boards. The PRB shall review and evaluate the initial summary rating of a senior executive’s performance, the executive’s response, and the higher level official’s comments on the initial summary rating. In addition, the PRB will review and recommend executive performance bonuses and pay increases.

August 19, 2016 – 81 FR 55459-55460 – DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health Subcommittee for Dose Reconstruction Reviews, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Meeting – In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announces the following meeting for the aforementioned subcommittee: Time and Date: 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m., EDT, September 13, 2016. Place: Audio Conference Call via FTS Conferencing. Status: Open to the public, but without a public comment period. The public is welcome to submit written comments in advance of the meeting, to the contact person below. Written comments received in advance of the meeting will be included in the official record of the meeting. The public is also welcome to listen to the meeting by joining the teleconference at the USA toll-free, dial-in number at 1-866-659-0537 and the pass code is 9933701. Background: The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (ABRWH or the Advisory Board) was established under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to advise the President on a variety of policy and technical functions required to implement and effectively manage the new compensation program. Key functions of the Advisory Board include providing advice on the development of probability of causation guidelines that have been promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a final rule; advice on methods of dose reconstruction, which have also been promulgated by HHS as a final rule; advice on the scientific validity and quality of dose estimation and reconstruction efforts being performed for purposes of the compensation program; and advice on petitions to add classes of workers to the Special Exposure Cohort.

August 19, 2016 – Nevada Appeal – Heller: Don’t force Yucca on Nevada – Sen. Dean Heller says the nation needs a program to dispose of and store nuclear fuel and radioactive waste but Yucca Mountain isn’t the answer. In a letter to House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee chairman John Shimkus, the Nevada Republican urged him not to try to revive the defunct Yucca Mountain repository project. Shimkus is holding hearings focused on doing just that. “I fully appreciate the importance to Illinois, which is home to more nuclear power plants than any other state in the nation, that progress is made,” he said. “With that said, that solution is not forcing the burden on Nevada, a state that has never had a nuclear power plant.” Heller pointed out the Department of Energy last year began an initiative to find communities willing to host a waste storage and disposal facility. He said that program is “the only viable long-term solution to our nation’s nuclear waste problem.”

August 19, 2016 – New Baltimore Voice – Cause of massive fire at St. Clair Power Plant under investigation – Authorities are investigating the cause of a massive fire that raged for more than 10 hours at the St. Clair Power Plant in East China Township Thursday and Friday. The fire broke out at the DTE plant on Recor Road at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Fire crews extinguished the blaze at about 4:45 a.m. Friday and continue to monitor the facility for rekindling. All employees were evacuated from the building with no injuries reported. Small radioactive sources used in level gauges are present in piping inside the facility, but pose no threat to first responders or the public, St. Clair County officials stated in a press release. Monitoring of all hazardous materials that could pose a threat will continue throughout the response.

August 19, 2016 – Blackburn News – Opposition Growing Against Trucking Radioactive Waste – A proposal to truck highly radioactive liquid waste 1,000 miles through the United States and Canada isn’t sitting well with many environmentalists. The US Department of Energy wants to transport the material from Chalk River, near Ottawa, to the Savannah River site in South Carolina. Beyond Nuclear Radioactive Waste Specialist Kevin Kamps believes this has never been done via truck and says it would set a dangerous precedent. “We’re worried about the Bluewater Bridge, Sault St. Marie, and Interstate 75 traversing much of Michigan as well as Interstate 69,” says Kamps.

August 19, 2016 – PhysOrg – Method to entangle thousands of atoms could lead to record clock stability – Physicists have proposed a method for entangling hundreds of atoms, and then entangling a dozen or so groups of these hundreds of atoms, resulting in a quantum network of thousands of entangled atoms. Since small bundles of these entangled groups can function as atomic clocks, this design is the first detailed proposal for a quantum network of atomic clocks. The scientists estimate that, if realized, these clocks will have an order of magnitude greater stability than today’s best atomic clocks. Superstable clocks are critical for measuring astronomical effects such as gravitational waves and, potentially, dark matter.

August 19, 2016 – Santa Fe New Mexican – Navajo Nation gets federal funds for mine cleanup – The Navajo Nation will receive more than $300,000 for cleanup work at abandoned uranium mines through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The $328,847 will cover the costs of cleanup work for the next 14 months, and additional grant funding may be available after that, the EPA has said. More than $100 million has been spent remediating the mine sites, but the work likely will require hundreds of millions of dollars more. Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye said in a statement that the mining occurred decades ago, and companies that mined the sites have become difficult to identify and hold accountable.

August 19, 2016 – KYForward.com – Public health researchers, geologists combine to create radon risk potential maps for state, 15 counties – University of Kentucky health researchers and geologists combined their research on radon and created a map that shows which parts of Kentucky have the highest risk of radon exposure, and most recently created maps that focus on 15 counties, according to a UK news release. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. “It is a collaboration between two disciplines that might not traditionally be seen as related,” Ellen Hahn, a professor in the UK College of Nursing, said in the release. “There is a new and emerging emphasis on geology as we think about other disciplines, in this case, nursing and public health.”

August 19, 2016 – Tasnim News Agency – Over-The-Counter Laser Pointers A Threat to Eyesight – Some laser pointers that can be bought over the counter are unsafe to the point that they can cause blindness, report researchers. Laser pointers bought legally for less than $AU30 are a threat to eyesight — with one pointer found to be 127 times over the Australian legal limit. RMIT University researchers in Melbourne, Australia, found that green lasers were most dangerous, with all four models tested failing Australian standards. Now they are calling on government to consider banning green lasers. In the meantime, they are recommending authorities to implement stringent testing and quality control.

August 19,2016 – Tecake.in – Hawking Radiation studied and proved in a new study, for the first time – Black hole remained a mystery as knowing anything about it was quite difficult, until now. A virtual hole has been created in a lab and studied, showing that some particles can escape black holes. Scientists believed that black hole traps whatever enters it, the reason that the name is ‘black hole’, and nothing can come out of it. In 1975 Stephen Hawking, the popular physicist came up with the theory that black holes are not completely black and that some particles known as ‘Hawking Radiations’ can escape through it, this can happen only when a particle and its antimatter are situated at the edge of the hole, in this case either of them escapes the black hole along with its energy. The energy loss results in shrinking the black hole. Jeff Steinhauer, a physicist at the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa chilled atoms in a test-tube to create black hole, phonons were created inside it, which are pairs of sound particles that were made to move very fast inside the liquid which was Bose-Enistein condensate of rubidium-87 atoms. This resulted in moving away of one particle when the liquid was sped up to the speed of light, other particles escaped. The same experiment was repeated for 4600 times and conclusion was made, though it did not show anything about light but sound works just fine with it.

August 19, 2016 – Standardmedia.co.ke – How phones can actually cause cancer – The debate whether cell phone use can cause cancer and other tumors has been ranging for some time now. Though medical experts worldwide differ on this, some like Ruchira Misra are convinced of the effects of prolonged cell-phone usage. Dr. Misra, a consultant Pediatric Hematologist and Oncologist at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in India, believes that prolonged use of mobile phones exposes the user to radio frequency radiation which can cause cancer. “There are not enough studies to prove this; but we have seen that there is radiation exposure from the batteries that can cause cancer, and so should not be held close,” said Misra. The doctor wrote to the family of a 15-year-old girl fighting for her life for the past three years with T cell Rich B cell Lymphoma, saying the condition was as a result of exposure to cell phone radiation.

August 19, 2016 – Nature World – NASA Van Allen Probe Glimpses How Radiation Belts Become ‘Supercharged’ – On March 17, 2015, the Earth was under attack from the Sun. A great solar flare caused an interplanetary shockwave that rippled through the Earth’s magnetic field, creating one of the greatest solar storms in the last decade. The solar flare, which is called coronal mass ejection of CME, resulted in a geomagnetic storm that shook the Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts – the region in the Earth’s outer atmosphere held in place by the magnetic field. Fortunately, NASA’s Van Allen Probes were there to capture the rare phenomenon on their instruments, which were detailed in a paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. “We study radiation belts because they pose a hazard to spacecraft and astronauts,” David Sibeck, the Van Allen Probes mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who was not involved in the research, said in a statement.

August 19, 2016 – ForexTV.com – Order from two customers in Belgium for C-RAD systems – C-RAD has secured an order for a Catalyst HD™, a Catalyst™ system and a Sentinel 4DCT™ system for two radiation therapy centers in Belgium. The order has a total value of 6.1 MSEK. The Catalyst HD™ and Catalyst will be delivered with the complete software configuration containing modules for Respiratory Gating, Patient Setup and Positioning, and Motion Monitoring, as well as interfaces to Varian and Elekta linear accelerators and the respective CT imaging modality. The customers also selected C-RAD’s unique audio-visual couching functionality, which supports an interactive gating mode. Delivery and installation are expected to start in September 2016. Sales and marketing for the C-RAD products in Belgium and the Netherlands is carried out by the Dutch company AEP International B.V. AEP International has more than 35 years of experience marketing and selling high-quality linear accelerator components, as well as representing many renowned RT brands in the Benelux area.

August 19, 2016 – Asahi Shimbun – Panel: TEPCO’s ‘ice wall’ failing at Fukushima nuclear plant – Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s “frozen wall of earth” has failed to prevent groundwater from entering the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and the utility needs a new plan to address the problem, experts said. An expert panel with the Nuclear Regulation Authority received a report from TEPCO on the current state of the project on Aug. 18. The experts said the ice wall project, almost in its fifth month, has shown little or no success. “The plan to block groundwater with a frozen wall of earth is failing,” said panel member Yoshinori Kitsutaka, a professor of engineering at Tokyo Metropolitan University. “They need to come up with another solution, even if they keep going forward with the plan.”

August 19, 2016 – Mondaq Review – Canada: The Unlikely Intersection Of Nuclear Fallout And Green Energy – Will the world’s largest atomic fallout exclusion zone one day host the world’s largest solar farm? The infamous nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, near Pripyat in Soviet Ukraine, occurred 30 years ago. A fire and series of explosions in one of the plant’s reactors caused the largescale release of radiation across parts of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and other parts of Europe. Despite extensive containment and decontamination efforts, lingering radiation in the area immediately surrounding the site of the meltdown has rendered the land uninhabitable for humans, likely for centurties. Other uses of the land, such as forestry or farming, have also been deemed too risky. As a result, a large swathe of once-viable land in northern Ukraine sits unused.

August 19, 2016 – Business Review – Romanian politicians react to US nuclear weapons transfer reports – The report by Euractiv.ro that the United States has started the transfer of nuclear weapons from Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base to the Deveselu air base in Romania has triggered numerous reactions from Romania’s politicians. The country’s Ministry of Defense denied yesterday the reports, which he dismissed as “speculations.” According to Euractiv.ro, the weapons are being transferred due to the worsening of relations between Washington and Ankara. The Incirlik Air Base is located 10 km east of Ankara. “What I can tell you is that there were no talks, neither at political level, nor at specialized level to this end. There is no thinking, no plan in this direction. Therefore, absolutely, we can only call such reports speculations,” Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc spoke from Buzau, where he attended Romania’s 2nd Army centennial celebrations.

August 19, 2016 – Hartford Courant – Kevin Rennie: Our Bipartisan Battle Against Nuclear Waste Dump – Last week, I wrote about the treachery accompanying the passage of the income tax I witnessed as a state representative 25 years ago this month. It was not, however, the only issue that commanded my attention that year. At a time when cynicism is flourishing, it’s important to hear this story of citizens and their representatives defeating a government plan thought to have been unstoppable. On June 10, 1991, a state agency announced that it had chosen three prospective sites in East Windsor, Ellington and South Windsor for a nuclear waste dump. John Larson, Ed Graziani and I were the legislators for the three towns. With nearby representatives Joe Courtney and Nancy Wyman, we became an unlikely and united bipartisan quintet in fighting this disorienting move by a government agency, the Low Level Hazardous Management Service. An ill-considered federal law required states to take more responsibility for disposing of the radioactive waste generated within their borders. Connecticut and New Jersey had entered into an agreement that required each state to build a facility for storing certain types of radioactive waste.

August 19, 2016 – Nature World News – ‘Secret Clocks’ In Tree-Rings Could Date Events From Thousands of Years Ago – Trees that grew during intense radiation bursts hold “secret clocks” that could pinpoint historical events in world history, scientists said. According to researchers at Oxford University, massive solar storms caused intense radiation bursts to impact the Earth sometime in 775 and 994 AD, which caused large concentrations of radiocarbon to be trapped inside the trees growing during that period. “Variations in atmospheric radiocarbon concentration are largely the result of carbon dioxide emissions from activity from volcanoes and the ocean, but they are also influenced by changes in solar activity,” Michael Dee from the School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford and lead author of the study said in a press release. “The spikes in 775 and 994AD were almost vertical and of comparable magnitude all around the Earth. Such markers can be easily identified in known-age tree-rings and are fixed in time.

August 19, 2016 – Democracy & Freedom Watch – Georgian drivers can now check if their car is radioactive – Georgian drivers can now get their car examined for radioactivity. But why would they want to do that? The new radiation control service became available on Wednesday and will be handled by the agency for nuclear and radiation security of the Environment Ministry. The ministry’s unusual concern for radioactive cars is related to the fact many of the vehicles seen driving along Georgian roads have been imported from Japan, which experienced a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant in 2011. Vasil Gedevanishvli, head of the agency, told DFWatch that even though cars are examined at the border control, it will now be possible for drivers to voluntarily approach the agency and re-check their car. Checking the car for nuclear radiation cost 50 laris and takes 15-20 minutes.

August 19, 2016 – Express Tribune – How well prepared are we to deal with any possible fallout of a radioactive disaster – August marks the anniversaries of the United States (US) attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The World War II nuclear bombing killed 90% of Hiroshima’s population while tens of thousands died later due to radiation exposure. In Nagasaki, an estimated 40,000 people were killed. Today, despite consistent rise in nation states’ interest in building and expanding their nuclear capability, a combination of stringent safeguards and international diplomacy has largely reduced the threat of a repeat of a Hiroshima/Nagasaki. However, bombing is not the only way for toxic levels of radioactivity to make its way to common people’s lives. In the past 70 years, 440 radiation accidents have occurred worldwide, largely linked to nuclear power plants. A critical nuclear plant accident not only demand intensive disaster response in terms of addressing the radiation contamination, but states are required to undertake massive operations for evacuation and resettlement, while also dealing with psycho-social impacts of the disaster, and resurrect of a shattered economy.

August 19, 2016 – The Conversation – Nuclear power deserves a level playing field – In one of the courses I teach at Penn State, we discuss the characteristics of an ideal electricity production portfolio for the United States and consider what form of energy policy would best achieve it. The class typically identifies the most important factors as cost, reliability of supply, public safety and environmental impact. Students also cite other characteristics, such as national security, domestic availability of fuels and technologies, and electric grid stability. Because no real-world energy source fulfills all of these characteristics, we have to make compromises to find an optimal combination of energy sources. Ideally a well-designed national energy policy would give us a framework for making these choices by balancing short-term goals, such as cost, against long-term goals, such as environmental protection. However, there really is no coherent long-term energy policy in the United States. What exists instead is an ad hoc hodgepodge of subsidies, taxes and regulations differing across regions of the country, that, along with the free market, end up determining what energy sources are used for the production of electricity. In particular, we have no carbon tax to penalize carbon-emitting technologies.

August 19, 2016 – The Daily Caller – Report: Nuke Commission Improperly Stores Classified Info, Jeopardizes Govt Secrets – U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) officials are jeopardizing sensitive government secrets by processing and storing classified information on seven unauthorized systems, according to a new NRC Inspector General (IG) report. “NRC has national security systems that were operating without the required authorizations to operate, contrary to federal and internal requirements,” the IG said. The problem developed because of unclear or confusing policies and procedures for operating national security systems. As a result, the commission — which licenses, inspects and enforces regulations for commercial nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear materials — violated Committee on National Security Standards (CNSS) rules requiring authorization for all national security systems.

August 19, 2016 – The Conversation – Compete or suckle: Should troubled nuclear reactors be subsidized? – Since the 1950s, U.S. nuclear power has commanded immense taxpayer and customer subsidy based on promises of economic and environmental benefits. Many of these promises are unfulfilled, but new ones take their place. More subsidies follow. Today the nuclear industry claims that keeping all operating reactors running for many years, no matter how uneconomic they become, is essential in order to reach U.S. climate change targets. Economics have always challenged U.S. reactors. After more than 100 construction cancellations and cost overruns costing up to US$5 billion apiece, Forbes Magazine in 1985 called nuclear power “the greatest managerial disaster in business history…only the blind, or the biased, can now think that most of the money [$265 billion by 1990] has been well spent.” U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chair Lewis Strauss’ 1954 promise that electric power would be “too cheap to meter” is today used to mock nuclear economics, not commend them.

August 19, 2016 – WBFO 88.7 – Legal fight underway to keep nuclear waste out of WNY – Radioactive liquid nuclear waste may soon be shipped across the Peace Bridge and through Western New York. As that reality looms, several organizations have joined forces to block the plan. The plan includes shipping nearly 6,000 gallons of liquid nuclear across the Peace Bridge. Experts say people in vehicles next to the trucks would be exposed to radiation. The groups, including the Sierra Club, have filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop the nuclear waste shipments. Under the U.S. Department of Energy’s plan, about 150 tractor-trailer loads of highly radioactive waste would travel a thousand miles from Chalk River, Ontario through Buffalo to a DOE processing site in South Carolina. Highly radioactive material from Chalk River, Ontario would be shipped through Buffalo in casks like this on tractor trailers. “This weapons-grade uranium is essentially the same kind of material that was in the Hiroshima bomb,” said Dr. Gordon Edwards with the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.

August 19, 2016 – Sputnik News – Radioactive Waste Leak at New York Nuke Plant Left Unrepaired for Years – An unrepaired New York nuclear power plant has been leaking highly-radioactive waste for at least four years, and those responsible will likely evade prosecution. According to a quarterly inspection report by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the leak at the Fitzpatrick plant is of “very low safety significance” in the immediate future, as it is in a contained area, but regulators warn that it will make the site far more difficult to decontaminate when the reactor is shut down. The NRC has stated that plant owner Entergy Corp. has not repaired the leak, despite knowing about it for four years and considering the uncontrolled radioactivity to be a “more than minor significance.”

August 19, 2016 – NY Newsday – Right move to save nuclear plants – The recent passage of a new Clean Energy Standard makes New York a leader in recognizing nuclear power’s crucial role in our energy portfolio and in the protection of our environment [“Cash to aid nuke plants,” News, Aug. 2]. The Public Service Commission’s support for nuclear plants means that we’re one step closer to achieving the ambitious and important goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent (from 1990 levels) by 2030. The new CES is a win because billions of dollars in economic activity and state and local taxes are provided by our nuclear fleet. Our workers, families, and communities win because they benefit from thousands of good-paying jobs. Our environment wins because nuclear generation in New York prevents the emission of 15.5 million metric tons of carbon each year. One important step remains: The state should drop its opposition to the relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear plant, which produces fully 20 percent of New York’s clean power and prevents the emission of 6.5 million metric tons of carbon annually.

August 19, 2016 – Odessa American – Andrews County judge appointed to state nuclear waste commission – Gov. Greg Abbott reappointed Andrew County Judge Richard Dolgener and a Waco health physicist to a state commission charged with managing and disposing of low level radioactive waste while maintaining public welfare. The governor announced the appointments to the the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission on Wednesday. Dolgener was reappointed with Linda Kay Morris, an associate professor at the Texas State Technical College Environmental Health and Safety Technology Department. Their terms expire on Sept. 1, 2021.

August 19, 2016 – Las Vegas Sun – Metro Police seek help finding 2 gauges with radioactive material – Authorities seek the public’s help finding two missing bright-yellow cases carrying gauges with radioactive material. According to Metro Police: The cases, which contain gauges with two radioactive isotopes, went missing last week in the Las Vegas Valley. They’re safe when handled by a trained technician, but others should “use extreme caution.”

August 18, 2016 – 81 FR 55235-55237 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Revisions to Design of Structures, Components, Equipment, and Systems Guidance for NRC Staff – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a final revision to two sections in Chapter 3, “Design of Structures, Components, Equipment, and Systems,” of NUREG-0800, “Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition.” The revisions to these Standard Review Plan (SRP) sections reflect no changes in staff position; rather they clarify the original intent of these SRP sections using plain language throughout in accordance with the NRC’s Plain Writing Action Plan. Additionally, these revisions reflect operating experience, lessons learned, and updated guidance since the last revision, and address the applicability of regulatory treatment of non-safety systems where appropriate.

August 18, 2016 – 81 FR 55237-55240 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – South Carolina Electric & Gas Company and South Carolina Public Service Authority; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station Units 2 and 3 – South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) and South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) are the holders of Combined License (COL) Nos. NPF-93 and NPF-94, which authorize the construction and operation of Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3 (VCSNS 2 & 3), respectively.\1\ The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption from the requirement that applicants for an operator license at VCSNS 2 & 3 provide evidence that the applicant, as a trainee, has successfully manipulated the controls of either the facility for which the license is sought or a plant-referenced simulator (PRS). Applicants will instead use a Commission-approved simulation facility for VCSNS 2 & 3.

August 18, 2016 – 81 FR 55174-55175 – DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE – International Trade Administration – This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda for a meeting of the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC). DATES: The meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 2, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held via conference call. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jonathan Chesebro, Office of Energy & Environmental Industries, International Trade Administration, Room 4053, 1401 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20230. (Phone: 202-482-1297; Fax: 202-482-5665; email: jonathan.chesebro@trade.gov). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The CINTAC was established under the discretionary authority of the Secretary of Commerce and in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), in response to an identified need for consensus advice from U.S. industry to the U.S. Government regarding the development and administration of programs to expand United States exports of civil nuclear goods and services in accordance with applicable U.S. laws and regulations, including advice on how U.S. civil nuclear goods and services export policies, programs, and activities will affect the U.S. civil nuclear industry’s competitiveness and ability to participate in the international market.

August 18, 2016 – 81 FR 55185 – DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Oak Ridge Reservation – This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Oak Ridge Reservation. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. DATES: Wednesday, September 14, 2016, 6:00 p.m. ADDRESSES: Olive Garden Meeting Room, 7206 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee 37919. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melyssa P. Noe, Alternate Deputy Designated Federal Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, P.O. Box 2001, EM-942, Oak Ridge, TN 37831. Phone (865) 241-3315; Fax (865) 241-6932; E-Mail: Melyssa.Noe@orem.doe.gov. Or visit the Web site at www.energy.gov/orssab. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of the Board is to make recommendations to DOE-EM and site management in the areas of environmental restoration, waste management, and related activities.

August 18, 2016 – KLAS 8 – Metro searching for stolen nuclear density gauges – The Metro Police Department is assisting the Division of Public Health in investigating the whereabouts of two stolen nuclear density gauges. According to Metro, the density gauges, which are used to determine soil compaction and contain two radioactive isotopes, were stolen from the 4000 block of Meadow Valley Lane on Aug. 11. Geotechnical engineer Chris Guertin does his work out of a laboratory built in his garage. Guertin tests concrete while gathering research to make sure casinos, homes and other buildings don’t topple over on soil. Guertin’s research requires the right tools and says he went inside his home for only a few minutes. “I come in and out of the office a lot and then at one point the gauges are gone,” Guertin said. “This is a no-nonsense situation, this is hazardous material.” Two nuclear density gauges containing radioactive isotopes are now missing. The gauges were stored in cases the size of an icebox and aren’t dangerous inside of them. If opened, the consequences could cause immediate long-term health problems.

August 18, 2016 – Daily Mail – Something fishy? Bizarre four-eyed creature baffles experts after being reeled in by an angler in Australia – A bizarre four-eyed fish has baffled scientists after being caught by a fisherman in the Northern Territory. The bizarre specimen, which has a set of eyes on the front of its head as well as the side, bears a striking resemblance to ‘Blinky’ the radioactive fish from the Simpsons. Simon Merefield took to social media to unravel the mystery of the creature, caught in Darwin’s Buffalo Creek, before scientists debated exactly what it was.

August 18, 2016 – DNA India – Radiologists threaten another strike from September 1 – Radiologists have threatened to go on an indefinite nationwide strike from September 1 against actions taken by state health officials for technical errors under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. Associations of gynaecologists and radiologists have also come together against the same. In June, the radiologists had gone on a week-long strike after one in Pune was suspended for technical mistakes under the Act.

August 18, 2016 – defenseWeb – Egypt orders airport security systems from Smiths Detection – The Egyptian Ministry of Defence has awarded Smiths Detection contracts to provide advanced detection systems for passenger checkpoint, hold baggage and cargo screening to airports across Egypt. The contracts were awarded via Egyptian security company Falcon Group and are worth almost £19 million, Smiths Detection said on 10 August. The award for X-ray scanners, people screening systems and trace detectors is part of national programme to provide an additional layer of security to existing equipment at airports. Smiths Detection systems were chosen by the Egyptian Ministry of Defence for their lifetime high performance and quality, as proven by earlier contracts, the company said.

August 18, 2016 – The Atlantic – How 4-Year-Olds Learn Particle Physics – “The game actually doesn’t teach you anything,” Lauri Järvilehto told me over lunch in Helsinki, Finland. I scratched my head, because Järvilehto, 39, is a co-founder and the CEO of a Finnish education gaming company called Lightneer, which is poised to launch its first app, “Big Bang Legends,” in the coming months. I thought “teaching”is what these learning apps are supposed to do. Järvilehto’s road to co-founding Lightneer is as intriguing as his clothing style. (The day we chatted, he wore a black T-shirt with a huge Batman logo, a yellow hooded sweatshirt, yellow sneakers, and an Apple Watch with a yellow band.) At the age of 17, Järvilehto began a 10-year career as a pop-music producer in Finland, but eventually burned out, moved to France, and started reading philosophers like Plato. Then he returned to Helsinki to pursue a master’s degree in philosophy (just for fun), after which he received a Ph.D., got hired to consult Rovio’s video-game franchise Angry Birds on education issues, and eventually wrote a 2014 book called Learning as Fun. Then in October 2015, Järvilehto founded Lightneer with another Rovio alum.

August 18, 2016 – WhaTech – New report examines the medical radiation shielding market report on geographical analysis, key player profiles and future trends from 2016 to 2021 – The report “Medical Radiation Shielding Market – Global Forecasts to 2021”, report provides a detailed overview of major drivers, restraints, challenges, opportunities, current market trends, and strategies impacting the medical radiation shielding market along with estimates and forecasts of the revenue and market share analysis. Medical radiation shielding market is expected to reach USD 1330.0 Million by 2021 from USD 989.2 Million in 2016, at a CAGR of 6.1%. Complete report on Medical Radiation Shielding Market spread across 125 Pages, Profiling 10 Companies and Supported with 66 Tables and 25 Figures is now available at http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/medical-radiation-shielding-market-by-products-x-ray-shields-booths-sheet-lead-bricks-curtain-solution-radiation-therapy-cyclotron-multimodality-pet-spect-ct-mri-end-user-hospitals-diagnostics-cen-ts-to-2021-market-report.html.

August 18, 2016 – (e) Science News – Isotope research opens new possibilities for cancer treatment – A new study at Los Alamos National Laboratory and in collaboration with Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource greatly improves scientists’ understanding of the element actinium. The insights could support innovation in creating new classes of anticancer drugs. “The short half-life of actinium-225 offers opportunity for new alpha-emitting drugs to treat cancer, although very little has been known about actinium because all of its isotopes are radioactive and have short half-lives,” said Maryline Ferrier, a Seaborg post-doctoral researcher on the Los Alamos team. “This makes it hard to handle large enough quantities of actinium to characterize its chemistry and bonding, which is critical for designing chelators.”

August 18, 2016 – Counter Punch – Helen Caldecott: “America Still Thinks It Can Win a Nuclear War” – I just attended the 31st annual national Veterans for Peace convention here in Berkeley and was truly inspired by the hundreds of vets who attended it, and by their organization’s heroic stand for peace. As one vet put it, “Been there, done that — war doesn’t work.” And while wandering around the grounds of the convention center before the festivities began, I ran into Helen Caldecott, an Australian doctor who has bravely spoken out against the use of nuclear weapons ever since the terrible days of America’s Cold War. I’m not sure what I was expecting that she would look like — perhaps Super Girl in a cape? But she was just an ordinary-looking person, like someone you would meet on the street. Until she started speaking to an audience of 300-plus veterans. And then her eyes flashed, her voice rang out like a warning bell and her passion came alive. “I am a pediatrician,” she told us, “and if you love this planet, if you love the next generation of babies, you will change the priority of your lives — because right now, America’s top priority seems to be for us to come as close to nuclear war as we possibly can.”

August 18, 2016 – themedialine.org – Israelis Gear Up for Annual Assault on its Nuclear Program – There is potentially good news about Israel’s annual battle against those seeking to dismantle Jerusalem’s nuclear program amid the usual plethora of doomsday scenarios. The daily Haaretz is reporting that it obtained a secret communication sent to those who will represent the Jewish state at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s conference informing them of the decision by Arab leaders to forego a vote on a resolution demanding international oversight on Israel’s nuclear activity. In addition to a heads-up warning that the situation could turn on a dime, it was explained that a decision had been made by Arab leaders to focus on what should be an easier goal: challenging the safety of Israeli nuclear facilities. Haaretz says the Israeli diplomatic corps will be gracious toward Arab diplomats for their decision but offer a stern warning that if they change their minds, Israel will fight to prevent the resolution’s passage.

August 18, 2016 – DailyStar.co.uk – Spine-chilling ritual ‘human sacrifice’ filmed on nuclear research campus – A VIDEO has surfaced online purporting to show a ritual human sacrifice being carried out inside the secure complex of a mysterious nuclear research facility. The minute-long clip, shot at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, shows several figures dressed in long black robes performing the gruesome ceremony in front of a statue of Shiva – the Hindu god of destruction. While the incredible footage has been circulated on numerous conspiracy websites, officials at CERN denied any murder had taken place. It is now thought that the ritual sacrifice was an elaborate hoax, conducted by scientists working at the secretive science facility – home to the Large Hadron Collider.

August 18, 2016 – Riverhead Local – Letter: N.Y. needs its nuclear power plants – Despite the protests of anti-nuclear activists (“N.Y. Public Service Commission OKs multi-billion dollar nuclear industry bailout,” August 12), true environmentalists who value New York’s Mail_Envelope_lettercarbon reduction goals recognize that maintaining our nuclear fleet is critical to achieving the 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 projected in the Clean Energy Standard (CES). Nuclear energy is New York’s largest source of clean, emission-free energy. New York’s nuclear plants annually prevent over 21.4 million metric tons in carbon emissions annually, the equivalent of keeping 4.8 million gasoline-powered cars off the road. Nuclear opponents herald wind and solar as the primary energy sources of the future, but these can only produce power when the wind blows and the sun shines. Nuclear power plants produce safe, clean, zero carbon energy 24/7, 365 days a year. If we lose our statewide nuclear facilities, that void in our electric grid would be largely filled by natural gas – which emits carbon.

August 18, 2016 – Reuters – Nuclear developers have big plans for pint-sized power plants in UK – A range of mini-nuclear power plants could help solve Britain’s looming power crunch, rather than the $24 billion (18 billion pounds) Hinkley project snarled up in delays, companies developing the technology say. So-called small modular reactors (SMRs) use existing or new nuclear technology scaled down to a fraction of the size of larger plants and would be able to produce around a tenth of the electricity created by large-scale projects, such as Hinkley. The mini plants, still under development, would be made in factories, with parts small enough to be transported on trucks and barges to sites where they could be assembled in around six to 12 months, up to a tenth of the time it takes to build some larger plants. “The real promise of SMRs is their modularisation. You can assemble them in a factory with an explicable design meaning consistent standards and predicable costs and delivery timescale,” said Anurag Gupta, director and global lead for power infrastructure at consultancy KPMG.

August 18, 2016 – News-Sentinel – Dismantling Parkview Randallia incinerator reveals low-level radioactivity in bricks – About two weeks ago, a load of scrap from an incinerator at Parkview Hospital Randallia was rejected by metal dealer OmniSource because it triggered a radiation detector. The reason, hospital officials said later, was refractory bricks that were part of the incinerator. Those bricks, specially made to resist high temperatures, were radioactive enough to be flagged by a radiation detector, but their radioactivity was negligible, compared to more familiar sources of radiation. “The bricks did not pose a risk to anyone, at any time. All of the bricks have been removed from the property and disposed of properly. A significant majority of the incinerator has been removed. The remaining few pieces will be disposed of within days,” Parkview spokesman Eric Clabaugh wrote in an email on Tuesday. Clabaugh said that the radiation level in the bricks was measured in microrems, 1/1000 the strength of the more familiar measure of radiation exposure, the milliRem.

August 18, 2016 – HealthCanal – Ocean radiation levels finally returning to normal after Fukushima – Five years after the accident at Fukushima that saw the largest release of nuclear material in the world’s oceans research has shown radiation levels across the Pacific Ocean are rapidly returning to normal. Edith Cowan University environmental radiochemistry expert Professor Pere Masqué will discuss the affects of one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters in The West Australian ECU Lecture Series on Friday, 19 August. While hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from towns and cities around the Fukushima plant, it’s believed more than 80 per cent of radioactive material from the stricken reactors ended up in the ocean. Immediately following the devastating 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake in 2011 radioactivity levels off the coast of Japan were tens of millions of times higher than normal.

August 18, 2016 – Wise Bread – The 10 Coolest Things That Come in a Can – The humble can is making a comeback, and with good reason. When it comes to storing food, the aluminum can not only keeps out air, but also light, which can degrade the product within. It’s also lightweight, and easier to recycle, with the average aluminum can containing three times more recycled content than either plastic or glass bottles (plastic bottles contain only 3% recycled materials). That all adds up to great sustainability, and less impact on the environment. So it’s hardly surprising that so many cool things in cans are popping up on shelves. Here are 10 of the most noteworthy… which have you tried? 9. Uranium Ore – Planning to build your own nuclear reactor, or maybe a time machine like the one Doc Brown made in Back to the Future? Well, this won’t get you very far, but it is genuine. The uranium in this can is called NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) and is useful for science labs, and for testing Geiger counters. As it has low radioactivity, it’s safe, and gives off alpha, beta, and gamma radiation types. Once again, if you’re looking to find a gift for someone who has everything, it’s certainly unique.

August 18, 2016 – Eco-Business – Indigenous Australians fight nuclear dump plan on “sacred land” – Enice Marsh remembers the black clouds of “poison stuff” that billowed from the northwest after British atomic bomb tests in the 1950s spread fallout across swathes of South Australia. Now a new kind of radioactivity could head to her ancestral home in the remote Flinders Ranges – a nuclear waste dump. “To me, it feels like a death penalty,” said Marsh, 73, standing in the cemetery of the outback town of Hawker, where many of her relatives are buried under red earth. “We are one big family and the land also is family to us. We care for the land just in the same way we care for our family.”

August 18, 2016 – KDAL – Beach Find Determined Not To Be Dangerous – A small container found on a beach near Poplar has been determined not to be a hazard to the public. A person walking on the beach Wednesday came across the item, about the size of a deck of cards, that had radioactive markings on it. Initial responders from the Superior Fire Department and the U-S Coast Guard determined that the object was not emitting any radioactivity. A follow up investigation ensured that the surrounding area was also clear of radiation. The container was removed by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services for proper disposal.

August 18, 2016 – The Recorder – Rowe seeks money for nuke waste storage – The Yankee Atomic Electric Co. nuclear power plant in Rowe shut down its 185-megawatt reactor in 1992, leaving in place 15 dry casks of radioactive spent fuel, along with one cask of higher-level nuclear waste, until the federal government finds a permanent home for waste like this. Now, Rowe and other U.S. communities with “de facto” interim spent nuclear fuel storage sites are seeking annual compensation for this storage from the federal government. Congressman Richard E. Neal, D-First District, has agreed to co-sponsor the “Interim Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Site Compensation Act of 2016,” which would require annual payments of $15 per kilogram of spent nuclear fuel stored at the sites of former nuclear power plants built for electricity generation. For Rowe, this would generate about $1.9 million for every year the town applies for this funding, says Selectmen’s Chairwoman Marilyn Wilson. “We wrote to Congressman Neal saying we wanted his support, and he has signed on as a co-sponsor,” she said. “He will be visiting Rowe in the fall.”

August 18, 2016 – CNYCentral – Feds report violations, including leaks of radioactive waste, at FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant – An inspection report released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission describes violations at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, including exposing workers to high amounts of radiation and allowing leaks of radioactive material over the past four years. The NRC’s report covers the period of time from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016. it was during this period that oil leaked into Lake Ontario from the plant. According to the inspection results, the oil spill wasn’t the only problem at the plant during that time. The report says employees were sent into a high-radiation area without monitoring for it or notifying the radiation protection department, and a failure of an atmospheric control system persisted for over a month and wasn’t shut down after 30 days as required.

August 18, 2016 – Buffalo News – Liquid nuclear waste shipments over Peace Bridge could start in September – Truck shipments carrying high-level liquid nuclear waste over the Peace Bridge and across Western New York’s highways en route to a South Carolina processing facility could start as early as September. A lawsuit that seven environmental organizations filed this week against the U.S. Department of Energy in federal court in Washington, D.C., aims to stop these “mobile Chernobyls on steroids.” “It is terrifying for us to hear that the government is willing to endanger the lives of so many by the shipments of this highly dangerous liquid radioactive waste through our community and those of others,” said Lynda Schneekloth, chairwoman of the Sierra Club’s Niagara Group.

August 18, 2016 – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Westinghouse shuts down part of S.C. nuclear fuel plant over safety concerns – Nuclear regulators are investigating why Westinghouse Electric Co. ended up with three times the safe amount of uranium stuck inside a scrubber at its nuclear fuel factory in Columbia, S.C., and why it took the company more than a month to notify regulators when the situation should have been reported within 24 hours. When the Cranberry-based company did contact the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in mid-July, federal regulators sent out a team to investigate, and Westinghouse shut down that portion of the plant. The NRC is still piecing together what happened and might be finished with its investigation in several weeks, said spokesman Roger Hannah. In the meantime, the agency has deemed the uranium concentration was high enough that there might have been potential for an uncontrolled nuclear reaction that could have caused a small explosion. Last week, it sent a memo to Westinghouse outlining what the company will need to do before it can apply to restart that portion of the plant.

August 18, 2016 – Bloomberg BNA – Groups Aim to Derail Nuclear Waste Shipments – A nuclear safety advocate alleged that the Energy Department is aiming to profit off liquid nuclear waste shipments heading from Canada to Savannah, Ga., at the expense of public and environmental risk as he announced litigation Aug. 16 to enjoin the project. The department could begin shipping nuclear waste from Chalk River, Ontario, to the Savannah River Site by September as part of a years-long bid to secure authorization, Savannah River Site Watch and Friends of the Earth official Tom Clements told reporters. The project, however, is moving forward without an environmental impact statement and sufficient exploration of alternatives, which necessitates an injunction, Clements and other environmentalists said. The department is set to generate $60 million on the project, Clements said. The complaint says that sum will be used to operate the H-Canyon plant at the Energy Department-owned Savannah River Site, which stabilizes the waste for eventual disposal in a federal facility.

August 18, 2016 – Beyond Nuclear – Kamps’ prepared statement for press conference re: highly radioactive liquid waste truck shipments from Canada to U.S.A. – Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear’s Radioactive Waste Watchdog, delivered a statement to members of the news media on a press conference call sponsored by NIRS. An environmental coalition, including Beyond Nuclear, has filed a lawsuit seeking to block up to 150 unprecedented truck shipments of highly radioactive liquid wastes, from Chalk River Nuclear Labs in Ontario, Canada through multiple states, to Savannah River Site nuclear weapons and radioactive waste complex in Aiken, South Carolina, U.S.A.

August 18, 2016 – Atlanta Business Chronicle – Georgia PSC approves latest Plant Vogtle spending – The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) signed off Tuesday on Georgia Power Co.’s latest spending report covering the nuclear expansion at Plant Vogtle. Commissioners unanimously approved and verified $160 million the Atlanta-based utility spent on the project during the last half of last year. With that spending, Georgia Power’s share of the project remains within the $6.1 billion the PSC certified when the work was approved back in 2009.

August 18, 2016 – Amarillo Globe News – Pantex Plant to store more nuclear materials produced at Los Alamos lab – The Pantex Plant located 17 miles northeast of Amarillo will store nuclear materials produced at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico after plans to build a 31,000-square-foot storage vault were scrapped in an effort to cut costs, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office released earlier this month. The GAO report called into question the savings stated in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s report on the proposed Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement facility. The facility, which would provide analysis in support of plutonium pit production at Los Alamos, was intended to include underground vaults to store the nuclear material. A plutonium pit, or core, is “the heart” of a nuclear weapon, according to the Pantex website.

August 18, 2016 – Casper Journal – Committee considers nuclear waste storage – In response to a renewed effort by the federal government to find a national nuclear waste repository site, a Wyoming legislative committee has voted to update the state’s laws allowing nuclear storage. The legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee last week reviewed the state’s radioactive waste siting statute, with an eye toward adjusting it to meet new U.S. Department of Energy guidelines. The state’s statute was passed in 1995 and only allows for “temporary” storage facilities – up to 40 years; and while the DOE is primarily seeking a permanent repository, it has considered using temporary facilities as an interim solution.

August 18, 2016 – Idaho Falls Post-Register – INL chooses leader for nuclear innovation program – Idaho National Laboratory has selected a veteran nuclear executive to lead its new Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear program. Rita Baranwal, an executive at Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pennsylvania, will take the top spot at GAIN next week, the lab announced Tuesday. Founded late last year, the INL-led initiative was set up to assist private companies hoping to develop new types of nuclear energy technologies. Baranwal starts the job Monday, taking over for Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, an INL associate lab director who has been pulling double duty leading GAIN since last year.

August 17, 2016 – 81 FR 54855-54856 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Design, Inspection, and Testing Criteria for Air Filtration and Adsorption Units of Normal Atmosphere Cleanup Systems in Light Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.140, “Design, Inspection, and Testing Criteria for Air Filtration and Adsorption Units of Normal Atmosphere Cleanup Systems in Light Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants.” This RG describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable to implement regulatory requirements with regard to the design, inspection, and testing of normal atmosphere cleanup systems for controlling releases of airborne radioactive materials to the environment during normal operations, including anticipated operational occurrences. This guide applies to all types of nuclear power plants that use water as the primary means of cooling.

August 17, 2016 – 81 FR 54854-54855 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Conduct of Operations – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing final revisions to the following sections in Chapter 13, “Conduct of Operations,” of NUREG-0800, “Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition”: Section 13.1.1, “Management and Technical Support Organization”; Section 13.1.2-13.1.3, “Operating Organization”; Section 13.2.1, “Reactor Operator Requalification Program; Reactor Operator Training”; Section 13.2.2, “Non-licensed Plant Staff Training”; and Section 13.5.1.1, “Administrative Procedures–General.”

August 17, 2016 – 81 FR 54795 – DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Paducah – On August 2, 2016, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice of open meeting announcing a meeting on August 18, 2016, of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Paducah. This notice announces the cancellation of this meeting. The meeting is being cancelled because the board will not have a quorum due to scheduling conflicts by members. The next regular meeting will be held on September 15, 2016. DATES: The meeting scheduled for August 18, 2016, announced in the August 2, 2016, issue of the Federal Register (FR Doc. 2016-18186, 81 FR 50693), is cancelled. The next regular meeting will be held on September 15, 2016.

August 17, 2016 – The Sun – Cold Finger; Secret US military base hidden under ice sheet to be exposed due to climate change – IT SEEMS a story straight from a Cold War thriller — only the case of Camp Century is 100 per cent fact. Now scientists have discovered the secretive military base in Greenland created by Danish and US governments during the 1950s and thought to be locked under the ice forever could be exposed by climate change. A recent study published in the journal of Geophysical Research Letters found the submerged city could be exposed within 75 years under a “business as usual” approach to global warming, reports news.com.au. It means low-level radioactive material, sewage, diesel and other waste that governments assumed would be locked up indefinitely in the ice could be leaked into the surrounding environment with no plan as to who is responsible. “Two generations ago, people were interring waste in different areas of the world, and now climate change is modifying those sites,” lead author William Colgan, of Canada’s York University told the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES).

August 17, 2016 – The Recorder – Rowe seeks money for nuke waste storage – The Yankee Atomic Electric Co. nuclear power plant in Rowe shut down its 185-megawatt reactor in 1992, leaving in place 15 dry casks of radioactive spent fuel, along with one cask of higher-level nuclear waste, until the federal government finds a permanent home for waste like this. Now, Rowe and other U.S. communities with “de facto” interim spent nuclear fuel storage sites are seeking annual compensation for this storage from the federal government. Congressman Richard E. Neal, D-First District, has agreed to co-sponsor the “Interim Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Site Compensation Act of 2016,” which would require annual payments of $15 per kilogram of spent nuclear fuel stored at the sites of former nuclear power plants built for electricity generation.

August 17, 2016 – MENAFN.com – UAE’s nuclear regulator conducts workshop on radioactive material safety – The UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) last week completed a workshop with the Dubai Police to support its officials’ understanding of nuclear and radioactive material safety and security as they serve in a first-responder role to UAE security incidents. The FANR workshop provided information to familiarize officials with the basics of nuclear science, nuclear safety and security, radiation protection and the UAE’s nuclear nonproliferation obligations. Participants received extensive briefings from FANR staff representing the departments of nuclear safety, security, safegurds and education and training.

August 17, 2016 – Medgadget – Gamma Knife Market Poised to Rake in US$ 411.0 Mn by 2025 – 6Future Market Insights (FMI) announces the release of its latest report titled, “Gamma Knife Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015 – 2025”. According to the report, the global gamma knife market was valued at US$ 156.8 Mn in 2014 and is anticipated to reach US$ 411.0 Mn by 2025, registering a compound annual growth rate of 9.0% over the forecast period. Global Gamma Knife market growth is majorly driven by rising ageing population, increasing incidence of cancer and increasing prevalence of neurological disorders. By disease indication, brain metastasis cases undergoing Gamma Knife treatment accounts for highest market share as compared to other indications. Painless and non-invasive elective surgeries with high success rate have recently become the treatment of choice. Leading Gamma Knife manufacturers are entering into tie-ups with premium healthcare organisations in developed and emerging economies for setting up Gamma Knife surgery centres and Gamma Knife installations.

August 17, 2016 – International Business Times – North Korea resumes plutonium production with no plans to stop nuclear tests – North Korea has resumed its production of plutonium by reprocessing spent fuel rods, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on 16 August. In an interview with North Korea’s Atomic Energy Institute, a spokesperson confirmed that the country has no plans to stop nuclear tests as long as they perceive a remaining US threat. The Atomic Energy Institute has jurisdiction over the country’s main Yongbyon nuclear facilities. They confirmed that North Korea is continuing to produce highly enriched uranium that is necessary for nuclear power and nuclear arms. A spokesperson for the institute told Kyodo news: “We have reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods removed from a graphite-moderated reactor.”

August 17, 2016 – KWQC TV 6 – Cambridge looks for ways to remove radium from drinking water – The Village of Cambridge has a problem with radium in the water and it could cost a half million dollars to fix it. The village operates two wells and one of them has a radium level over 5(MCL), which is the EPA threshold for action. The city has been addressing the problem by mixing water from both wells to reduce the radium levels, but that is only a short-term solution. Village of Cambridge City Administrator Dwaine Van Meenan stresses the water is safe to drink. The Village of Cambridge held a meeting Monday night to consider its options. VanMeenan says they looked at three possible solutions to fix the problem. One involves installing a reverse osmosis system at the water treatment plant; another involves filtering with Hydrous Manganese Oxide to remove the radium; another would be to build an Absorption Resin Residue plant. Officials decided that method (ARR) would create hazardous by-products, so they decided to remove it from consideration.

August 17, 2016 – Fox28 Spokane – Radon testing at Spokane Valley apartment complex has residents feeling the heat – Last week folks living in the Pine Terra and Pine Manor Apartments got a letter letting them know that for three days starting Monday, the management would be testing for radon gas. That testing required everyone living in the apartments to keep windows and doors closed, house fans off, and air conditioning units could only be run in recirculation mode. Worried about the heat, a relative of a person living in the apartments who didn’t want to be identified contacted KHQ about what they thought could be a danger to those living there. “I’m concerned for their safety,” the woman said. “We’re talking 90 degree heat outside, and then you close everything up and it’s going to get really hot in those apartments.”

August 17, 2016 – PhysOrg – Light-emitting glass to enhance solar panel efficiency – Researchers from ITMO University have developed optical luminescent glass that emits visible light under ultraviolet radiation. Due to this property, the new material has applications for increasing the efficiency and lifetime of solar cells. Ultraviolet radiation, which normally negatively affects solar cells, will be converted and used for extra charging of the cells. The glass is easy to manufacture and can also be used to increase the lifetime of white LEDs and ensure better color rendering. The study was published in the Journal of Luminescence.

August 17, 2016 – Science World Report – Is Russia’s Financial Crunch Forcing Roscosmos To Reduce International Space Station Crew Size? – New reports suggest Russia is planning to reduce the size of its crew on the International Space Station from three to just two. The typical ISS team comprises of six members- three Russians, two Americans, and generally one astronaut from Canada, Japan, or one of the 11 countries that belong to the European Space Agency (ESA). According to Russian newspaper Izvestia, the country’s state-run space corporation, Roscosmos, is considering to reduce its presence on the International Space Station as a move to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Roscosmos director of human spaceflight, Sergei Krikalev, said that they have already sent a letter about the possible move to the participants of the ISS program, reported Space.com.

August 17, 2016 – Business Standard – Secret clocks in tree-rings may help date ancient events – Tree-rings may serve as secret ‘time-markers’ that could help archaeologists date events of intense radiation bursts from thousands of years ago, a new Oxford study has found. Harvesting such data could revolutionise the study of ancient civilisations such as the Egyptian and Mayan worlds, researchers said. Until now scholars have had only vague evidence for dating when events happened during the earliest periods of civilisation, with estimates being within hundreds of years. However, the unusually high levels of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 found in tree-rings laid down during the radiation bursts could help reliably pinpoint dates, according to researchers from Oxford University in the UK.

August 17, 2016 – Compound Semiconductor – US team develops hexagonal BN nuclear detectors – To prevent terrorists from smuggling nuclear weapons into its ports, the US Security and Accountability for Every Port Act mandates that all overseas cargo containers be scanned for possible nuclear materials or weapons. This is done by detecting neutron signals with detectors based on scarce and costly Helium-3 gas. Now a group of Texas Tech University researchers has developed an alternative approach based on hexagonal BN semiconductors. The team, led by Hongxing Jiang and Jingyu Lin, think the material fulfills many key requirements for helium gas detector replacements and can serve as a low-cost alternative in the future.

August 17, 2016 – Gulf Business – Construction of UAE’s first nuclear plant now 68% complete – The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has confirmed that work on its four-unit nuclear energy plant at Barakah is “progressing steadily.” Overall, construction of Units 1 to 4 is now almost 68 per cent complete, it said in a statement on Wednesday. ENEC also confirmed that it has installed the Unit 3 steam generators – which play a key role in the conversion of the energy generated by nuclear fission into electricity.

August 17, 2016 – WYFF 4 – Sirens to be tested at Oconee Nuclear Station – Duke Energy officials will test sirens at the Oconee Nuclear Station today. The three-minute test is scheduled for 11:50 a.m. There are 65 sirens within 10 miles of the Oconee Nuclear Station. The testing today is part of new software installations.

August 17, 2016 – NDTV – Nuclear Plant Delay May Shift United Kingdom’s Energy Policy – Britain’s decision to stall a Franco-Chinese project to build its first nuclear power plant in a generation has fuelled speculation that the new government is reviewing its energy strategy to boost the role of renewables. Prime Minister Theresa May has given no clear reason for delaying final approval of the Hinkley Point plant, with her spokesman saying only that it was “an extremely important decision that we have to get right”. Critics cite the enormous cost of the 18-billion pounds (21-billion-euro, $23 billion) project as well as security concerns about the involvement of China’s major energy group CGN.

August 17, 2016 – NewsMaker – Global Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market 2016:SPECT, PET, Alpha Emitters, Beta Emitters – Radiopharmaceuticals, also known as molecular nuclear medicine, are pharmaceutical formulations comprising radioactive isotopes used in diagnosis and therapeutics. They are used in tracer quantities to mark, trace, and locate targeted parts of the body. Radiopharmaceuticals are most commonly used for diagnosis of various diseases and syndromes with the help of positron emission tomography (PET) and single proton emission computerized tomography (SPECT). Both these medical imaging devices use a radiation detection camera that captures the radiation emitted from radiopharmaceuticals within the body. Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are designed to deliver a healing dose of ionizing radiation to the specific disease site, including cancerous tumors, with high specificity in the body. These products have addressed the rising need for better diagnostics and targeted therapeutic tools. It has outpaced conventional chemotherapy by more convenient therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for oncology and cancer treatment. Moreover, it helps physicians in diagnosis, and works as a convenient and safer alternative for the patients when compared to X-rays and other external radiation imaging devices.

August 17, 2016 – NewsMaker – Global Nuclear Power Plant and Equipment Market 2016: HTGR, PWR, BWR, PHWR, FBR – Latest industry research report on: World Nuclear Power Plant and Equipment Market. Rising need for cleaner and new energy sources have played an eminent role in increasing the importance of nuclear power plant and equipment market. Today, regions such as Asia Pacific has emerged as the largest market for nuclear power. Besides promising a higher growth rate the market will soon fulfill the growing demand for electricity generation. Popularity of clean generation of electricity has contributed to the growth of the market to a greater extent. Moreover, rising need for energy has also added to the growth of the nuclear power plant and equipment market. Growing focus on the security of supply is also driving the market worldwide. High cost associated with the nuclear power plant has hindered the progress of the market to a greater extent. However, demand for clean energy across different countries would create greater opportunities for the market. Rising need for safer nuclear operation would open new avenues for market growth.

August 17, 2016 – WSYR TV – Report: ‘Highly radioactive materials’ leaked in FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant – A new report by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says that there has been an ongoing, uncontrolled radioactive leak at the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Plant. The report says that “Entergy, by its inaction over four years to correct the spillage, degradation of the solid radwaste system, and inaction to clean-up, package, and ship offsite the resultant accumulation of significant amounts of radioactive material, failed to minimize the introduction of residual radioactivity into the site.” The plant experienced a shutdown due to an oil leak into Lake Ontario on June 24 and has not been able to operate at full-power since, due to a condensate booster pump remaining out of service, according to the report.

August 17, 2016 – Platts – Dominion’s Millstone-2 nuclear unit at 100% capacity after maintenance outage – Dominion’s 918-MW Millstone-2 nuclear reactor in Waterford, Connecticut, was operating at 100% of capacity early Monday after completing a two-day maintenance outage over the weekend, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in its daily reactor status report. The unit synchronized with the grid at 9:20 am EDT (1320 GMT) Saturday, Dominion said in a statement provided Monday by spokesman Richard Zuercher. The adjacent 1,276-MW Millstone-3 was not affected by the shutdown and has continued to operate at 100% of capacity, according to NRC’s daily reports.

August 17, 2016 – World Nuclear News – Regulator sets out corrective actions for fabrication plant – The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has outlined corrective actions to be completed before Westinghouse’s nuclear fuel fabrication facility in Columbia, South Carolina can resume some of its uranium processing operations following the discovery of a build-up of uranium in a plant component. Plant employees discovered an accumulation of uranium-bearing material in a scrubber system, which is designed to remove unwanted material from a number of plant processes, during an annual maintenance shutdown in May. The NRC ordered an augmented inspection of the facility after further analysis found the amount of uranium was higher than anticipated and potentially exceeded limits for the section of the scrubber involved. There were no actual safety-related consequences as a result of the buildup, but the “potential for such consequences may have existed,” the NRC said.

August 17, 2016 – Mountain XPress – Seven nonprofits seek injunction to stop radioactive waste transport – Activists with a nonprofit coalition calling for an injunction to stop the proposed transportation of liquid radioactive waste from Canada to the Savannah River Site near Augusta, South Carolina say the waste could pass through Asheville along its route. One hundred fifty truckloads of inherently dangerous liquid radioactive waste are slated to drive through Canadian and US communities and across major waterway crossings, from Chalk River, Ontario, Canada to the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA.

August 17, 2016 – LeRoy FarmerCity Press – Local leaders urge action on nuclear plant – This week, a group of mayors and community leaders across Illinois sent a letter to Illinois’ Governor and legislative leaders urging them to follow the state of New York’s lead in adopting a new energy program that will preserve the economic and environmental benefits of nuclear plants. Backed by business, labor, and environmental groups, the New York Public Service Commission recently approved a Clean Energy Standard (CES) that includes provisions to value nuclear energy for its low carbon attributes and will help preserve several struggling nuclear plants in upstate New York. Among them, the James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant was slated for closure but now has new life after Exelon announced this morning it is assuming ownership and operation of the facility thanks to the adoption of the landmark CES.

August 17, 2016 – Courthouse News Service – Greens Sue to Stop Nuclear Waste Transport – The U.S. Energy Department’s unprecedented proposed transfer of “a toxic liquid stew” containing nuclear waste between Canada and the U.S violates federal law, seven environmental groups claim in court. The proposed $60 million deal would see more than 6,000 gallons of the liquid waste transported more than 1,100 miles from the Fissile Solutions Storage Tank at Chalk River in Ontario, Canada to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, according to a 47-page lawsuit filed Friday in Washington, D.C., Federal Court. “The radioactive waste byproducts resulting from processing the HEU targets at Chalk River are acknowledged to be among the most radioactively hazardous materials on Earth,” the complaint states, abbreviating highly enriched uranium. “They would be more easily dispersed into the environment in liquid form than in solid form, in the event of a breach of containment during transport.”

August 17, 2016 – Michigan State University – Dr. Richard R. Parizek: What Ever Happened To Yucca Mountain? – Dr. Richard R. Parizek from the Department of Geosciences at Penn State joins us Friday, October 19th from 12:30-1:30pm to discuss “What Ever Happened To Yucca Mountain?”. He begins his talk in Room 204 Natural Science Building. Please feel welcome to join us!

August 17, 2017 – KTVI Fox2Now – Radiation contamination concerns after Cold Water Creek flooding in Hazelwood – Residents at a Hazelwood apartment complex woke up this morning to find their cars submerged after a nearby creek over flowed. There’s more to be worried about then just water damage from Cold Water Creek. The water has receded, but it was a different story, when the parking lot filled with water overnight damaging vehicles. As the water went down we found crawdads in the parking lot. Residents were using buckets trying to get the water out of their cars. This apartment complex sits next to Coldwater Creek. Last year the Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that it had discovered what it described as low levels of radioactive contamination. The radioactive waste is the byproduct of uranium from the Manhattan Project that was stored near the airport. So this has only added to concerns for residents living near the creek.

August 17, 2016 – Los Alamos Monitor – DOE responds to new WIPP leak theory – The Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office of the Department of Energy responded this week to a former Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist’s alternate theory about what caused a 2014 radiation leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad. The DOE is standing by its initial analysis of what happened to cause the rupture of a barrel of transuranic waste Feb. 14, 2014. “The overarching conclusion of the technical assessment team was that specific chemical contents inside one particular drum, in combination with physical configuration of the materials led to a chemical reaction that breached the drum,” said Steve Horak, a communications specialist with the DOE Environmental Management Field Office in Los Alamos. “A separate DOE board of experts and an independent expert board confirmed these results and we see no reason to question them now.”

August 17, 2016 – San Diego Union-Tribune – State leaders don’t see value of nuclear power – Regarding “Proposal filed to shut down Diablo Canyon” (Aug. 12): Everyone but a “climate denier” knows the vital importance of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. So why are we proposing to close the single remaining nuclear generating plant that produces 9 percent of our electrical power without any carbon dioxide emissions? Sure, they can make up the reductions through “green power,” but why not keep the nuke plant and close fossil fuel generators? Maybe there are other agendas that aren’t mentioned?

August 17, 2016 – San Francisco Bay View – Treasure Island whistleblower Mitchell Herrington faces immediate retaliation from power broker – Treasure Islanders who speak out about the radiation, chemicals, asbestos, lead and mold sickening John Stewart’s market rate renters and formerly homeless subsidized renters alike know they face swift retaliation engineered by the powers-that-be – wealthy, connected politicians who fear protest will alert potential buyers of mega-developer Lennar Corp.’s high rise and luxury condos to the toxins lurking in he groundwater of the liquefaction-prone island as they gaze at San Francisco Bay’s fabulous views.

August 10, 2016 – 81 FR 52910-52912 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Wolf Creek Generating Station; Use of Optimized ZIRLOTM Fuel Rod Cladding Material – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption in response to a January 27, 2016, request, as supplemented on May 19, 2016, from Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (WCNOC or the licensee) in order to use Optimized ZIRLOTM fuel rod cladding material at Wolf Creek Generating Station (WCGS). DATES: The exemption was issued on August 2, 2016.

August 10, 2016 – East Idaho News – Search dogs aid in the hunt for pioneer remains on INL site – Of all the ghosts along the Oregon Trail, one of the loneliest may be James Slater, who died near the Big Lost River in the early morning hours of July 26, 1862, at age 53. For nearly 154 years the location of Slater’s remains near Goodale’s Cutoff remained a mystery. His daughter Nellie’s diary gives a vague idea of how and where his body was buried, but it wasn’t until early July 2016 that two trained noses – German shepherds named Kessa and Rocco – were brought into the hunt. Now it looks like Slater’s descendants, many of whom live in Idaho, could be visiting the site in September to pay their respects. The land where Slater’s bones rest, is now part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 890-square-mile Idaho National Laboratory Site. INL first learned of the gravesite when it received a call in 1994 from Nellie Slater’s great-grandson, Wilbur Chitwood, now 78, of Nampa, who had asked for permission to explore the area.

August 10, 2016 – World Nuclear News – DOE legal obligation on Yucca Mountain – The US Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to pursue the completion of the licensing review for the Yucca Mountain used fuel and nuclear waste disposal facility, saying the consent-based siting process proposed by the department cannot legally substitute for the Nevada project. The Washington, DC-based organization, which represents the USA’s commercial nuclear industry, made the comments in its submission to the DOE’s request for public input on the consent-based approach, issued in December 2015. “We respectfully suggest that the Department must follow current law, under which the proposed Yucca Mountain project remains the only … repository authorized to date,” NEI Vice President and General Counsel Ellen Ginsberg said in her letter accompanying the submission.

August 10,2016 – The Recorder – Speakers in Pirie raise doubts about nuclear dump – Speakers at an indigenous forum in Port Pirie questioned the merits of proposals for a nuclear waste dump in South Australia. The forum was hosted by Jason Downs, of the Consultation and Response Agency set up after the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission. It was aimed at gathering informal views from the Aboriginal community on the findings of the commission. Gregory Waldon, of Wirrabara, said radioactive contamination on the leg of a fly could be a “problem dose” amid the scenario of handling nuclear waste. He said the issue of “risk” should be reserved for the casino.

August 10, 2016 – myfoxspokane.com – State finds feds, contractor for mishandling Hanford waste – State regulators have fined the federal government and one of its contractors $50,000 for mishandling hazardous waste at Hanford. The Department of Ecology said Tuesday it issued the penalty to the U.S. Department of Energy and CH2M Hill for violations at Hanford’s T Plant. The facility is used to store and treat Hanford waste. The Tri-City Herald reports that DOE and its contractor were ordered obtain detailed analysis of waste before storing it and properly maintain records. An Energy Department spokesman says the agency is evaluating the notice and plans to seek clarification on some items. He says records show the contractor did identify and designate all of the waste in five containers.

August 10, 2016 – fastcoexist.com – Chernobyl’s Radioactive Wasteland Could Become The World’s Largest Solar Farm – Thirty years after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant spewed radioactive fallout over the surrounding area, it still isn’t a safe place to live, or grow food, or even log trees. And it won’t be any time soon, because some isotopes of plutonium last for more than 24,000 years. But the Ukrainian government hopes to put the massive area known as the exclusion zone, which is roughly the size of Rhode Island, to another use: a new solar farm. If it’s fully developed, the area could generate more than 1,000 megawatts of solar power. The exclusion zone has a few advantages for solar energy. First, because the land can’t be used for anything else, it’s cheap. The electrical transmission equipment—normally expensive to install—is still in place from the former nuclear plant. Chernobyl is also near Kiev, a city with nearly 3 million people and the largest power demand in the Ukraine.

August 10, 2016 – CNYCentral – Watchdogs criticize transfer of public funds in FitzPatrick deal – Many people are hailing the agreement for Exelon to purchase the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant from Entergy as a win for the region, but one watchdog group argues the deal isn’t the victory its claimed to be. In a release the Alliance for a Green Economy, otherwise known as AGREE, and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service said the deal puts public dollars into private hands and ignores “serious safety problems” both at FitzPatrick and at Exelon’s Nine Mile Point facility. Here is part of what they had to say: The sale of FitzPatrick from Entergy to Exelon was announced today and celebrated by Governor Cuomo at a rally in Oswego County, where FitzPatrick is located. The sale was brokered in order to save the unprofitable reactor from closure. Entergy had planned to shutter the reactor, but Exelon now plans to take it over with the promise of $7.6 billion in subsidies over 12 years to FitzPatrick and Exelon’s other three reactors in upstate New York.

August 10, 2016 – The Times – State prepares for nuclear emergencies annually with pill distribution – Mary Lou Wilson, 68, of Beaver took a few minutes to stop by the Center at the Mall last week to sit down with a representative from the state Department of Health. Officials visited Center Township to distribute more than 3,000 potassium iodide, or KI, pills as a part of an annual program for emergency preparedness. “I survived cancer recently, so you know what, I think I’m still meant to be here,” Wilson said, adding that in uncertain times she’s glad to feel a little safer. The pills, made of a salt compound, are offered annually for free to anyone living or working within a 10-mile radius of the state’s five nuclear power plants, including those near the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station in Shippingport. Schools and workplaces can also arrange for a bulk supply.

August 10, 2016 – BBC News – Independent inquiry into Worcestershire hospitals’ 11,000 X-rays backlog – An independent inquiry will look into why a hospital trust had a backlog of 11,000 X-ray results. An unannounced inspection found Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust failed to make reports of the X-rays. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) raised concerns of potentially delayed treatments. The trust said it is commissioning an “independent peer review into radiology services”. The CQC inspected the radiology departments of the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, Worcestershire Royal Hospital and Kidderminster Hospital on 27 July. It has not yet published its findings. The trust was rated inadequate by the CQC in December.

August 10, 2016 – LiveMint – Kudankulam nuclear plant unit-I dedicated to the nation – Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa Wednesday jointly dedicated to the nation the 1,000 MW Nuclear Power Plant-I in Kudankulam, assuring it was one of the safest atomic plants in the world. Speaking on the occasion through video conferencing from New Delhi, Modi said Kudankulum 1, an India-Russian project, was an important addition to the continuing efforts to scale up production of clean energy in India.

August 10, 2016 – WWMT – Kalamazoo Co. offering free radon testing kits – The Kalamazoo County Health Department wants to help you detect a silent killer. The health department will be at the Kalamazoo County Fair giving away free Radon test kits. They say in West Michigan it’s especially important to have your home tested for the gas. Radon is a colorless, odorless and radioactive gas found naturally in the environment. It’s the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer overall.

August 10, 2016 – Claims Journal – Son Waits for Late Father’s Radiation Exposure Compensation – As of last week, 219 current or former Wah Chang employees or their survivors had received more than $35 million in benefits as compensation from the federal government for cancers contracted through radiation exposure at the Millersburg, Ore., metals refinery. Most of them owe a debt of gratitude to Mark Backer, whose petition on behalf of his late father, Roy Backer, was the basis for establishing “special exposure cohort” status for the plant, a designation that made it much easier for claimants to qualify for benefits. The Backer family, however, has yet to see a dime in compensation. Even though it was Mark Backer’s petition that created the special exposure cohort covering hundreds of Wah Chang employees, his father’s claim has never been approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.

August 10, 2016 – WhaTech – Global linear accelerators for radiation therapy market manufacture, production, capacity, growth rate and revenue analysis illuminated by new report – Linear Accelerators for Radiation Therapy Market 2016 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Linear Accelerators for Radiation Therapy worldwide. First of all, ” Global Linear Accelerators for Radiation Therapy Market 2016 ” report provides a basic overview of the Linear Accelerators for Radiation Therapy industry including definitions, classifications, applications and Linear Accelerators for Radiation Therapy industry chain structure. The analysis is provided for the Linear Accelerators for Radiation Therapy international market including development history, Linear Accelerators for Radiation Therapy industry competitive landscape analysis.

August 10, 2016 – Huffington Post – 108 Mobile Phone Towers Exceeding Radiation Limits In India – A total of 108 cell phone towers were found exceeding radiation limits in the last three years and penalties have been imposed on the concerned telecom providers, Lok Sabha was informed today. A total of 72 cellphone towers were found exceeding prescribed radiation level in 2013, while the figure came down to 24 the next year and no tower was found violating the norms till May this year, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said during Question Hour. In 2015, the number of such towers stood at 12.

August 10, 2016 – Renal & Urology News – Adjuvant ADT May Up Mortality in Black Prostate Cancer Patients – Adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) combined with radiation therapy for favorable-risk prostate cancer (PCa) is associated with an increased risk of death in black men compared with white men, a new study suggests. The study included 7252 men underwent brachytherapy with or without neoadjuvant ADT for low-risk or favorable intermediate-risk PCa. Men received ADT to reduce prostate size and facilitate brachytherapy, and not for therapeutic gain. Among those who received ADT, black men had a significant 77% increased risk of all-cause mortality and significant 86% increased risk of death from causes other than PCa in multivariable analysis, a team led by Konstantin A. Kovtun, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital-Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, reported online ahead of print in Cancer. The investigators found no significant difference in PCa-specific mortality. Dr. Kovtun and his colleagues observed no significant differences in mortality risks among patients who did not received ADT.

August 10, 2016 – Medical XPress – Boron carrier for targeted tumour therapy – Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a boron carrier for use in targeted radiation treatment for cancerous tumours. The carrier is based on a common blood plasma protein, meaning it can be tailored to individual patients thus lessening the chances of blood contamination. Targeted radiation-based therapies for treating cancerous tumours such as ‘boron neutron capture therapy’ (BNCT), rely on the efficient and effective delivery of the capture agent (in this case, boron) to the tumour. The agent must collect in the tumour in high enough concentrations to trigger an effective reaction during thermal neutron irradiation.

August 10, 2016 – Tech Central – Drone crashes into Koeberg – Eskom has placed a safety officer at the Koeberg nuclear power station north of Cape Town on precautionary suspension after a drone crashed on the site in contravention of nuclear safety regulations. Eskom said in a media statement on Wednesday that the drone was returned to its owner without an investigation into what happened having been completed. This necessitated the officer’s suspension as a precautionary measure, the power utility said. “The matter has also been reported to the South African Police Service as Koeberg is a national key point,” it said. Such points enjoy special protection under the National Key Points Act of 1980.

August 10, 2016 – WRVO – Nuclear part of New York’s energy future – Tuesday’s announcement that a new company has agreed to take over the FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Oswego County — and keep it running — was cheered in central New York for the jobs and tax revenue it will keep in the region. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo says it is part of his goal for 50 percent of the state’s power to come from renewable energy by 2030. The governor announced that Exelon has agreed to take over the plant and keep it going for at least another 12 years. “And keep it producing nuclear power for years and years to come,” Cuomo said outside the plant, as workers cheered. More than 600 jobs will be saved by the decision. Cuomo said a closure could have caused a financial crisis in central New York.

August 10, 2016 – Bloomberg News – Eskom Probes Nuclear Information Leak Related to Contract Award – Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., South Africa’s state-owned power utility, said it is investigating an information leak at the Koeberg nuclear plant that could affect a court case related to a 5 billion-rand ($373 million) contract awarded to Areva SA for work at the facility. The power producer hasn’t determined whether the leak was intentional, spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said by phone. Koeberg’s station and plant managers were put on precautionary suspension after distribution of the documentation. The data were given “to one of the said parties who are related to the steam-generator replacement program and it was information that had still not been approved by the board,” Phasiwe said. A safety officer was also suspended after a drone crashed at the plant in an unrelated incident, according to Eskom.

August 10, 2016 – Tasnim News Agency – Iranian MPs to Visit Nuclear Sites in Natanz, Fordow Next Week – Several members of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission plan to pay a visit to the country’s nuclear facilities in Natanz and Fordow in coming days, a spokesman for the commission said on Wednesday. “According to the schedule, the members of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission’ nuclear committee will pay a visit to nuclear facilities in Natanz and Fordow on Monday,” Hossein Naqavi Hosseini told the Tasnim News Agency. The trip to the nuclear sites by the lawmakers is aimed at “monitoring the proper implementation of the JCPOA”, he said, referring to the July 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and other world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

August 10, 2016 – Sputnik International – Modi: India Will Build More Nuclear Power Plants With Russia – India plans to build additional 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plants with Russia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a ceremony dedicated to the handover of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant’s first unit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. “In years ahead we are determined to pursue an ambitious agenda of nuclear power generation. At Kundakulam alone, five more units of 1,000 megawatt each are planned. In our journey of cooperation [with Russia], we plan to build a series of bigger nuclear power plants,” Modi said.

August 10, 2016 – New York Times – Chinese City Backs Down on Proposed Nuclear Fuel Plant After Protests – Bowing to days of passionate street protests, a city government in eastern China said Wednesday that it had halted any plans to build a nuclear fuel plant there. The reversal was the latest indication of how public distrust could hold back China’s ambitious plans for expanding its nuclear power industry. The government of Lianyungang, a city near the coast of Jiangsu Province, announced the retreat in a terse message online. “The people’s government of Lianyungang has decided to suspend preliminary work for selecting a site for the nuclear cycle project,” it read, referring to a proposed plant for reprocessing used fuel from nuclear plants.

August 10, 2016 – Daily Mail – Thank goodness for weather forecasts! A solar storm in 1967 almost sparked a nuclear WAR – In May 1967, the US Air Force prepared aircraft for war, thinking the nation’s surveillance radars were being blocked by the Soviet Union. However, the cause of the radar jamming was not the Soviet Union. The military discovered that a solar storm had caused the disruption, and thankfully the US avoided a potential nuclear weapon exchange.

August 10, 2016 – KFYR TV – ND Health Council reapproves radioactive waste rule, asks for new study – The development of fracking brought a historic economic boom to North Dakota. It also brought issues the state rarely dealt with before, such as radioactive waste disposal. The North Dakota Health Council (NDHC) paved the way for some radioactive waste to be stored in state last year. But, landowners and activists say they weren’t given enough notice, so they took the council to court. Now, the NDHC revisited the rule in a public meeting. The NDHC gave landowners and experts 20 minutes to speak out against new rules regarding radioactive waste.

August 10, 2016 – Digital Journal – New Bikini Atoll A-Bomb test films released by National Security – On July 22, 2016, the U.S. National Security Archives declassified and released all the footage shot by Task Force One, the Army Air Force scientific photographic unit as it flew over Bikini Atoll just moments after the Able test detonation (1:00-4:30) went off. The same unedited film footage also depicts four shots of the Baker test from different ranges (5:44, 8:56, 11:28, and 14:10), showing the formation of the nuclear cloud past the height of clouds in the sky. The end of the film, (15:40) shows a roiling cauldron at the bottom of what was once a beautiful coral bay. The damage appears to be complete. Only five ships sank, but those left floating were extensively damaged, and the viewer can see the huge oil slicks contaminating the environment from ships that had suffered damage to their infrastructure. But U.S. scientists weren’t prepared for what the tests ultimately revealed.

August 10, 2016 – Bloomberg News – Customers Could Pay $2.5 Billion for Nuclear Plants That Never Get Built – U.S. electricity consumers could end up paying more than $2.5 billion for nuclear plants that never get built. Utilities including Duke Energy Corp., Dominion Resources Inc. and NextEra Energy Inc. are being allowed by regulators to charge $1.7 billion for reactors that exist only on paper, according to company disclosures and regulatory filings. Duke and Dominion could seek approval to have ratepayers pony up at least another $839 million, the filings show. The practice comes as power-plant operators are increasingly turning to cheaper natural gas and carbon-free renewables as their fuels of choice. The growth of these alternatives is sparking a backlash from consumers and environmentalists who are challenging the need for more nuclear power in arguments that have spilled into courtrooms, regulatory proceedings and legislative agendas.

August 10, 2016 – Beyond Nuclear – Radioactive Waste – No safe, permanent solution has yet been found anywhere in the world – and may never be found – for the nuclear waste problem. In the U.S., the only identified and flawed high-level radioactive waste deep repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada has been canceled. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an end to the production of nuclear waste and for securing the existing reactor waste in hardened on-site storage. Environmental coalition members from the Crabshell Alliance, Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Campaign, NIRS, PSR, NEIS, and Public Citizen “just say NO!” at the NRC HQ nuke waste con game public comment meeting on 11/14/13 in Rockville, MD. Photo credit David Martin and Erica Grey. Beyond Nuclear submitted six sets of comments to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), by the July 31st deadline, re: “Consent-Based Siting” for so-called “centralized interim storage sites” (de facto permanent parking lot dumps), as well as permanent burial dumps (such as long targeted at Yucca Mountain, Nevada), for high-level radioactive waste/irradiated nuclear fuel.

August 10, 2016 – Syracuse.com – Gov. Cuomo says Fitzpatrick nuclear plant saved: Whole state should be smiling – Gov. Andrew Cuomo today said a deal for Exelon Generation to take over the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in Scriba saves 615 high-skilled, well-paying jobs. The governor made the announcement at a rally in support of the FitzPatrick plant in Oswego County. The facility, currently owned by Entergy, provides enough electricity to power more than 800,000 average-sized homes.

August 10, 2016 – Albany Times Union – Cuomo touts FitzPatrick nuclear plant sale – Exelon has acquired the FitzPatrick nuclear plant from Entergy Corp., the company and state announced Tuesday, putting in sight an end to uncertainty surrounding the plant’s future even as the state continues to lean on nuclear power to help reach its clean energy goals. The $110 million agreement transfers the plant’s operating license to Exelon, according to the company. The New York Power Authority will transfer the decommissioning trust fund and liability for FitzPatrick, which is on the shores of Lake Ontario near Oswego, to Entergy, which would then transfer them to Exelon if the deal is approved by regulators and the transaction closes.

August 10, 2016 – Charlotte Observer – Is the Energy Department doing enough to protect nuclear whistleblowers? – Changes announced by the U.S. Department of Energy to strengthen protections for nuclear whistleblowers don’t go far enough to fix deep-rooted problems unearthed in a recent audit, lawmakers and worker advocates say. The audit, released last month, found that the DOE’s nuclear program rarely holds its civilian contractors accountable for unlawful retaliation against contract employees who raise concerns about health, safety, fraud and waste. The lack of enforcement has led to the creation of chilled work environments at nuclear sites across the country, according to the audit performed by the Government Accountability Office at the request of three Democratic senators: Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

August 10, 2016 – The State – Once secret documents helping lawyers argue for sick nuclear workers at South Carolina complex – Lawyers are using once-classified government documents to argue that potentially thousands of sick nuclear weapons workers and their families should be eligible for federal benefits. The documents, released late last year, provide evidence that some workers at the Savannah River Site were exposed to thorium after 1972 even though the government said the South Carolina plant no longer had significant quantities of the radioactive material, said Bob Warren, an attorney representing ex-SRS employees. Warren said the federal records show that SRS had ample amounts of thorium, a metal used in nuclear reactions that can cause cancer. Warren obtained the documents under the Freedom of Information Act from the U.S. Department of Energy after a three-year wait.

August 10, 2016 – Aiken Standard – Solutions needed in MOX funding debate – It’s a shame more people weren’t on hand Thursday to hear an important legislative update from U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina. But for the approximately 30 people attending the town hall organized by the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, the affable senator from the Lowcountry delivered a lot of important news. Scott addressed a wide variety of topics, including roads, education and issues affecting small-business owners. But the bulk of Scott’s visit centered on the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, or MOX, at the Savannah River Site. Scott echoed the sentiments of most Republican lawmakers that the approximately $7.7 billion project must move forward.

August 10, 2016 – Daily Caller – Costly Wind Turbines Are Damaging Texas Power Grid, MIT Study Finds – Wind turbines are pushing Texas’s power grid to the limit, despite more than $8 billion invested in green infrastructure, according to a report published Friday in the Technology Review, by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Texas is learning just how costly it is to wrangle the wind,” MIT researchers found. Texas is already spending $8 billion, but the state’s utilities and transmission companies will have to spend hundreds of millions more to upgrade the system enough to transport electricity from wind-rich West Texas to market in East Texas, the report found. Texas’ new wind turbines also place dangerous stress on the power grid, potentially leading to blackouts.

August 10, 2016 – KFGO 790 FM – Health Council to revisit radioactive waste rules – North Dakota’s State Health Council will redo a meeting from a year ago during which it approved new rules for radioactive waste, in the wake of a lawsuit. Environmental groups sued in April, alleging the August 2015 meeting was held illegally. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem had issued an opinion in March saying the council violated state law by not providing adequate notice of the meeting. The new meeting is being held on Tuesday at the state Capitol. The Health Council will consider ratifying the decisions made a year ago.

August 10, 2016 – Denver Post – Payouts to property owners in long-running Rocky Flats suit should start in 2017 – For those who lived in the shadow of the former Rocky Flats nuclear plant — and for those who still do — compensation for loss of property value triggered by the noxious stew of chemicals and radioactive elements that were produced at the sprawling facility and dispersed downwind is moving from dream to reality. Late last week, a federal judge gave preliminary approval to a $375 million settlement that was reached in May between thousands of property owners living east of Rocky Flats and the plant’s longtime operators, Rockwell International Corp. and Dow Chemical Co.

August 10, 2016 – WyoFile – Lawmakers eye nuke plant, waste – Wyoming lawmakers may consider working with the U.S. Department of Energy in a new “consent-based” effort to establish sites for storing highly radioactive nuclear waste. Storing nuclear waste was the source of terrific controversy the last time Wyoming experienced a severe energy bust in the late 1980s. The Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee has scheduled more than 2 hours to discuss nuclear waste storage and other nuclear energy-related topics when it meets Thursday at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission building in Casper. DOE wants states to voluntarily research the potential for temporary and permanent storage of spent nuclear energy material. Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality officials attended a meeting in Denver in May at which “consent-based siting” of nuclear waste was discussed. DEQ has been ordered to examine what it would take to draft a “permit mapping process” for nuclear waste storage, however it has not been instructed to take any actions.

August 9, 2016 – 81 FR 52716-52717 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Tennessee Valley Authority; Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1; Maximum Number of Tritium Producing Burnable Absorber Rods – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-90, issued to the Tennessee Valley Authority, for operation of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1. The amendment allows Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, to irradiate up to 1792 tritium producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs) per cycle. This amendment revised Technical Specification (TS) 4.2.1, “Fuel Assemblies,” to increase the maximum number of TPBARs allowed in the core from 704 to 1792. The amendment also revised Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.5.1.4 of TS 3.5.1, “Accumulators,” and SR 3.5.4.3 of TS 3.5.4, “Refueling Water Storage Tank (RWST),” to delete outdated information related to the tritium production program.

August 9, 2016 – E&E Publishing – Rocky Flats refuge opens its gates, but will people come? – On a sunny morning in June, Dave Lucas sauntered among knee-high grasses with a machete in hand whacking down invasive musk thistles. The manager of this 5,000-acre wildlife refuge is waging a two-front battle as he prepares to open these lands to the public. The first is against the thistles, knapweed, toadflax, cheatgrass and goatgrass that have invaded this scenic expanse of rolling tallgrass prairie, shrub lands and wetlands about 16 miles northwest of Denver. He plans to beat those back using prescribed fires, herbicides and grazing — plus a heavy dose of his machete. His second fight is against public fear that his refuge is unsafe.

August 9, 2016 – Utility Dive – Nuclear plants safe, New York ISO CEO Brad Jones readies for a low-carbon grid – Barely a week old, New York’s Clean Energy Standard is already stirring up the power sector. On Aug 1., the state’s Public Service Commission unanimously approved a 50%-by-2030 renewable energy mandate and income supports for three upstate nuclear plants. While the PSC had solid support from state stakeholders for the hike in the renewable portfolio standard, the nuclear supports have proved more controversial. Anti-nuclear groups panned the plan as a bailout for aging, uneconomic generation and natural gas interests argued it stepped into the federal government’s jurisdiction over wholesale power markets.

August 9, 2016 – Your Industry News – ROSATOM and ABEN sign first commercial construction contracts for nuclear research and technology center in Bolivia – Moscow witnessed signing of the Contract on the preliminary site survey for the construction of the Nuclear Research and Technology Center (NRTC) in the Plurinational State of Bolivia between ASE Group (engineering division of ROSATOM) and Bolivian Nuclear Energy Agency (ABEN – from its acronyms in Spanish). On the same day JSC Rusatom Service (integrator of ROSATOM’ service offerings) and ABEN signed the Contract for the national nuclear infrastructure assessment as part of the NRTC construction project development.

August 9, 2016 – Consumer Eagle – Are Analysts Bullish Denison Mines Corp (TSE:DML) After Last Week? – Out of 2 analysts covering Denison Mines Corp. (TSE:DML), 2 rate it a “Buy”, 0 “Sell”, while 0 “Hold”. This means 100% are positive. Denison Mines Corp. has been the topic of 4 analyst reports since September 21, 2015 according to StockzIntelligence Inc. Below is a list of Denison Mines Corp (TSE:DML) latest ratings and price target changes. The stock increased 1.49% or $0.01 on August 8, hitting $0.68. About 348,622 shares traded hands or 3.07% up from the average. Denison Mines Corp (TSE:DML) has risen 1.49% since January 4, 2016 and is uptrending. It has underperformed by 6.87% the S&P500. Denison Mines Corp. is a uranium exploration and development company. The company has a market cap of $367.03 million. The Firm is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of uranium properties, extraction, processing and selling of uranium. It currently has negative earnings. The Firm operates in three divisions: the Mining segment, the Environmental Services segment, and the Corporate and Other segment.

August 9, 2016 – Madison.com – Catherine Kleiber: Change broadband use, policy to reduce cancer risk – It is time for a change in Wisconsin’s broadband policy. The U.S. National Toxicology Program has found that the radiation emitted by wireless technology is carcinogenic and breaks DNA. A replicated European toxicology study found that wireless radiation promotes cancer growth. So, as you look at your wireless device, you should see a portable cancer generator and promoter. Medical advice should be clear: Minimize your use of wireless devices and exposure to their radiation, especially if you already have or had cancer. Unfortunately, as with tobacco, doctors are behind time in issuing such cautions. You can read an excellent write-up by The Environmental Health Trust explaining the NTP findings here. Find a list of steps to reduce your exposure here. Then, call and write your local and state officials to bring the NTP results to their attention. They should immediately take meaningful steps to reduce exposure to wireless radiation: Turn off wireless routers in public buildings, libraries, and schools; provide wired ethernet connections for their own use and public internet access; and revise Wisconsin’s broadband program so it funds only wired broadband projects.

August 9, 2016 – Associated Press – Trump links Clinton emails to execution of nuclear scientist in Iran – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is suggesting that rival Hillary Clinton’s emails may be responsible for the death of an Iranian nuclear scientist executed for spying for the United States. Hours after an unusually disciplined speech on his economic plan for the country, Trump, using the “people are saying” sentence structure he often favors to make accusations, tweeted Monday night: “Many people are saying that the Iranians killed the scientist who helped the U.S. because of Hillary Clinton’s hacked emails.” He did not say which people he meant. The FBI has said there is no evidence that Clinton’s emails were hacked due to her use of a private account and server during her tenure as secretary of state.

August 9, 2016 – News.az – Construction of Russian 5th-generation nuclear sub to start after 2020 – Russian Malakhit design bureau has signed a contract with the Defense Ministry to design a fifth-generation multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarine. Russia’s St. Petersburg-based Malakhit design bureau said Monday it had signed a contract with the Defense Ministry to design a fifth-generation multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarine with construction to start sometime after 2020, Sputnik News reports.

August 9, 2016 – The Guardian – Belarus under fire for ‘dangerous errors’ at nuclear plant – Thirty years after world’s worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Belarus, which saw a quarter of its territory contaminated in the disaster, is building its first energy plant powered by the atom. However a series of mishaps at the site in Astravets are raising concerns over safety, particularly in Lithuania whose capital, Vilnius, lies less than 31 miles (50km) from the site. In July it was reported by local news that a nuclear reactor shell had been dropped while being moved. Local resident Nikolai Ulasevich, who is a member of the opposition United Civic Party, claimed the 330-tonne shell had fallen from a height of 2-4m in preparation for installation.

August 9, 2016 – Daily Mail – China warns of consequences if Theresa May scraps controversial Hinkley Point nuclear power plant – China has delivered a thinly-veiled warning to Theresa May against cancelling the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. The Chinese ambassador to London suggested ‘mutual trust’ between the countries will be damaged if the huge project does not go ahead. The new Prime Minister caused shock when she pressed pause on the £18 billion scheme just hours after the EDF board gave it the final go-ahead in July.

August 9, 2016 – MercoPress.com – Head of Brazil’s nuclear energy development sentenced 43 years in jail for corruption – The CEO of Brazil’s nuclear power company Eletronuclear, was sentenced to serve 43 years in prison by a Rio de Janeiro judge, Valor Economico newspaper reported. Othon Luiz Pinheiro da Silva considered the father of Brazil’s nuclear program and a pillar of the military-industrial establishment was convicted of corruption, money-laundering, organized crime and obstruction of justice, in the latest chapter of the country’s historic “Operation Carwash” investigation.

August 9, 2016 – Pravda.ru – Nagasaki mayor puzzled why Japan relies on US nuclear bombs – Mayor of the Japanese city of Nagasaki urged to create a nuclear-free zone in Northeast Asia and criticized the Japanese authorities for their support for US nuclear deterrent forces. Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue stated that while supporting the elimination of nuclear weapons, the Japanese government at the same time supports its own dependence on nuclear deterrent forces, RIA Novosti reports. He stressed out the need to consider the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in Northeast Asia.

August 9, 2016 – Union of Concerned Scientists – DIBs on Nuclear Power Plant Safety – Imagine that you have an extremely important appointment scheduled early tomorrow morning. To ensure that you get to the appointment on time, you might apply DIBs—Diverse Independent Barriers. You want to set an alarm as a barrier against oversleeping. You could rely on multiple clock radios plugged into wall outlets for protection against one malfunctioning unit causing you to oversleep. For diversity, you set some of the clock radios to sound a buzzer alarm and set the other clock radios to play a radio station. And being a diversity aficionado, you select a variety of music and talk radio stations to protect against a single station’s failure. But a power outage could still disable all these multiple alarms. Multiple clock radios provide redundancy, because any one going off at the proper time helps get you moving towards the appointment. But they have limited diversity because they are vulnerable to the same common cause failure.

August 9, 2016 – BBC News – Wylfa Newydd nuclear firm funds Anglesey engineering centre – The company behind an £8bn nuclear power plant will pay £1m towards an engineering centre on Anglesey. Horizon Nuclear Power, the firm behind Wylfa Newydd, will pay towards Grwp Llandrillo Menai’s Llangefni building. The Welsh Government pledged £5m to the centre in 2015. Grwp Llandrillo Menai chief executive, Glyn Jones, said he wanted to “ensure that as many local people as possible gain the world class skills required to work at Wylfa Newydd”. Horizon will provide technical support to Coleg Menai, one of the colleges under Grwp Llandrillo Menai, and apprentices will move from the Bangor campus to Llangefni once the new centre is finished.

August 9, 2016 – Wyofile.com – Lawmakers eye nuke plant, waste – Wyoming lawmakers may consider working with the U.S. Department of Energy in a new “consent-based” effort to establish sites for storing highly radioactive nuclear waste. Storing nuclear waste was the source of terrific controversy the last time Wyoming experienced a severe energy bust in the late 1980s. The Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee has scheduled more than 2 hours to discuss nuclear waste storage and other nuclear energy-related topics when it meets Thursday at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission building in Casper. DOE wants states to voluntarily research the potential for temporary and permanent storage of spent nuclear energy material. Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality officials attended a meeting in Denver in May at which “consent-based siting” of nuclear waste was discussed. DEQ has been ordered to examine what it would take to draft a “permit mapping process” for nuclear waste storage, however it has not been instructed to take any actions.

August 9, 2016 – Canada Newswire – Veolia builds training facility at its Pennsylvania nuclear services site – Veolia in North America through its subsidiary (Veolia ES Alaron, L.L.C.) has partnered with customer Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems (MNES), Inc. to build a training facility at Veolia’s Alaron Nuclear Services site in Wampum, Pa. MNES will conduct hands-on training and qualification of the Mitsubishi Water Jet Peening (WJP) process in the facility’s radiological controlled environment. Completed at the end of May 2016, Veolia built the facility at its radioactive-licensed site to allow MNES, the U.S.-based nuclear subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., to train engineers on its water jet peening process. By building the facility at the Alaron site, MNES is able to provide training under realistic plant environments with actual WJP equipment in advance of project implementation, thereby presenting a highly qualified workforce to its own customers’ worksites.

August 9, 2016 – CTV News – Residents of Chinese city protest possible nuclear plans – Residents of a city in eastern China have protested for a third day against possible plans to build a nuclear fuel reprocessing centre, a protester and a city employee said Tuesday, as police announced a ban on public gatherings. The protests in Lianyungang, north of Shanghai, reflect public unease about the safety of China’s state-owned nuclear industry and growing willingness to oppose nuclear, chemical and other industrial projects. The city government responded to the weekend demonstrations in a downtown square with an announcement that plans for the nuclear project were in early stages and no location had been confirmed. Despite that, protesters gathered again Monday, according to a city hall employee who would give only his surname, Zhang, and man who gave his surname as Wang. Wang said he took part in one weekend protest and witnessed others.

August 9, 2016 – Reuters – Britain defends decision to review $24 billion nuclear plant – Britain on Tuesday defended its decision to review a planned $24 billion nuclear power project after criticism from China which is helping to fund the deal. China has cautioned Britain against closing the door to Chinese investment and said on Tuesday relations were at a crucial juncture after new Prime Minister Theresa May delayed signing off on the project. “This decision is about a huge infrastructure project and it’s right that the new government carefully considers it,” a government spokesman said in a statement.

August 9, 2016 – Dallas Morning News – That radioactive hole in our counterterrorism barrier – If global terrorism has you concerned that our safety hangs by a thread, consider how thin that thread might be — or how close to home the threat might be. A report from the Center for Public Integrity describes a successful and admittedly not-particularly-sophisticated effort by fewer than 10 people to gain a license and buy enough materials to build a so-called “dirty bomb” right here on US soil.

August 9, 2016 – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Westinghouse advances in Ukraine’s nuclear fuel market – To hear some Ukranian politicians talk, it might seem like Westinghouse Electric Co. is a household name in the former Soviet republic — a trusted business partner picking up the nuclear pieces of Ukraine’s unraveled bonds to Russia. Just because it’s exaggerated doesn’t make Westinghouse’s ascent in Ukraine any less significant for either side. For decades, all 15 of Ukraine’s Russian-style reactors were using 100 percent Russian-made fuel. Today, there are Westinghouse fuel assemblies in three of them. Next year, it could be six, and the country’s energy officials have said they want Westinghouse’s share to be 30 percent. Western fuel has nudged the monopoly of TVEL, the nuclear fuel fabrication arm of Russia’s state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, which is the culmination of more than a decade of diplomacy and a few commercial setbacks. The U.S. Department of Energy helped open the door for Westinghouse in Ukraine to pilot a new type of fuel for the company starting in 2005 — specifically designed for Russian reactors.

August 9, 2016 – The Virginian-Pilot – New business in Moyock makes massive concrete storage cases for nuclear waste – Marlin Stoltz put on a hard hat and bright yellow vest before walking out into the 4-acre work area of the Moyock Casting Facility, a new operation in the business of spent nuclear fuel storage. A line of concrete cases, each 21 feet long and weighing 100 tons, rested along a rail spur, ready for shipment. Several men stood atop a steel form where hydraulic power vibrated and settled four truckloads of concrete for the next case. The Moyock facility opened in January and has 25 employees . It makes concrete modules that encase steel canisters that are used to store spent nuclear fuel. From here, the modules head to nuclear plants elsewhere. “We have no nuclear material here,” Stoltz said.

August 9, 2016 – World Nuclear News – Duke receives final safety evaluation for William States Lee nuclear plant – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed its final safety evaluation report (SER) for combined licences for two proposed nuclear power units at the William States Lee III site. In its response to Duke Energy’s application for the approval for AP1000 reactors at the site in South Carolina, the NRC concluded there were no safety concerns that would inhibit a construction and operating license for the project. Duke submitted a combined construction and operation licence (COL) application with the NRC for the proposed Lee plant at the end of 2007. The application is based on two Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized water reactors with a combined capacity of 2234 MWe at a greenfield site near Gaffney in Cherokee County.

August 9, 2016 – Inforum – Don’t store radioactive waste near farms, homes – Today, the North Dakota Health Council will hold another meeting to consider ratifying the decision to raise the threshold to dispose of radioactive waste in North Dakota. The previous decision was made at an illegitimate meeting held last August. Despite many comments from North Dakota citizens who opposed raising the limit, the rules were pushed through, leaving western North Dakota lands open to the highest bidder who will profit from the storage and disposal of radioactive waste. The people of North Dakota did not ask for this increase. Our health and environment should not bear the cost to store and dispose of this material near our homes, farmlands, and schools.

August 9, 2016 – Construction Equipment Guide – Feds Schedule Cleanup From Manhattan Project – U.S. Department of Energy contractors are scheduled to start removing contaminated soil left over in northern New Mexico from the Manhattan Project and early atomic Cold War research. Work is expected to begin on the south-facing slopes of Los Alamos Canyon and is part of an agreement between federal and New Mexico officials, the Los Alamos Monitor reports. Officials said the contaminated soils will be temporarily stored at Tech Area 21 at Los Alamos National Laboratory and eventually will be shipped to a permanent area once tested. The work will include five sites in a 1-acre area. About 125 cu. yds. (95.6 cu m) of soil is scheduled to be moved. One site contains arsenic and the other four contain plutonium, officials said.

August 9, 2016 – KLCC 89.7 – Eugene Residents Ride Bikes To Protest Nukes – Seventy-one years ago this month the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Saturday a couple dozen Eugene residents gathered at Monroe Park for Bike Around The Bomb to demand global elimination of nuclear weapons. After a brief rally, activists embarked on a seven mile bike ride to signify the area destroyed by the atomic bombs. Organizer Clara Schneid, says while this event is meant to remember the destruction that happened in Japan, it is also focuses on creating a positive future.

August 8, 2016 – 81 FR 52478-52482 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Renewal of Special Nuclear Materials License – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an application for the renewal of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) License No. SNM-986, which currently authorizes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to possess and use SNM for education, research, and training programs. The renewed license would authorize MIT to continue to possess and use SNM for an additional 10 years from the date of issuance. The NRC proposes to determine that the renewal involves no significant hazards consideration. Because this application contains sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI) an order imposes procedures to obtain access to SUNSI for contention preparation.

August 8, 2016 – 81 FR 52483-52484 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Request To Amend a License To Export Radioactive Waste – Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 110.70 (b) “Public Notice of Receipt of an Application,” please take notice that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received the following request for an export license amendment. A copy of the request is available electronically through the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System, and can be accessed through the Public Electronic Reading Room link http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html at the NRC Homepage. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene may be filed within 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register (FR). Any request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene shall be served by the requestor or petitioner upon the applicant, the office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; and the Executive Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520.

August 8, 2016 – 81 FR 52483 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Omaha Public Power District; Fort Calhoun Station, Unit No. 1 – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted the request of the Omaha Public Power District (the licensee) to withdraw its license amendment application dated August 31, 2015, as supplemented by letters dated December 23, 2015, and June 9, 2016, for a proposed amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-40. The proposed amendment would have revised the Fort Calhoun Station, Unit No. 1 (FCS), Updated Safety Analysis Report (USAR) to change the structural design methodology for Class I structures at FCS to use American Concrete Institute ultimate strength requirements, with the exception of the containment structure (cylinder, dome, and base mat), the spent fuel pool, and the foundation mats.

August 8, 2016 – 81 FR 52484-52485 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Request To Amend a License To Import Radioactive Waste – Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 110.70 (b) “Public Notice of Receipt of an Application,” please take notice that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received the following request for an import license amendment. A copy of the request is available electronically through the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System, and can be accessed through the Public Electronic Reading Room link http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html at the NRC Homepage. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene may be filed within 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register (FR). Any request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene shall be served by the requestor or petitioner upon the applicant, the office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; and the Executive Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520.

August 8, 2016 – Huffington Post – We Regret To Inform You That Cow Dung Will Not Save You From Radiation – In a recent interview with The Indian Express, Shankar Lal, president of Akhil Bharatiya Gau Sewa Sangh, an outfit associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), claimed that dung produced by Indian cows has the power to absorb harmful radiation. The 76-year-old sang praises of both cow dung and cow urine generously. “We drink cow urine and have extracts from her dung, which has kept me healthy even at the age of 76,” he said. “We make pregnant women eat cow dung and urine paste to ensure a normal delivery. We treat all deadly diseases with cow dung.” However, he insisted that the gobar (cow dung) and mutra (urine) should be of a desi cow, “not western monsters like Jersey or Holstein”. Their dung and milk, he claimed, “are nothing but poison”. While cow urine and dung may possibly have antiseptic properties, Lal made a more intriguing case for the use of the latter. He said he applies “fresh cow dung” on the back of his mobile phone to protect himself from harmful radioactive emissions from it. “If cow dung can treat cancer, why can’t it save us from a phone’s microwaves?” Thus went his logic.

August 8, 2016 – The Hill – Nuclear trade group shakes up leadership – The nuclear power industry’s Washington trade group is shaking up its leadership and consolidating numerous executive positions. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) said Thursday that it’s consolidating its governmental affairs, communications and policy offices into one operation. Alex Flint, the group’s top lobbyist who has been there for a decade, will leave this fall, along with Scott Peterson, the head of the communications shop, who has worked for the NEI since it was formed in 1994. The NEI will look to hire a new leader for its external affairs operations. The moves come at a pivotal time for the nuclear industry, when many of the fewer than 100 reactors in the country are closing due to increasing costs and competition from cheap natural gas and only a small handful of new plants are being constructed or even planned.

August 8, 2016 – New York Daily News – Your very own dirty bomb: A do-it-yourself guide to a radioactive weapon – It could be mistaken for a page ripped from a script of the soon-to-be-rebooted TV terrorism thriller “24”: Undercover investigators working for the federal government’s chief watchdog agency source the building blocks of a radioactive dirty bomb. Right here, in the U.S. With hardly any trouble at all. Getting radioactive material is supposed to be tough. It requires getting a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is supposed to require jumping through fail-safe hoops. But fewer than 10 people working for the Government Accountability Office set up a shell company, faked their credentials and got permission — via a Texas regulator deputized to give licenses without federal review — to line up shipments of enough toxic stuff to poison a city center.

August 8, 2016 – International Business Times – Neutrino Oscillation Anomaly May Explain Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing – If our current understanding of the universe is correct, it should not even exist. The very fact that planets, stars and galaxies exist undercuts one of the most fundamental premises of particle physics — that the Big Bang, which created our universe 13.8 billion years ago, created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. If this really happened, it begs the question — why, given that matter and antimatter particles annihilate each other when they collide, is there something rather than nothing in the universe? Why do you and I exist when the laws of physics, as we know them, seem to dictate that the cosmos should be nothing but a wasteland strewn with leftover energy?

August 8, 2016 – MetroNews.ca – No more ‘Pokemon Go’ at Hiroshima atomic bomb memorial – It was a bit touch and go for Hiroshima officials, but the atomic bomb memorial park in the western Japanese city is now Pokemon No. The city had asked the developer of the popular “Pokemon Go” smartphone game to remove the creatures and sites that appeared in the park by last weekend, when a solemn annual ceremony was held to mark the anniversary of the atomic bombing that killed 140,000 people in the final days of World War II. The “Pokestops” and gyms, and the clumps of players that they attract, were gone by last Thursday, but the monsters that gamers try to catch were still popping up. The city sent an email inquiry to game developer Niantic, and got a response at 1:56 a.m. Saturday, just six hours before the start of the ceremony. “We were so relieved,” city official Tatsuya Sumida said. “We were worried if those ‘Pokemon’ were really going to go away in time.”

August 8, 2016 – South Washington County Bulletin – Web app tracks prevalence of radon in Washington County – A majority of Minnesota counties have high average levels of radon, according to a new online tool that tracks the prevalence of the odorless gas linked to thousands of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. each year. The Minnesota Department of Health collected radon data from 86,000 residential and commercial properties tested from 2010 to 2014, and found 67 of the state’s 87 counties have average radon levels at or greater than 4 pCi/L — the threshold at which the Environmental Protection Agency recommends mitigation measures. The data and an interactive map showing county radon levels can be found at https://apps.health.state.mn.us/mndata/radon.

August 8, 2016 – Lewiston Tribune – Bomb radiation said altering human species – Atomic radiation from exploded A-bombs is at work changing the human species all over the earth, and probably for the worse, according to a distinguished American scientist. He says there is no stopping this, that the change was going on slowly before the advent of the atomic age because of the effects of the earth’s natural radiation, and that the bombs already set off have simply made it worse. He adds that any more bombs will increase the undesirable changes. These views were given by Dr. A. H. Sturtevant, zoologist, before a meeting of the Pacific division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Sturtevant, a specialist in genetics at the California Institute of Technology, spoke as the retiring president of the association. He is widely known abroad as well as at home.

August 8, 2016 – LobeLog – Time to Retire the Nuclear Football – Speculation about whether Donald Trump can be trusted with his finger on the nuclear “button”, should he be elected president, is a reminder that the world’s survival rests on a hair trigger. Contrary to popular belief, there is no actual button to be pushed. But the president of the United States goes nowhere without a briefcase (the “football”) containing a menu of targets and list of verification codes (the “biscuit”). Twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War,does it make sense to hold human existence hostage to the decision of one individual, acting alone, on a moment’s notice? To answer this question, we first need to consider the circumstances under which the use of nuclear weapons would ever be contemplated.

August 8, 2016 – Bloomberg News – Bulgaria May Restore Russian Gas Pipeline, Nuclear Plant – Bulgaria and Russia agreed to resurrect the canceled South Stream natural gas pipeline across the Black Sea and the Belene nuclear power plant as the Balkan country strives to reduce penalty payments over unfulfilled contracts awarded to Russia by international courts. Bulgaria and Russia agreed to set up working groups that will seek ways to resume work on the two energy projects, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Saturday in the Black Sea city of Varna, according to an e-mailed statement. He spoke after a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 5. Borissov has discussed the projects with the European Commission and they will be done in compliance with European Union rules, he said.

August 8, 2016 – New York Times – Thousands in Eastern Chinese City Protest Nuclear Waste Project – China’s efforts to expand its nuclear power sector suffered a backlash in one eastern seaboard city over the weekend, as thousands of residents took to the streets to oppose any decision to build a reprocessing plant in the area for spent nuclear fuel. The government of Lianyungang, a city in Jiangsu Province, tried to calm residents on Sunday, a day after thousands of people defied police warnings and gathered near the city center, chanting slogans, according to Chinese news reports and photographs of the protests shared online. They chanted “no nuclear fuel recycling project,” the state-run Global Times reported, citing footage from the scene. “It is unsafe to see another nuclear project coming and besieging us,” one resident told the paper.

August 8, 2016 – Syracuse.com – Instead of a nuclear subsidy, embrace a revenue-neutral carbon tax – A recent editorial supports the decision by the PSC to ratify Gov. Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard — particularly the State’s goal of achieving a 50 percent mix of New York’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030. The editorial points out the advantage of particular nuclear subsidies for economic interests of Oswego County referring to them as “a bridge to a worthy public goal.” But in the absence of a longer term, more comprehensive policy that will result in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear subsidies are not a bridge and may create a delay in taking real action to achieve the goals of the Clean Energy Standard. Continuing nuclear sourced power does prevent the substitution of fossil fuel sourced power temporarily but doesn’t lead toward 50 percent from renewable energy sources.

August 8, 2016 – Counter Punch – Wake Up: These Unneeded Instruments Can Wreck Mass Destruction – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has recently advanced a clean energy plan which mandates that New York transition half of its energy needs to renewables by 2030. By regressive contrast, New York’s Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved enormous subsidies for three aging nuclear power plants―Ginna, Nine Mile Point and FitzPatrick―located in Upstate New York. Estimates of the costs of these subsidies range from $59 million to $658 million by 2023, with specialists such as Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group predicting that costs could grow to $8 billion. New York consumers will be covering the tab via their utility bills. Ginna and Nine Mile Point are owned by the Exelon Corporation, and Exelon has plans to purchase the FitzPatrick plant. You can be sure that Exelon is frothing at the mouth for this huge bailout that was approved without adequate public scrutiny. Approval of this plan gives New York State the not-so-honorable distinction of being one of the first states to bailout the aging nuclear industry in our increasingly green energy age. The long-coddled nuclear industry is hoping that other states will follow suit.

August 8, 2016 – NJSpotlight – New Jersey unlikely to follow New York’s subsidies of nuclear industry – Profitable nuclear-plant owner PSEG might like to be subsidized, but that’s unlikely to happen in the Garden State. New York this week handed lucrative subsidies to the nuclear industry to keep a trio of power plants upstate afloat, but New Jersey is unlikely to follow suit anytime soon. Subsidies, which in this case amount to $965 million over two years paid by electric customers, are also being sought in other states across the nation as the costs of operating nuclear units have made it difficult to compete economically with cheaper gas-fired plants. The New York system may serve a model for others wrestling with the question. Between 10 to15 nuclear power plants are at risk of closing in the near future and another half dozen already have closed, according to energy executives.

August 8, 2016 – WLTX 19 – USC Chemists Growing Crystals Store Nuclear Waste – A team of scientists at the University of South Carolina are using an $8 million federal grant to study safer ways to store nuclear waste within the structure of crystals. They have already grown crystals to be able to house Uranium within the atomic structures, and say the grant from the Department of Energy will allow them to develop a structure than can store various types of radioactive chemicals, including Plutonium. USC is also working collaboratively with the D.O.E.’s Savannah Riversite in Aiken to test on those materials housed at that nuclear waste facility.

August 8, 2016 – Eau Claire Leader-Telegram – Knight Life: Land purchase will ensure site where nuclear plant was once proposed will remain – I once went for a fishing trip and canoe ride with a top Xcel Energy official who told me — he didn’t intend his comments be made public at the time — that he didn’t think the company would sell the Tyrone property in Dunn County, despite requests from regional sportsman’s groups and environmentalists. Times have changed. On Wednesday the state Natural Resources Board approved the purchase of 991 acres of the property from Northern States Power Co. — a subsidiary of Xcel — that includes 18,000 feet of undeveloped shoreline. The land also incorporates a segment of a state bike trail and habitat of dry prairie, oak savanna, floodplain forest, pine plantations, a 10-acre lake, agricultural land and upland brush.

August 8, 2016 – Sputnik News – Delays During Reopening Nuclear Waste Plant Cost US Taxpayers $64M – The Department of Energy (DOE) did not follow all best practices in analyzing and selecting an alternative for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s (WIPP) new ventilation system. As a result, its analysis was not reliable and the alternative it selected in December 2015 may not best provide the needed capabilities at WIPP, the report noted. DOE’s WIPP is the only deep geologic repository for the disposal of US defense-related nuclear waste. In February 2014, waste operations were suspended following a truck fire and an unrelated radiological release, the report said.

August 8, 2016 – OH&S – GAO Faults Energy Department on WIPP Restart Process – The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report Aug. 4 on its examination of the U.S.Department of Energy’s process for resuming operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the transuranic waste disposal site outside of Carlsbad, N.M. Operations there have been suspended since two serious incidents in February 2014, a salt haul truck fire and a radiological release from a waste container, incidents that exposed workers to smoke and radiation. The GAO report says the resumption has seen a cost increase of about $64 million and a delay of nearly nine months partly because DOE did not follow all best practices in developing the cost and schedule estimates. In particular, its schedule did not include extra time, or contingency, to account for known project risks.

August 8, 2016 – Pueblo Chieftain – Rock cracked Cotter pipeline; contaminants contained at mill site – Cotter Corp. Uranium mill officials say a leak that dumped about 7,200 gallons of contaminated water on the mill property was caused by a rock that punctured a hole in a feeder line. The feeder line connects to the main pumpback pipeline above a Soil Conservation Service dam that helps prevent rainwater runoff from leaving the mill site. The pipeline carries contaminated water that seeps past the earthen dam and returns it to an impoundment. “When Cotter personnel excavated the area of the leak, a large rock was discovered above the feeder line. The rock had punctured the pipe, causing the leak,” said Stephen Cohen, Cotter Mill manager.

August 8, 2016 – Counter Punch – Whistleblower Retaliation Alive and Well at Hanford – It’s getting real out at Hanford in eastern Washington, the site of the most expensive (and likely dangerous) environmental clean-up in the world. On July 21, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, along with watchdog group Hanford Challenge and UA Local Union 598 Plumbers and Steamfitters, filed an emergency legal motion asking US Judge Thomas Rice to intervene and force the US Department of Energy and federal contractor Washington River Protection Solutions to protect their workers from toxic vapor exposure at the site. “[It’s] as serious as it gets,” Ferguson told King 5 News. “At Hanford there’s a culture of indifference by the federal government and their contractors. Frankly, we’re not going to put up with it anymore…. So right now we’re trying to get before the judge immediately asking for immediate steps required from the federal government to protect workers. That’s the bottom line.”

August 4, 2016 – No relevant citations.

August 4, 2016 – Texas Tribune – In Dirty Bomb Prevention, Texas Fails a Crucial Test – Large quantities of radioactive materials stored in a single location, like these at an oil well-logging storage site, are particularly vulnerable to theft for use in a dirty bomb, the Department of Energy and the Government Accountability Office determined in 2014, yet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission still allows the practice. The clandestine group’s goal was clear: Obtain the building blocks of a radioactive “dirty bomb” — capable of poisoning a major city for a year or more — by openly purchasing the raw ingredients from authorized sellers inside the United States. It should have been hard. The purchase of lethal radioactive materials — even modestly dangerous ones — requires a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a measure meant to keep them away from terrorists. Applicants must demonstrate they have a legitimate need and understand the NRC’s safety standards, and pass an on-site inspection of their equipment and storage. But this secret group of fewer than 10 people — formed in April 2014 in North Dakota, Texas and Michigan — discovered that getting a license and then ordering enough materials to make a dirty bomb was strikingly simple in one of their three tries. Sellers were preparing shipments that together were enough to poison a city center when the operation was shut down.

August 4, 2016 – Ecologist – Uranium from Russia, with love – Uranium mining is a dirty business that we didn’t clean up but sourced out to less developed countries, so why isn’t this being discussed in any debate about nuclear energy. Our EU and US based nuclear power is currently coming at the cost of poisoning people in Africa. But it begs the question: are we ready to face that reality? Amidst all the fuss about Hinkley C and other planned nuclear power plants in the EU and US, does anyone knows where the stuff that keeps these reactors buzzing comes from? Here’s a fun fact: no other country supplies so much uranium to the EU than … Russia. Putin has more than the gas valve if he wants to play games with Europe. And the degree to which the US has become dependent on non-stable foreign sources of uranium is also unprecedented.

August 4, 2016 – The Press – York scientist working on decommissioning of Chernobyl nuclear power plant – A SCIENTIST from York has returned from a visit to Chernobyl nuclear power plant – where it is hoped he will be able to assist with the decommissioning of the radioactive site. Adam Fisher, 30, was among a team invited to the site of the worst ever nuclear power plant accident, to see the progress made in decommissioning the site. Their focus is the lava-like substance created as the reactor core melted into the surrounding structural material. As a PhD student specialising in material science, and specifically nuclear waste, it is hoped Adam and the team from the University of Sheffield will be able to assist in safely decommissioning, and ultimately disposing of, the radioactive material.

August 4, 2016 – Oak Ridge Today – Demolition work on K-27, last of big 5 uranium-enrichment buildings, to be complete this month – Demolition work should be complete this month on K-27, the last of the big five buildings once used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, officials said last week. Demolition work started on K-27 in February. Like the other four buildings that have already been demolished, the four-story, 383,000-square-foot K-27 building once used a process known as gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium. The demolition is part of Vision 2016. That’s the plan by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management, or EM, to remove all five gaseous diffusion buildings from the site by the end of the year.

August 4, 2016 – newschannel10.com – Activists to march in Los Alamos on Hiroshima anniversary – Dozens of peace activists are expected to participate in march in Los Alamos around the 71th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. The Los Alamos Monitor reports (http://goo.gl/NI3GJi) anti-nuclear activist Rev. John Dear will lead a match Saturday to the boundaries of Los Alamos National Laboratory and then to Ashley Pond Park to meditate and pray. Dear says Los Alamos National Laboratory and its employees must repent for participating in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. During the World War II-era Manhattan Project, scientists at the then-secret city of Los Alamos developed the weapon dropped on the Japanese cities.

August 4, 2016 – Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly – Cameco’s Yeelirrie project faces environmental hurdle – The Western Australia (WA) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that Cameco’s Yeelirrie uranium project does not meet one of nine key environmental factors examined. Cameco is proposing to mine up to 7 500 t/y of uranium oxide concentrate from the Yeelirrie deposit, which is located about 420 km north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and 70 km south west of Wiluna. The EPA on Thursday said the company did not meet the Subterranean Fauna factor in its environmental objectives, as the proposal would threaten the viability of some species of animals that live below ground, in particular stygofauna. “The stygofauna habitat at Yeelirrie is particularly rich, with 73 species recorded – more than anywhere else in the northern goldfields,” EPA chairperson Dr Tom Hatton said.

August 4, 2016 – OncLive – Dr. Luke Nordquist on Radium-223 Retreatment – Luke Nordquist, MD, FACP, a urologic medical oncologist and CEO of the Urology Cancer Center and GU Research Network, discusses a multicenter, prospective study of radium-223 retreatment in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). There were many questions that remained unanswered after the ALSYMPCA study, which led to the approval of radium-223, said Nordquist. One area where uncertainty remains is proper dosing. While this drug is approved at 50 kBq/kg monthly for 6 months in mCRPC, a higher dose may have more benefit. To investigate this, a study was conduced with 44 patients who had mCRPC. The patients received up to an additional 6 doses of radium-223 after the original 6. The primary endpoint of the study was safety, but there were exploratory endpoints with radiographic progression and progression-free survival looking at PSA.

August 4, 2016 – The Republic of East Vancouver – Nuclear Response Robots Market Research Report Now Available at Research Corridor – Research Corridor has published a new research study titled “Nuclear Response Robots Market – Growth, Share, Opportunities, Competitive Analysis and Forecast, 2015 – 2022”. The Nuclear Response Robots market report studies current as well as future aspects of the Nuclear Response Robots Market based upon factors such as market dynamics, key ongoing trends and segmentation analysis. Apart from the above elements, the Nuclear Response Robots Market research report provides a 360-degree view of the Nuclear Response Robots industry with geographic segmentation, statistical forecast and the competitive landscape.

August 4, 2016 – Financial Express – Supply of nuclear reactors to Pakistan under NSG norms: China – Defending its nuclear cooperation with its close ally Pakistan, China on Thursday said its supply of reactors to Islamabad were in accordance with the principles of NSG and under the supervision of UN’s nuclear watchdog. Refuting a U.S. think tank report which said that China’s nuclear cooperation with Pakistan was in contravention with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) principles, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying said China—Pakistan cooperation is in accordance with the 48-member nuclear club, which supervises global nuclear commerce. “China has stated on many occasions that the cooperation between China and Pakistan in the civil nuclear energy sector is completely for peaceful purpose,” Hua said.

August 4, 2016 – Power-Technology.com – UK’s NuGen contracts Amec Foster Wheeler for Moorside nuclear project – British engineering company Amec Foster Wheeler has secured a continuation of contract from UK-based NuGeneration (NuGen) to offer environmental support for the proposed nuclear power station at Moorside in Cumbria. Once completed, the Moorside power station will be the largest nuclear project in the UK and will have the capacity to generate up to 3.8GW of power.

August 4, 2016 – Motherboard – Is China’s Role in a UK Nuclear Plant Really a Cybersecurity Risk? – Last week, the UK delayed plans to build the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, which would have been the first nuclear plant to be built in the UK in 20 years. While the government did not give a specific reason for the hold-up, one reason suggested is that it has reservations over China’s role in the construction. The state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corporation has agreed to a 33 percent stake in the project, and some suggest that the new British government may be concerned about the cybersecurity of the plant. Nick Timothy, Prime Minister Theresa May’s chief of staff, has previously said that experts think the Chinese government could use its involvement to introduce vulnerabilities into systems, which would allow it to tamper with Britain’s energy production in the future. But is this something we really need to worry about? In conversations with Motherboard, researchers and those who work on on critical infrastructure were divided over whether Chinese financing of Hinkley Point is a legitimate concern or not.

August 4, 2016 – Power Engineering International – Alstom Power wins turbine generator order for Finnish nuclear plant – Alstom Power Systems, part of GE, will deliver a turbine generator set for Fennovoima’s Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in Finland. The contract covers the design and supply of the turbine generator equipment package as well as advisory services for installation and commissioning works. The set will be based on Alstom Arabelle technology and the design work will start immediately. The delivery and installation schedule will allow the commissioning of the power plant to begin in 2023 and commercial operation in 2024.

August 4, 2016 – Russia & India Report – Russia, Bolivia sign first contracts on nuclear research center project – Russia’s nuclear power corporation Rosatom and the Bolivian Atomic Energy Agency (ABEN) have signed first commercial contracts on the project of construction of a center for nuclear research and technologies in Bolivia, Rosatom reported Thursday. ABEN signed two contracts – with Rosatom’s engineering subsidiary Atomstroyexport on preliminary engineering surveys regarding the construction of the center, and with Rusatom Service on estimation of the state of Bolivia’s national nuclear infrastructure, the report said.

August 4, 2016 – Interfax-Ukraine – Ukraine agrees construction of nuclear fuel plant in Ukraine with Westinghouse – Ukraine has agreed an increase in supplies of nuclear fuel with Westinghouse and building a nuclear fuel plant in Ukraine in the future to avoid dependence on Russia, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Ihor Nasalyk has said. “We agreed to diversify supplies for almost half of nuclear reactors and to build a nuclear fuel plant on the territory of Ukraine,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

July 4, 2016 – Raw Story – Can environmentalists learn to love – or just tolerate – nuclear power? – In June, California utility Pacific Gas and Electric announced plans for phasing out its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, located on the central California coast. If the current timetable holds, late summer 2025 will see the first time in over six decades that the nation’s most populous state will have no licensed nuclear power providers. This is big news. Forty years ago, Diablo Canyon stood at the middle of an intense controversy over the safety and desirability of nuclear power. Those debates stand as part of the origin story of the anti-nuclear movement; failure to stop the plant from coming online educated and galvanized a generation of anti-nuclear activists. From this perspective, Pacific Gas and Electric’s decision to replace nuclear output with renewable energy seems to be an environmental victory, a belated vindication of the anti-nuclear efforts of the 1970s. But in the era of climate change, no decision regarding energy production is simple. California’s move away from nuclear power comes alongside a modest reappraisal of a technology that was once vilified by the vast majority of environmentalists. James Hansen, the scientist whose 1988 testimony before Congress provided climate change with much-needed visibility and political salience, has become one of a number of prominent environmentalists to support nuclear power.

August 4, 2016 – CBS Denver – Water Treatment Plant Worker With Cancer Calls Health Department Letter ‘Smoking Gun’ – Neighbors near the Charles Allen Water Filtration Plant in Englewood are telling city officials they are concerned that three workers there have died of cancer. The neighbors want to be absolutely sure there is nothing that is affecting their health. The water treated at the plant for drinking leaves a waste referred to as sludge. Some who work there and families of those who died believe it may have been responsible for causing the cancer. After CBS4’s first report, the city took action, but the controversy is not over. While much of the sludge has been removed after the first CBS4 report, still more remains, as do the concerns of those who live nearby. Neighbors have obtained a 2012 state health department letter to the city that indicated the radiation then was actually much higher than the city had stated.

August 4, 2016 – IEER Press Release – Comments on the “Design of a Consent-Based Siting Process for Nuclear Waste and Disposal Storage Facilities” – “Consent” in a democracy must always be informed consent. As the Nuclear Energy Information Service noted in its comments: INFORMED CONSENT (legal definition) is: Assent to permit an occurrence that is based on a complete disclosure of facts needed to make the decision intelligently, such as knowledge of the risks entailed or alternatives. Informed consent is all the more necessary in regard to an issue as fraught as nuclear waste, including spent fuel (which contains the vast majority of radioactivity in all nuclear waste). An experiment with a drug requires informed consent, for instance. What should be the standard of informed consent in regard to matters involving security for eons (given the plutonium-239 content of spent fuel) and involving health risks for even longer, given that the half-lives of some fission products, like iodine-129 and cesium-135 are in the millions of years? Informed consent can never be in the abstract: it is the obligation of the DOE to inform the public exactly what is involved. The DOE has fallen very far short of what is needed in its discussion of “Integrated Waste Management”. Since the DOE is seeking comment on what a “consent-based siting process” should consist of, IEER is setting forth some minimal requirements.

August 4, 2016 – Ecologist – US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s ‘enforcement’ is as fierce as the comfy chair – The NRC routinely fails to enforce its own safety codes at nuclear power plants, writes Linda Pentz Gunter – putting all of us at risk from accidents. It’s the US’s most extreme example of regulatory capture, rivalling Japan’s ‘nuclear village’ of crony agencies and feeble regulation that led to the Fukushima disaster. How long can it be before the US experiences another nuclear catastrophe? The nuclear industry has consistently challenged the NRC’s safety compliance orders to avoid the expense, putting profit well ahead of safety. The NRC has consistently and obligingly capitulated, even when the risk itself is identified as a top priority. Fetch the comfy chair! The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in town to enforce its own safety regulations at your local nuclear power plant. Reactor owners have been duly warned. Comply or else … Or else what? Three more last chances? No, unlike Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition, the NRC isn’t bothering to read the charges. It’s handing out immunity.

August 4, 2016 – Buffalo News – New York no longer needs energy from nuclear plants – New York State is a leader in the energy revolution and has made significant progress in advancing renewable energy to address the climate crisis. However, the recent proposal by the Public Service Commission on the Clean Energy Standard incorporates nuclear energy with an estimated $8 billion subsidy to the nuclear industry to keep uneconomical Ginna and FitzPatrick nuclear power plants open. New York Independent System Operator, the group responsible for meeting state energy needs, has publicly stated we do not need the energy from nuclear plants. Nuclear is also not clean: the extraction process produces over a billion pounds of radioactive mining waste per reactor each year! New York State plants use hundreds of millions of gallons of fresh water daily, causing thermal and radioactive pollution.

August 4, 2016 – Bloomberg News – Exelon Losing in its Own Backyard as New York Rescues Nukes – In the end, the fate of Exelon Corp.’s money-losing reactors in Illinois and New York may have come down to one governor who desperately wanted to rescue them and another who wasn’t so sure. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo laid down his marker in December when he told the chairman of the state’s utility regulator that losing two upstate nuclear plants would gut a plan to cut global warming pollution and cost jobs. On Monday, the state agreed to a bailout and within hours, Exelon said it would invest $200 million in the two plants. While Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner also worried about job losses, he said any rescue plan must protect ratepayers and taxpayers and that corporate bailouts raise red flags. In June, Chicago-based Exelon said it would close two Illinois plants after the state legislature balked at a measure to stem their financial losses.

August 4, 2016 – Business Wire – NuScale Power Hosts Advisory Board Meeting In Charlotte – 16 representatives from 13 utilities met with NuScale Power in Charlotte, N.C. last week for the small modular reactor developer’s tri-annual NuScale Advisory Board (NuAB) meeting. NuAB is currently comprised of 26 member companies including the owners and operators of nearly two-thirds of the U.S. operating fleet of commercial nuclear power plants. Highlights of the meeting included updates on the Design Certification Application (DCA) Project, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP) 12-month plan, and the NuScale Power Module (NPM) manufacturability activities.

August 4, 2016 – The Chattanoogan – Alexander Urges EPA To Ditch Proposal To Offer New Incentives To Big Wind – Senator Lamar Alexander on Monday urged the administration to reconsider a proposal to provide new incentives to wind power producers who are already benefiting from the 24-year-old wind production tax credit. Senator Alexander also pointed out that the proposal fails to provide any incentive for nuclear energy – this country’s largest source of clean electricity. “Wind developers have been getting rich on the backs of taxpayers and the wind production tax credit for over two decades, and there is no reason they should receive additional incentives to build unreliable and unsightly wind turbines,” Senator Alexander wrote in a letter to Gina McCarthy, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, urging against the program’s proposed Clean Energy Incentive Program.

August 4, 2016 – Ripon Advance – Issa presses Department of Energy for long-term nuclear waste storage solution – U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) pushed on Monday for a nationwide nuclear waste storage plan and for the removal of nuclear waste from the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS). Issa highlighted the “urgent need our nation has for the department to develop and execute a national plan to store waste” in comments submitted to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on consent-based siting processes for nuclear waste storage and disposal facilities. “A 2011 Government Accountability Office report estimated over $15 billion has already been spent toward the development of a nuclear waste repository,” Issa wrote. “The department estimates an additional $11 billion will be spent. Yet, the permanent designated site of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is nowhere near opening while the nation maintains thousands of pounds of radioactive nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) scattered throughout the country.”

August 4, 2016 – Albuquerque Business First- Sandia Labs moving forward on new ‘front door’ for the public – If you’ve ever visited any part of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, you’ll probably recall having to sign in and get a badge. That could soon change as Sandia moves forward with plans for its Center for Collaboration & Commercialization (C3). The center was originally announced in 2014 as a way to connect lab research and intellectual property to the city’s growing innovation district and Innovate ABQ complex located near Downtown. Jackie Kerby Moore, executive director for the Sandia Science & Technology Park and manager of economic development at the lab, says tech transfer is a mission imperative, and the new center is critical to its plans.

August 3, 2016 – 81 FR 51216-51217 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting Notice – NRC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) on October 6-7, 2016. A sample of agenda items to be discussed during the public session includes: An update on medical-related events; a discussion on the reporting of medical events for various modalities; a discussion on the licensing guidance for yttrium-90 microsphere brachytherapy; a discussion on the training and experience requirements for authorized individuals for various modalities; a presentation from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on the training and experience requirements for alpha and beta emitters; an update on the worldwide supply of molybdenum-99; and a discussion on the licensing guidance for the NorthStar[supreg] Generator. The agenda is subject to change. The current agenda and any updates will be available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acmui/meetings/2016.html or by emailing Ms. Michelle Smethers at the contact information below. Purpose: Discuss issues related to 10 CFR part 35 Medical Use of Byproduct Material.

August 3, 2016 – 81 FR 51217-51218 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Steam Generator Materials and Design – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a final revision to Section 5.4.2.1, “Steam Generator Materials and Design,” of NUREG-0800, “Standard Review Plan [SRP] for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR [Light Water Reactor] Edition.” Revision 4 to Section 5.4.2.1 of the SRP reflects current NRC review methods and practices based on lessons learned from NRC reviews of design certification and combined license applications completed since the last revision of this section.

August 3, 2016 – 81 FR 51218-51220 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Virginia Electric Power Company; Surry Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Use of AREVA’s M5[supreg] Alloy Fuel Rod Cladding Material – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption in response to a September 30, 2016, request from Virginia Electric Power Company (Dominion or the licensee) in order to use AREVA’s M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material at Surry Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (SPS). DATES: The exemption was issued on July 27, 2016.

August 3, 2016 – 81 FR 51215-51216 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Information Collection: “NRC Form 212, Qualifications Investigation, Professional, Technical and Administrative Positions” – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the renewal of the information collection entitled, “NRC Form 212, Qualifications Investigation, Professional, Technical and Administrative Positions.” DATES: Submit comments by October 3, 2016. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

August 3, 2016 – 81 FR 51140-51142 – DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage Contingent Cost Allocation – This document provides information on a public workshop to discuss the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) notice and request for comment on a proposed collection of information. DOE developed the proposed collection of information in connection with the notice of proposed rulemaking on the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage Contingent Cost Allocation (NOPR) in which it proposed regulations to establish a retrospective risk pooling program covering nuclear suppliers that may be required under certain circumstances to pay for any contribution by the United States government to the international supplementary fund created by the Convention for Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage.

August 3, 2016 – 81 FR 51183-51184 – DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE – International Trade Administration; Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee: Notice of an Opportunity To Apply For Membership – The Department of Commerce (the Department) is seeking applications for membership on the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC or “Committee”). The purpose of the CINTAC is to provide advice to the Secretary of Commerce regarding the development and administration of programs to expand U.S. exports of civil nuclear goods and services in accordance with applicable U.S. laws and regulations, which will be used by the Department in its role as a member of the Civil Nuclear Trade Working Group of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee and of the TeamUSA interagency group to promote U.S. civil nuclear trade.