July 28, 2016 – 81 FR 49690-49691 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3; South Carolina Electric & Gas Company; Main Control Room Emergency Habitability System Design Changes – 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. 49 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-93 and NPF-94. The COLs were issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) (the licensee); for 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 asked for 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.

July 28, 2016 – 81 FR 49695-49698 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – In the Matter of Troy A. Morehead – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a confirmatory order to Troy A. Morehead confirming agreements reached in an Alternative Dispute Resolution mediation session held on June 3, 2016. As part of the agreement, Mr. Morehead has completed and will complete future agreed upon actions within 18 months of the issuance date of the confirmatory order. DATES: The confirmatory order was issued on July 11, 2016.

July 28, 2016 – 81 FR 49691-49695 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – In the Matter of Kyle Lynn Dickerson – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a confirmatory order to Kyle Lynn Dickerson confirming agreements reached in an Alternative Dispute Resolution mediation session held on June 3, 2016. As part of the agreement, Mr. Dickerson has completed and will complete future agreed upon actions within 18 months of the issuance date of the confirmatory order. DATES: The confirmatory order was issued on July 11, 2016.

July 28, 2016 – Grist.org – Chernobyl site could become a solar farm – Chernobyl — site of the 1986 nuclear disaster that sent 10 tons of radioactive material flying and left the surrounding area uninhabitable for the next 20,000 years — isn’t exactly known for sustainability. That, however, could soon change. The Ukraine government is currently seeking investors to build a solar farm in the Chernobyl wasteland. The exclusion zone, 1,000 square miles in size, is off-limits to all but guards and workers, but it does get enough plenty of sun. “The Chernobyl site has really good potential for renewable energy,” Ukraine’s environment minister, Ostap Semerak, told Bloomberg. “We already have high-voltage transmission lines that were previously used for the nuclear stations, the land is very cheap and we have many people trained to work at power plants.”

July 28, 2016 – Blackburn News – Concerned Citizen Calls OPG Nuclear Waste Studies A Sham – A concerned participant in the process to build a deep Geologic Repository (DGR) at Bruce Power is amazed with Environment Minister Katherine McKenna’s response to a plan by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to look at other sites for nuclear waste burial. In February, McKenna ordered OPG to look at alternate sites before burying low and medium level nuclear waste underground in Kincardine near Lake Huron. In April, OPG responded to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency with a plan to look at other sites through computer simulations, instead of through actual site studies. Port Elgin Lawyer John Mann says this month, McKenna told Northwatch OPG will file it’s response to her request for additional information by the end of the year, and she will then plan the next step.

July 28, 2016 – Business Wire – Studsvik AB: Studsvik completes sale of its Waste Treatment operations to EDF – In accordance with the agreement made in April, Studsvik today completed the sale of its Waste Treatment operations to EDF. A world-wide, long term cooperation agreement in the fields of decommissioning and waste management has also been signed between Studsvik and EDF. After the transaction Studsvik has cash funds of more than SEK 350 million. Under the terms of Studsvik’s bond loan totaling SEK 300 million, SEK 100 million will therefore be repaid in advance in connection with the interest payment to be made in November 2016.

July 28, 2016 – AzoSensors.com – Clemson Scientists to Develop New Sensor and Imaging Technique to Monitor Implant-Associated Infections – Approximately one in 25 patients admitted to a hospital in the U.S. will acquire an infection, leading to a reported 99,000 deaths per year. The majority of these hospital-acquired infections involve bacteria growing on implanted medical devices. These devices include metal plates and rods for bone fracture repairs; artificial knees, ankles and hips; prosthetic heart valves, pacemakers and artificial hearts; and urinary and intravascular catheters. Though infections are rare in most implant surgeries, implant-associated infections are difficult and expensive to cure. “Bacterial colonization of medical implants is a major cause of device failure and often requires device removal coupled with long-term antibiotic treatment,” said Anker, associate professor of chemistry in Clemson University’s College of Science, with a joint appointment in bioengineering. “However, detection is challenging at early stages when the bacteria are localized to inaccessible regions of the implant. Our research will focus on developing sensors that will coat the implant. Then we’ll use X-ray beams to scan the sensors, enabling us to detect and monitor the infection.”

July 28, 2016 – Gadgets360 – Hiroshima Urges Pokemon Go Ban in Memorial – Authorities in Japan’s Hiroshima city on Thursday urged the creators of the highly popular augemented reality game Pokemon Go’s creators to keep its virtual monsters out of memorials to victims of the atomic bomb. In a statement, the authorities said they wanted the monsters removed by August 6, when an annual ceremony is held on the anniversary of the 1945 bombing, BBC reported. It follows a request by the operators of the Fukushima nuclear plant – highly radioactive after its 2011 meltdown – to keep Pokemon out of its plants.

July 28, 2016 – NunatsiaqOnline – “Disappointed” by Ottawa’s decision, Areva suspends Nunavut uranium project – Areva Resources Canada Inc.‘s Kiggavik uranium project is officially suspended, and the company says it has no immediate plans to re-submit a proposal to Nunavut regulators. Earlier this week, the federal government accepted the Nunavut Impact Review Board’s 2015 recommendation, which advised that the project not proceed for the time being due to the absence of a firm start date.

July 28, 2016 – The Globe and Mail – Cameco posts loss on weak uranium prices, impairment charge – Cameco Corp., the world’s No.2 uranium producer, reported a quarterly loss due to weak uranium prices and a charge related to the suspension of its Rabbit Lake operation in northern Saskatchewan. The company posted net loss of $137-million, 35 cents per share, attributable to shareholders for the second quarter ended June 30. This included an impairment charge of $124.4-million.

July 28, 2016 – The Advertiser – SA’s nuclear debate: The myths and facts about radiation and human health – TALK of radiation strikes fear into the hearts and minds of many, conjuring images of death and destruction, or three-eyed fish that glow in the dark. But radiation is all around us, in the cosmic rays raining down on us from space, in the brick walls that house us and the earth beneath our feet. We shudder at the thought of atomic bombs and meltdowns at nuclear power plants, but gratefully accept medical scans, diagnostic tests or radiotherapy to cure cancer. Director of Radiation Oncology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Associate Professor Michael Penniment, welcomes the opportunity to talk in “a fairly impassionate, straightforward way”. “We are actually already exposed to radiation just sitting here,” he says.

July 28, 2016 – OpenPR – Cardiovascular Segment to Dominate Medical Laser Systems Market – Transparency Market Research has published a research report to point out the key trends and dynamics impacting the global medical laser systems market. This research report, titled “Medical Laser Systems Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 – 2018,” details the overall laser systems market with SWOT analysis and Porter’s five forces analysis. These market measurement tools have enabled the research reporters to compile an accurate and exact report charting the trajectory of this market for the coming years. According to the research report, the global medical laser systems market was valued at of US$0.9 bn in 2011 and is expected to reach US$2 bn by 2018, registering a CAGR of 12.50% from 2012 to 2018. The growth of the global medical laser systems market is attributable to the high incidence of age-related ophthalmic disorders, rise in disposable incomes, and an increasing awareness of medical aesthetics.

July 28, 2016 – Malaysiakini – Lynas operation safe, generates only low-level radiation, says minister – The operation of the Lynas project by Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd in Gebeng, Kuantan, is safe and does not affect the environment. International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said he was informed of this in a briefing on the company’s operations. He said the company had been in operation for three years. “Its operations are monitored round the clock and shows to be safe with no increase in radiation readings within one to 20 kilometres from the Lynas plant. “If the allegations on radiation are true, the industrial area in Gebeng will not grow or be the choice of multi-national companies,” he said.

July 28, 2016 – Canada Journal – Exotic White Dwarf strikes companion star with high-energy pulse – Astronomers announced today that they have discovered a new type of binary star, in which a rapidly-spinning white dwarf star sweeps powerful beams of particles and radiation over its companion red dwarf star, causing it to pulse across almost the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the UV to radio. This star system, called AR Scorpii, lies in the constellation of Scorpius, approximately 380 light-years from Earth. The white dwarf is approximately the size of the Earth but contains nearly 200,000 times more mass than our planet, while the red dwarf is only one-third the mass of the Sun; they orbit each other every 3.6 hours. As the white dwarf spins very rapidly, its incredibly strong magnetic field accelerates electrons nearly to the speed of light. As the electrons whip through space, they emit radiation in a beam similar to that of a lighthouse which lashes across the red dwarf every 1.97 minutes. This causes the entire system to seemingly pulse every two minutes. These pulses are so powerful, radio signals are emitted, which has never before been detected in a white dwarf system.

July 28, 2016 – Blackburn News – Bruce Power Mobilizes Ontario Nuclear Supply Chain – Over 200 participants took part in a supplier summit in Kincardine Wednesday, hosted by Bruce Power. Bruce Power and the Independent Electricity System Operator entered into an amended, long-term agreement last December to secure 6,300 megawatts of electricity from the Bruce Power site, through a multi-year investment program. The amended agreement will allow Bruce Power to immediately invest in life-extension activities for Units 3-8 to support a long-term refurbishment program. The program will secure thousands of jobs directly and indirectly from operations, and thousands more throughout the annual investment program.

July 28, 2016 – WXXI News – Wind, nuclear advance as NY moves ahead with energy plan – New York state committed last year to generating half of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2030. Now comes the hard part: figuring out how to do it. Several big decisions in the next few weeks could fill in some of the details about how the state will meet Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s renewable energy standard and decide where New Yorkers will get their energy in the years to come. On Long Island, regulators will soon vote on a plan to authorize the largest offshore wind farm in the United States. In Albany, the state’s Public Service Commission is considering a series of big subsidies for upstate nuclear power plants to allow them to continue operating. Cuomo, a Democrat, directed state energy officials to create a plan to produce 50 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2030. While he’s pushing for big investments in wind and solar energy, he argues that nuclear power should serve as a “bridge” as the state ramps up its use of solar and wind energy, which, along with other renewable sources, now generate about a quarter of the state’s energy.

July 28, 2016 – East Anglian Daily Times – Nuclear safety review satisfied with power station procedures – A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that the station was well prepared in the event of an emergency. The publication follows a three-week review last October by an operational safety team made up of 15 experts from the UK, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, South Africa and the United States. After assessing safety at the plant operated by EDF Energy on the Suffolk coast near Leiston, the team decided that processes were well developed and documented to ensure emergency exercises covered all situations that could arise during emergencies. The report commended the station’s prompt delivery of training on important nuclear leadership principles and behaviour.

July 28, 2016 – Express.co.uk – Go nuclear – it is the best way to keep the lights on … and lower greenhouse emissions – Nuclear power is a proven and reliable low-carbon technology. But many environmentalists believe nuclear reactors are expensive and potentially dangerous, and want investment in renewables, more localised energy systems and power storage technology to cut carbon while securing electricity supplies. The UK’s legally binding targets to tackle climate change by 2050 require slashing carbon pollution from the power sector by 2030. At the same time, electricity demand will be pushed up by switching much of the country’s transport and heating to electric vehicles and heat pumps to cut emissions. One of the attractions of nuclear is that its “lifecycle emissions” – the total amount of greenhouse gas caused by building and running the technology – are very low compared with coal and gas-fired power stations and in the same range as wind power. The Government says new nuclear is “the only proven low-carbon technology” that can provide power continuously, as wind and solar are intermittent.

July 28, 2016 – Economic Times – India seen as responsible nuclear technology country, says Anil Kakodkar – Batting for nuclear energy as key to delivering on the Paris Climate Change Summit commitments, former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar on Thursday expressed optimism over India being included in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). “We have to negotiate with all countries because international cooperation in technology is always in mutual interest. So I am sure they will come around. Internationally, India is seen as a responsible country with advanced nuclear technology so that advantage has to be leveraged somewhere,” Kakodkar told the media here when asked about China’s opposition to its NSG membership.

July 28, 2016 – The Avertiser – Should South Australia be home to the world’s largest nuclear waste dump? – I’M an environmentalist. I commute by bike to reduce my carbon footprint, I put in a rainwater tank at home to conserve water, I minimise packaging, buy local, loathe gas-guzzling urban 4WDs and energy-ravenous McMansions and … I am 100 per cent, passionately in favour of a nuclear waste repository for South Australia. Because I am an environmentalist. Because to be a true environmentalist means to care about the health of the whole planet Earth, the whole biosphere and everyone and everything that depends absolutely on it. Every possible safeguard should be taken in dealing with these dangerous, deadly materials. And the scientists — scientists mind you, not politicians or profit-driven corporate bully boys — have already told us more than once that the SA Outback is the best, the safest, the most geologically and environmentally stable place on the planet to store the nuclear waste that already exists in stockpiles around the globe. Stockpiles that, by definition, are in far less safe places than we can provide here.

July 28, 2016 – Gizmag – Pattern-changing shirts react to pollution and radiation – As air pollution becomes a bigger concern in communities around the globe, creative ways to detect it are beginning to proliferate. We’ve seen smartphone sensors proposed, as well as portable personal pollution monitors and even backpack-wearing, pollution-monitoring pigeons. Now, a designer out of New York City has released a line of shirts that change to solid black when they are contaminated by pollutants. But they’re not cheap. The shirts, called Aerochromics, have been created by Nikolas Bentel, who refers to himself as an “artist/designer/performance artist.” Bentel worked with the Autodesk Applied Research Lab – the R&D outpost of 3D software maker Autodesk – to develop three different shirts: one that changes in the presence of carbon monoxide, one that changes when particle pollution (like excessive dust) is present, and one that reacts in the presence of radioactivity.

July 28, 2016 – Highlands Today – SFSC graduates new class of radiologic technologists – On July 21, South Florida State College honored five radiography program graduates in a traditional pinning ceremony on the college’s Highlands campus in Avon Park. Those honored were Glenda Hernandez, Beverly Slaughter, Kiara Morales, Angela Salinas, and Heidi South. The graduates had completed SFSC’s Associate in Science degree in Radiography and will soon sit for their national board examinations, aiming to start their careers later this summer. Radiologic technologists work in hospitals and clinics performing diagnostic imaging examinations, such as X-rays.

July 28, 2016 – Newswire – Stolen Radioactive Instrument Found in a Pawn Shop – Nuclear material has been found in a pawnshop after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a warning, FOX61 reports. The commission warned that the instrument for measuring ground radioactivity is radioactive itself and “potentially dangerous radiation exposure.” HAKS Material Testing Group reported that the device was stolen from a technician’s vehicle parked in Bridgeport, Tuesday morning. Same afternoon, Bridgeport police recovered the device from East Coast Pawn in Bridgeport. One person connected to the incident was arrested. The NRC said the stolen measuring device contains small amounts of cesium-137 and americium-241,and is worth about $7,000. It’s “street” value, however, is $0 due to its specific use and danger of misuse.

July 28, 2016 – PhysOrg – Scientists model destruction of an Earth-bound asteroid – Researchers at Tomsk State University (Russia) and colleagues are developing measures to protect the Earth from potentially dangerous celestial bodies. With the help of the supercomputer SKIF Cyberia, the scientists simulated the nuclear explosion of an asteroid 200 meters in diameter in such a way that its irradiated fragments do not fall to the Earth. “The way we propose to eliminate the threat from space is reasonable to use in case of the impossibility of the soft disposal of an object from a collision in orbit and for the elimination of an object that is constantly returning to Earth,” says Tatiana Galushina, an employee of the Department of Celestial Mechanics and Astrometry. Previously, as a preventive measure, scientists proposed to destroy the asteroid on its approach to Earth, but this could result in a catastrophic shower of highly radioactive fragments.

July 28, 2016 – The Advertiser – SA’s nuclear debate: Building a radioactive waste storage facility would take decades – WHAT is required to host a high-level nuclear waste repository in South Australia is best broken into two aspects — a system of tunnels mined deep underground into suitable geology that isolates the waste, and specially designed containers to hold the waste. The depth of the facility — several hundreds of metres — must allay climatic and meteorological issues, such as fire, rises in the sea-level, and erosion. Furthermore, a disposal facility must be situated in stable geological conditions that naturally limit issues around seismic activity and the like. Some geologies are better than others at isolating the radioactive material. For example, in salt and other dry environments there is no groundwater flow.

July 28, 2016 – The Guardian – Flamanville: France’s beleaguered forerunner to Hinkley Point C – On granite cliffs overlooking the Channel is France’s most famous building site. If all goes to plan, by the end of the decade this rocky outcrop will house the biggest and most powerful nuclear reactor in the world. The technology behind the European pressurised reactor (EPR) is meant to be safer than anything that has gone before. But the project is more than three times over budget and years behind schedule, and France’s nuclear safety authority has found weaknesses in the reactor’s steel. And the same model could soon be coming to the English coastline at an even bigger cost. France’s state-controlled energy giant, EDF, is expected to announce on Thursday whether it will go ahead with its investment into the £18bn Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset, where two EPR-style reactors are proposed. EDF is expected to come out in favour of the massive project, despite strong opposition from trade unionist board members, who argue the French government cannot afford it.

July 28, 2016 – The Manufacturer – Cutting the cost of cleaning up nuclear waste – The Nuclear AMRC is working with Sellafield Ltd to cut the cost of making future designs of nuclear waste container boxes, potentially saving hundreds of millions of pounds in decommissioning costs. The clean-up programme at Sellafield and the other sites managed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will need tens of thousands of special steel boxes over the next 30 years to safely store and dispose of hazardous nuclear waste. The current design is a standardised three sqm stainless steel box which can be stacked for long-term storage, but cost costing tens of thousands of pounds to manufacture. Sellafield Ltd is driving a project to significantly reduce that cost, and tasked engineers at the Nuclear AMRC to help come up with solutions which could save the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds over the lifetime of the programme.

July 27, 2016 – 81 FR 49273-49274 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) – The ACRS Subcommittee on Fukushima will hold a meeting on August 17, 2016, Room T-2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The meeting will be open to public attendance with the exception of portions that may be closed to protect information pursuant to number 5 U.S.C.552b(c)(9)(B).

July 27, 2016 – 81 FR 49279-49280 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Guidance on Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revison 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.219, “Guidance on Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors.” This guidance has been updated to clarify how the guidance applies to emergency plan changes at facilities that have certified permanent cessation of operations.

July 27, 2016 – 81 FR 49281-49284 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Southern California Edison Company; San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a partial exemption from several of the record keeping requirements in its regulations in response to an August 13, 2015, request from the Southern California Edison Company (the licensee). Specifically, the licensee requested that the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, be granted a partial exemption from regulations that require retention of records for certain systems, structures, and components until the termination of the operating license.

July 27, 2016 – 81 FR 49274-49279 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – LaCrosseSolutions, LLC, Dairyland Power Cooperative, La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing exemptions from several of the record keeping requirements in its regulations in response to a request from LaCrosseSolutions, LLC, and the Dairyland Power Cooperative (collectively, the licensee). Specifically, the licensee requested that the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor be granted a partial exemption from regulations that require retention of records for certain systems, structures, and components until the termination of the operating license. The NRC is also issuing an exemption from the portion of the regulations that requires certain records for spent fuel in storage to be kept in duplicate for the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation.

July 27, 2016 – 81 FR 49280-49281 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Information Collection: NRC Forms 366, 366A, and 366B, “Licensee Event Report” – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing collection of information. The information collection is entitled, NRC Forms 366, 366A, and 366B, “Licensee Event Report.”

July 27, 2016 – Bridgeport Daily Voice – Radioactive Device Recovered After It Was Stolen From Car In Bridgeport – A potentially dangerous radioactive device stolen from a Bridgeport car Monday night was recovered at a city pawn shop and a suspect was in custody Tuesday afternoon, police said. Bridgeport and state police were still on the scene of the unfolding story at 6 p.m., according to Av Harris, Bridgeport’s director of communications. Police released a surveillance video and asked for the public’s assistance in finding the man they believed stole the device from a car on Douglas Street Monday night or early Tuesday morning. It is unclear whether a tipster directed police to East Coast Pawn on Glenwood Avenue, where it was found.

July 27, 2016 – Information Nigeria – Nuclear Scientists Arrive Adamawa To Inspect Site Of Uranium Radiation – Nuclear-ScientistsScientists from the Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) have arrived Adamawa State to inspect the site of uranium radiation that allegedly killed villagers in Michika Local Government Area. The Commissioner for Solid Minerals, Shanti Sanshi Victoria, yesterday said an expert team from the NNRA, Abuja, had arrived the state to inspect the site of possible radiation. The commissioner, who rejected assertions that radiation killed several people in five villages in Michika, stressed that the outcome of the scientific tests by the experts would provide a clue to the possible health problems in the area as there was still no proven scientific evidence upon which to draw conclusions.

July 27, 2016 – Twinfinite.net – Starbound: How to Get Fuel and Put It in Your Ship – Starbound is all about surviving as you travel across the galaxy, and to do that, you’re going to need plenty of fuel for your ship. Travelling within a star system is free, but travelling between these systems will cost fuel proportional to the distance traveled, with a 500 max cost. There are four sources of fuel within Starbound: Uranium, Solarium, Plutonium, and Liquid Echirus, which replaced Coal as a fuel source a while back. Each of these sources can be mined on planets and moons. Uranium is often on radioactive planets, Plutonium can be found deep beneath the surface of moons, and planets near a hot star are most likely to house Solarium. Liquid Echirus, meanwhile, can be bought at the outpose or found under the surface of a moon. To put fuel into your ship, stand behind the cockpit at the console, and hit E. This will bring up an interface, where you can place your fuel sources then click Fuel to convert them into usable, ship-moving energy.

July 27, 2016 – Dickinson Press – Judge says he won’t dismiss illegal radioactive waste meeting lawsuit – A district court judge said Monday he won’t dismiss a suit against the North Dakota Health Council for holding an illegal public meeting when it approved rules for a new radioactive waste disposal in North Dakota last year. Two environmental groups want the judge to enforce the state’s public meeting laws that were violated when the advisory council to the state Health Department approved the new waste rules last August. The North Dakota Energy Industry Waste Coalition and the Dakota Resource Council say the proper remedy is for the meeting to be held over with proper notice to the public. The Health Council asked the court to dismiss the suit, but South Central District Judge Thomas Schneider denied that motion after hearing arguments last week. Schneider said some facts need to be clarified, including whether anyone was harmed by not having notice and whether they could have made comments at the meeting.

July 27, 2016 – Boston Herald – Firm cited for missing radioactive tool – An engineering firm in Connecticut that admitted a radioactive construction gauge had been stolen from the trunk of a worker’s vehicle was cited by nuclear officials five months ago for violations relating to storage security, according to Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents. HAKS Material Testing Group, of Bridgeport, Conn., reported a portable moisture-density gauge missing yesterday after a technician’s truck was broken into and chains holding the tool’s carrying case were cut, NRC officials said. The device contains small amounts of cesium-137 and americium-241 — which were once used in home smoke detectors. NRC officials said when the device holds the 
radioactive materials in a shielded position it is no danger to the public, but if the device is tampered with, the radioactive materials could expose someone to harmful radiation.

July 27, 2016 – EngineerLive.com – Nuclear inspection benefits from new sensor lens – Resolve Optics Ltd reports on increasing demand from the nuclear industry for radiation hard lenses optimised to operate with the latest generation of colour sensors. Mark Pontin, Managing Director of Resolve Optics, commented: “Increasingly the nuclear energy industry has adopted colour CMOS sensors able to withstand the effects of radiation encountered in inspection of radioactive sites. Unfortunately most non-browning glasses traditionally used to produce radiation-hard sensor lenses are yellow tinted which gives colour images acquired by CMOS cameras an unhelpful yellow appearance”. He added “A recent project for a nuclear energy industry operator demonstrates the advances that Resolve Optics has achieved in order to mitigate this problem.” A major European organisation involved in the nuclear energy industry sought a lens for their CMOS sensor that could provide natural colour images while still retaining non-browning performance in environments subject to radiation.

July 27, 2016 – Water Online – Environmental Groups Sue Florida Power Plant For Contaminant Discharges – In a testy back-and-forth, environmental groups in Florida are squaring off with a local power plant for what they claim are violations of the Clean Water Act. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) and the Tropical Audubon Society recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court of Southern Florida, accusing Florida Power and Light (FPL) of allowing a canal cooling system at Turkey Point Power Plant to pollute Biscayne Bay and the Biscayne Aquifer. According to rt.com, some environmental groups have also filed a lawsuit against FPL, saying that the company violated the Clean Water Act by discharging contaminants from the plant, impacting nearby drinking water.

July 27, 2016 – Bloomberg News – France’s Radioactive White Elephant – EDF’s board meets on Thursday to approve the construction of two nuclear reactors in the U.K., which will cost about 18 billion pounds ($23.6 billion). Cosma Panzacchi, a Bernstein analyst, expects EDF to green light the project. He’s probably right, though investors should pray otherwise. Under the terms of a deal struck in 2013, British electricity customers will fund large guaranteed payments to EDF for 35 years in return for the French utility shouldering much of the construction risk for Hinkley Point. Because of lower projections for future wholesale electricity prices these subsidies are estimated to have risen to a staggering 30 billion pounds.

July 27, 2016 – Army-Technology.com – Decision Sciences to supply contraband and threat detection system to US DoD CTTSO – Decision Sciences International has been contracted by the US Department of Defense (DoD) Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) to supply and install an advanced contraband and threat detection system. Under the $5.26m contract, Decision Sciences will supply and install its multi-mode passive detection system generation 3 (MMPDS GEN3) to help CTTSO to combat terrorism. The contract is Decision Sciences’ third of its type with CTTSO.

July 27, 2016 – Europe & Middle East Outlook – Contamination Expo Series 2016 – The Contamination EXPO Series is a major new European event for professionals working in contamination. With 120 seminars, 200 suppliers, 80 masterclasses and exclusive panel discussions, this exhibition and conference will be the top networking event in the industry’s history, bringing together every party from across six sectors. Each co-located event is committed to providing the latest knowledge, products and innovations to manage all aspects of contamination. The event is free to attend and takes place on the 12-13 October at ExCeL London.

July 27, 2016 – Lexology – Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.: Supreme Court of Canada Confirms that Certain Non-Unionized Federal Employees are Entitled to Protection from Dismissal Without Cause – On July 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Supreme Court”) affirmed that sections 240 to 246 of the Canada Labour Code, R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2 (the “Code”), referred to as the “Unjust Dismissal” provisions of the Code, protect certain non-unionized federally-regulated employees against termination of employment “without cause”. The Supreme Court confirmed that these protections were intended by Parliament to be similar to those enjoyed by the majority of unionized employees in Canada. In many, if not most, circumstances, it will no longer be considered sufficient for a federally-regulated employer to terminate a non-managerial employee’s employment without cause and simply provide that employee with statutory notice of employment termination (or pay in lieu thereof) and severance pay. Under the Unjust Dismissal provisions of the Code, an employee has the ability to challenge his or her termination and the employee, or an inspector investigating the employee’s complaint, has the right to request reasons for the dismissal.

July 27, 2016 – Labmate Online – Is Time Travel Impossible After All? – It’s the basis of countless Sci-Fi film plots, but will time travel ever be possible? We know that there’s no proof of its existence yet. If there were evidence of time travel, we would clearly know about it. Of course, the theory goes that if time travel will exist at any point in the future, we would already know about it, because somebody would travel back in time to tell us. But can we rule it out scientifically? Current theories suggest charge, parity and time are symmetrical. So parity is possible for all atoms, charge is reversible, and time can theoretically move in both directions. CP-symmetry is the product of Charge-symmetry and Parity-symmetry. According to this theory, the make-up of an atom should be unchanged in a mirror image. So a particle and its antiparticle should behave in the same way. However, research has found that some atoms (so far Radium-224 and Barium-144) have an asymmetrical distribution of particles. The protons and neutrons are skewed towards one end of the nucleus – they are pear-shaped. This violates CP-symmetry because there is an uneven mass, which would suggest that the time (T) symmetry may also be violated.

July 27, 2016 – WDAZ – Radon at dangerous levels in 40% of Minnesota homes – Radon is an odorless, colorless gas that comes from soil. It’s the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers. The health department says 52% of homes in Clay County have radon numbers higher than what the EPA says is safe. You can get a test kit at city and county health departments, hardware stores, or directly from radon testing labs.

July 27, 2016 – WYFF 4 – Greenville County School District adds system to regulate radon levels in one school – The Greenville County School District has added a ventilation system to monitor radon levels at Buena Vista Elementary School. Spokeswoman Beth Brotherton said the school district conducted a radon test in September 2015, which showed when the HVAC system was operating normally from Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., it maintained radon levels well below EPA standards. She said the test showed that when the building was unoccupied for extended periods of time and the HVAC was off, radon levels increased slightly but not enough to require corrective action. According to Brotherton, a cost analysis showed that running the HVAC year-round in “occupied” mode was not a long-term, economical solution.

July 27, 2016 – MTV – A Radiation Therapist Has Impersonated Famous Instagram Pics For Charity, And Totally Nailed It – During ‘Dry July’, people usually avoid drinking alcohol for the month to raise money for charity. BUT a group of radiation therapists at Liverpool Hospital are doing something a little bit different. They’re doing a Dry July Shave Off by shaving their heads to raise money for Cancer sufferers. And these guys are raising money for it in the best way ever – by recreating some of the most recognizable celeb shoots and Instagram pics around. Take Mark Udovitch, for example. He’s raising money for the Liverpool Cancer Therapy Centre by impersonating both Kim AND Kendall Kardashian in his very own charity photoshoot. His gf apparently took the photos and was chief stylist and director… and she did a damn good job!

July 27, 2016 – WRVO – Nuclear Regulatory Commission: FitzPatrick had a safe year – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says the FitzPpatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Oswego County performed safely over the past year. NRC officials say that its staff devoted 4,790 hours reviewing the plant over the past year, but did not finding anything that caused the agency to increase oversight. “They met all of the requirements for our reactor oversight process inspection program for the year, kept them in their licensee response program, so routine inspections — no inspections that would be out of the ordinary,” said Eric Miller, the acting senior resident inspector at FitzPatrick. The positive review for FitzPatrick comes about a month after it had to shut off because a minor equipment failure caused a leak of non-radioactive oil into Lake Ontario.

July 27, 2016 – 3D Printing Industry – Russian nuclear agency builds industrial metal 3D printers! – Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, has committed to additive manufacturing and the first Russian-made, industrial 3D metal printer will go on sale in 2018. The agency has worked behind the scenes for more than two years and now and revealed the first Russian-made metal 3D printer at the Innoprom industrial trade fair earlier this month in Yekaterinburg. It has a 1000-watt laser, a three-axis scanning system and produces metals at a rate of 15-70cm3/hour. It can also produce parts from titanium, copper, aluminium or iron powders.

July 27, 2016 – Los Angeles Times – Citizen science takes on Japan’s nuclear establishment – As other Tokyo office workers poured into restaurants and bars at quitting time one recent evening, Kohei Matsushita went to the eighth floor of a high-rise for an unusual after-hours activity: learning how to assemble his own Geiger counter from a kit. Hunched over a circuit board, the 37-year-old practiced his soldering technique as Joe Moross, a former L.A. resident with a background in radiation detection, explained how to fit together about $500 worth of components – including a sensor, circuit board, digital display, GPS module, battery and case. “My family has a house near a nuclear power plant,” Matsushita said, explaining his motivation. “I want to take this there and collect data, and contribute to this pool of information.”

July 27, 2016 – Yuba-Net.com – Ultra-High Radiation Coming To Your Drinking Water; EPA Hiding True Impacts and Limiting Public Comment on Radioactive Water Plan – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the final stage of implementing a controversial plan to allow vastly greater radioactive contamination in drinking water than permitted by the Safe Drinking Water Act for long periods following release of nuclear materials, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and a coalition of public health and environmental organizations. Compounding concerns are the unusual tactics EPA used to mask the plan’s effects, block commenters from including their identities and hamstring the ability to put documents on the record. Public comments closed yesterday on EPA’s curiously named “Protective Action Guides” (or PAGs) that would dramatically increase allowable concentrations of radioactive material in public drinking water following a radioactive release. The PAGs have been expanded to cover not just large accidents but any release of radioactivity for which a protective action may be considered. They cover the “intermediate phase” after “releases have been brought under control” – an unspecified period that may last for years.

July 27, 2016 – Blue & Green Tomorrow – ‘Stop Hinkley’ Campaign writes to new Secretary of State – The Stop Hinkley Campaign has written to the new Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ask him to stamp his own mark on energy policy by ditching proposals for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C. Stop Hinkley Spokesperson Allan Jeffery said: “Now even the financial press says Hinkley Point C has become a laughing stock. The cost keeps rising while the cost of renewables is falling rapidly, and the potential to make savings with energy efficiency is huge. We could replace Hinkley much more quickly and cheaply without the safety fears and without producing dangerous waste we don’t know what to do with”.

July 27, 2016 – World Nuclear News – Approval for Korean repository expansion – Plans to more than double the current capacity of South Korea’s low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Gyeongju have been approved by the government. Construction of the second phase of the facility is expected to be completed in 2019. The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) announced today that the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has approved the construction of the second phase of the Gyeongju facility in North Gyeongsang province. Preparatory groundwork for the expansion of the repository will begin soon, KORAD said. However, approval from the South Korean nuclear regulator – the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) – must be obtained before full-scale construction of the new facility can start.

July 27, 2016 – Belfast Telegraph – Electricity price at Welsh power station ‘should be below Hinkley Point deal’ – The Government should negotiate a price for electricity at a planned new nuclear power station in Wales below that agreed for the delayed site at Hinkley Point, according to a committee of MPs. Ministers have agreed a so-called strike price with EDF Energy of £92.50 per megawatt hour (Mwh), or £89.50 if the French giant develops another new reactor in Sizewell, Suffolk. Environment groups have criticised the figure, arguing that renewable energy could be produced much more cheaply. The Welsh Affairs Committee said there was great potential for developing nuclear power in north Wales, with a proposed new power station at Wylfa on Anglesey, as well as at Trawsfynydd. But the MPs said the Government still had more work to do to prove the financial viability of the proposed projects.

July 27, 2016 – Taipai Times – Campaigners call for nuclear plant’s budget to be axed – Campaigners against nuclear power yesterday called on the legislature to slash the maintenance budget for the sealed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) ahead of a special legislative session set to review the budgets of state-run businesses, as they said the budget cut was necessary to phase out nuclear power. A coalition of environmental groups yesterday gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei and put up flyers that read: “Scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant” and “Mothballing is unnecessary,” urging lawmakers to block a NT$1.35 billion (US$42.05 million) budget to maintain the unfinished nuclear plant, which was mothballed in July last year following protests.

July 27, 2016 – USNRC Press Release – Nuclear Gauge Reported Stolen in Connecticut; Recovery is Sought‌ – A Connecticut company has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that a portable moisture-density gauge containing sealed sources of radioactive material has been stolen. HAKS Material Testing Group, of Bridgeport, Conn., reported that the device was stolen early on Tuesday, July 26, from a technician’s vehicle while it was parked in Bridgeport. The vehicle’s trunk was broken into, chains securing the gauge in place were cut and it was removed. The device contains small amounts of cesium-137 and americium-241. The gauge is used to make measurements by projecting the radiation from the two radioactive sources into the ground and then displaying the reflected radiation on a dial on its top.

July 26, 2016 – 81 FR 48857-48858 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Program-Specific Guidance About Possession Licenses for Manufacturing and Distribution – On July 13, 2016, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) solicited comments on draft NUREG-1556, Volume 12, Revision 1, “Consolidated Guidance About Materials Licenses: Program-Specific Guidance About Possession Licenses for Manufacturing and Distribution.” The public comment period was originally scheduled to close on August 12, 2016. The NRC has decided to extend the public comment period to allow more time for members of the public to develop and submit their comments.

July 26, 2016 – 81 FR 48851-48857 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2 – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-72 and NPF-77 issued to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon, the licensee) for operation of Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2 (Braidwood), located in Will County, Illinois. The proposed amendments would revise the maximum allowable technical specification (TS) temperature of the ultimate heat sink (UHS) for the plant. The NRC staff is issuing a final environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed license amendments.