July 19, 2016 – 81 FR 46972-46973 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Information Collection: NRC Form 314, Certificate of Disposition of Materials – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the extension of Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval for an existing collection of information. The information collection is entitled NRC Form 314, “Certificate of Disposition of Materials.” The NRC Form 314 is submitted by a materials licensee who wishes to terminate its license. The form provides information needed by the NRC to determine whether the licensee has radioactive materials on hand which must be transferred or otherwise disposed of prior to expiration or termination of the license.

July 19, 2016 – 81 FR 46970-46972 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Guidance for Closure of Activities Related to Recommendation 2.1, Flooding Hazard Reevaluation – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing the final Japan Lessons-Learned Division Interim Staff Guidance (JLD-ISG), JLD-ISG-2016-01, “Guidance for Activities Related to Near-Term Task Force Recommendation 2.1, Flooding Hazard Reevaluation; Focused Evaluation and Integrated Assessment.” The JLD-ISG provides guidance and clarification to assist operating power reactor licensees and holders of construction permits under the NRC’s regulations with the performance of the focused evaluations and revised integrated assessments for external flooding.

July 19, 2016 – 81 FR 46917-46918 – DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – Excess Uranium Management: Effects of DOE Transfers of Excess Uranium on Domestic Uranium Mining, Conversion, and Enrichment Industries; Request for Information – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing for a potential new Secretarial Determination covering transfers of uranium for cleanup services at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and for down-blending of highly-enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium (LEU). This RFI solicits information from the public about the uranium markets and domestic uranium industries, and the potential effects of DOE transfers in the uranium markets and possible consequences for the domestic uranium mining, conversion and enrichment industries. DOE will consider this information as part of its analysis to determine whether its transfers would have an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, or enrichment industry.

July 19, 2016 – 81 FR 46916 – 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: Saturday, August 6, 2016, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ADDRESSES: Tremont Lodge, 7726 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Townsend, Tennessee 37882. 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.

July 19, 2016 – Newsworld India – Radiologists Not At Higher Risk Of Radiation-Related Mortality – While older radiologists faced increased risk of dying from radiation-related causes like cancer, those who graduated from medical school after 1940 do not face such risk any more, says a study. The findings point to the success of efforts to reduce occupational radiation doses over the past several decades, the researchers said. “Most of the findings of increased risk were in the earlier radiologists,” said study co-author Martha Linet, senior investigator at Radiation Epidemiology Branch at National Cancer Institute in the US. “We do feel there is evidence that decreases in dose in the United States and other countries seem to have paid off, reducing risks in recent graduates,” Linet noted.

July 19, 2016 – Domain-b – US sets up 4 research centres to study basic science of nuclear waste – A more thorough understanding of the chemistry of radioactive waste is key to treating this unwanted byproduct of winning World War II and the Cold War. To accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to support the Department of Energy’s cleanup mission, four new Energy Frontier Research Centers have been formed. Energy Secretary Moniz announced Monday that up to $40 million dollars will go to fund the four centers for up to four years. DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will lead one center called IDREAM, which stands for Interfacial Dynamics in Radioactive Environments and Materials.

July 19, 2016 – Breaking Energy – Students Designed A Robot To Handle Nuclear Fuel – Cheers erupted from an audience peering over plywood walls into a mock-up hot cell, the shielded environments scientists use to inspect spent nuclear fuel. The robot inside had successfully moved a mock radioactive sample from a transport box, out of its containers, into an examination instrument, and then back again. It was a satisfying ending to a nine-month-long project for four Idaho State University (ISU) mechanical and nuclear engineering students interning at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The goal of their project? To design a robotic system as a demonstration project for INL engineers. If the students’ feasibility study was successful, lab engineers could design a similar system to handle radioactive materials for analysis at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC). The MFC is a testing center for advanced technologies associated with nuclear energy power systems, especially new types of fuel.

July 19, 2016 – WWMT – More Palisades nuclear plant security workers expressing worry – Several security officers placed on leave at one of the country’s oldest nuclear reactors say they’re being treated as scapegoats by plant management. This comes after the Newschannel 3 I-Team first uncovered an active investigation at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station revolving around what plant officials describe as “fire tour anomalies.” “I’m on paid leave right now, and I have been for almost a month,” said one of the plant workers, agreeing to speak with Newschannel 3’s I-Team on the condition of anonymity. “Now the company [Entergy] lawyer is asking us questions, saying the NRC will be speaking with us…and that we could be criminally liable,” the worker added.

July 19, 2016 – ScienceBlog – MIT scientists find weird quantum effects, even over hundreds of miles – In the world of quantum, infinitesimally small particles, weird and often logic-defying behaviors abound. Perhaps the strangest of these is the idea of superposition, in which objects can exist simultaneously in two or more seemingly counterintuitive states. For example, according to the laws of quantum mechanics, electrons may spin both clockwise and counter-clockwise, or be both at rest and excited, at the same time. The physicist Erwin Schrödinger highlighted some strange consequences of the idea of superposition more than 80 years ago, with a thought experiment that posed that a cat trapped in a box with a radioactive source could be in a superposition state, considered both alive and dead, according to the laws of quantum mechanics. Since then, scientists have proven that particles can indeed be in superposition, at quantum, subatomic scales. But whether such weird phenomena can be observed in our larger, everyday world is an open, actively pursued question. Now, MIT physicists have found that subatomic particles called neutrinos can be in superposition, without individual identities, when traveling hundreds of miles. Their results, to be published later this month in Physical Review Letters, represent the longest distance over which quantum mechanics has been tested to date.

July 19, 2016 – Florida Trend – Florida State receives $10 million for nuclear research center – Florida State University will receive $10 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to create a new Energy Frontier Research Center that will focus on accelerating scientific efforts needed to support nuclear waste cleanup. The center will focus on developing technologies for recycling nuclear fuel and cleaning up Cold War-era weapon production sites. It will be led by Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt, the Gregory R. Choppin Professor of Chemistry at FSU. “Science underpins every mission of the Department of Energy,” said Cherry Murray, director of DOE’s Office of Science. “These new Energy Frontier Research Centers will provide a foundation of basic science for a top priority of DOE — tackling environmental cleanup of hazardous waste from nuclear weapons research and production. “These projects bring together talent and leadership from top scientists to solve problems through scientific discovery.”

July 19, 2016 – AllAfrica – Nigeria: Govt Sets Up Plan to Generate Electricity From Uranium – The federal government Monday disclosed that it was already making efforts to generate electricity from nuclear materials, particularly through the exploration, exploitation and utilisation of uranium. It said to achieve this it has invited experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct a one week training for nuclear practitioners as well as security officers in the country on the extraction, exploitation and utilisation of the substance. The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said at the opening ceremony for the national training course on nuclear security for the uranium extraction industry in Abuja, that it was important for Nigeria to exploit available resources to meet her power needs.

July 19, 2016 – The Technews – Atom-sized storage could be the future of storing information – Today, we are in a need of a new storage paradigm that will actually take up less space than the current data centers. Albeit being the highly organized version of data storage solutions, data centers consume a vast amount of space and energy. However, re-writable atomic memory could be a possible solution to this problem. Researchers from the Delft University of Technology in Netherlands just announced their atomic-level breakthrough in data storage. In order to store the data, their experiment involves zooming up to the atomic arrangement of Copper Chloride (CuCl2). They placed the copper chloride powder on a copper surface and heated it at 300-degree Celsius till the evaporation of the powder, which formed a grid-like structure of the chlorine atoms. The imperfect 8×8 atom grid contained vacancies between the atoms, which are vital to the existence of atom-based storage. Each pair of missing (vacancies) and filled in atoms is interpreted as a bit (0 or 1) by a scanning tunneling microscope (STM).

July 19, 2016 – Lethbridge Herald – The Alberta Women’s Radium Fund – The Women’s Institutes of Alberta, one time associated with the United Farmers of Alberta, had a hand in the everyday life of Albertans since being organized in 1909. Their community service included contributing to the work of the Red Cross during the First World War, the 1918 influenza, and drought during those years. They organized exhibits showcasing Alberta-grown products, handicrafts and held yearly conventions for all of the branches within the provincial and federal institutes. It was at the 1936 district convention held in Lethbridge that District 4 of the Women’s Institute in southern Alberta resolved to hold a fundraising drive to assist the medical field. Dr. Stuart Rose, radiologist at the Municipal and St. Michael’s Hospitals, had addressed the convention and delegates heard about the high cost of radium treatment for cancer. A resolution was put forth to campaign for funds to secure a supply of radium. There was a unanimous agreement and the Southern Alberta Radium Association was formed. Organized by the director of District 4, Mrs. Lottie Thompson, and supported by representatives of 28 branches of the Women’s Institute, including Lethbridge, members set out to raise $5,000 to purchase a quantity of radium during the depression years. Between the years 1938-1944, over $2,763.90 was used to buy 109 mgm of radium which was kept at the Galt Hospital. The radium was available to any radiologist giving treatments at no cost to the patient.

July 19, 2016 – Science World Report – Chernobyl Fungi Onboard The Space X’s Dragon Could Protect The Human Space Travelers From Radiation – The Space X Dragon capsule, which was launched on Monday, carried 8 species of fungi that were collected at Chernobyl. According to scientists, these fungi could be helpful in protecting the human space travelers from the destructive radiation of space. Clay Wang, a pharmacologist and his colleagues had chosen 8 species of fungi, which were found living in the Exclusion Zone directly in the ruined power plant and some of them were from outside of the Exclusion Zone. The two species namely the Cladosporium sphaerospermum and the Cladosporium cladosporioides grow toward radiation favorably. The researchers hope that radiation on the space will stimulate good changes in the group of microorganisms, according to Popular Science.

July 19, 2016 – Dayton Business Journal – Forbes says this is the ‘best-performing company’ in Ohio – Forbes has published a new feature on the “Best Performing Company in Each State.” The magazine “tracked the total return of every public company between June 8, 2015, and June 8, 2016, excluding companies that have been trading for less time.” The analysis was based on data from FactSet. In Ohio, the top performer was ViewRay Inc., with a total return of 3,700%. The Cleveland-based company (Nasdaq: VRAY) designs, manufactures and markets the MRIdian radiation therapy system. ViewRay isn’t just the best performer in Ohio, it posted the best rate of any company on the list.

July 19, 2016 – Baystreet.ca – Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation Provides an Intellectual Property Update – Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation (or “AMI”) (OTC: ADMD), a late stage radiation oncology focused medical device company today provided an update on its intellectual property including trademark expansion in international markets. AMI continues to aggressively pursue trademark and patent protection for its brachytherapy products in anticipation of international product introduction. The Company has trademarked its leading cancer treatment under the RadioGel(TM) device trademark across the globe. The mark recently received registration in Hong Kong and Singapore. The mark has been allowed in the United States, and is registered under WIPO (World International Property Organization) in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and the European Community (28 countries). It is also registered in the non-WIPO countries of Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand and is pending in China and Indonesia. The RadioGel(TM) device trademark registration includes multiple product classes in many of these countries.

July 19,2 016 – First Post – As Kudankulam nuclear reactor turns operational, it’s time for PMO to cede control of sector – Every couple of months, an article appears in the Indian media that launches a broadside against the country’s civilian nuclear establishment. In principle, this would not be a bad thing if they were accurate and focussed critiques that revealed flaws in the the way India manages its nuclear energy sector. However, most authors seem content to smear the nuclear conclave hoping that even the appearance of any impropriety would be enough to imply wrongdoing and scandal. To be fair, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) does little to endear itself to the public. Despite its under-publicised yet generous public outreach, the organisation remains unduly secretive and often promises far more than it can deliver. The scientists at NPCIL are undoubtedly capable — their technical excellence has been recognised several times by international bodies ever since India began to allow international inspection of its nuclear facilities pursuant to the India-US nuclear deal in 2008.

July 19, 2016 – The Cerbat Gem – Mallinckrodt PLC (MNK) Given “Buy” Rating at BMO Capital Markets – Mallinckrodt PLC logoMallinckrodt PLC (NYSE:MNK)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a report released on Tuesday. They presently have a $84.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 32.91% from the company’s current price. Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNK.

July 19, 2016 – RT – Russia to sell nuclear fuel to US – A subsidiary of Russia’s nuclear corporation Rosatom has signed its first contract with a US nuclear power plant operator to supply Russian nuclear fuel. “We believe in this project. We know how to make nuclear fuel; it has successfully operated in Western European nuclear power plants. We are not entering the American market with empty hands,” said Rosatom CEO Sergey Kirienko. He added Rosatom is working in collaboration with GE-Hitachi and has already signed a contract to send a pilot batch of Russian nuclear fuel to the US. According to Kirienko, Rosatom sees the importance of the alliance and will provide all the necessary technical details to successfully complete the licensing process with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It has been reported the two countries had agreed to create a joint company to promote Russian nuclear fuel at US nuclear power plants.

July 19, 2016 – Science World Report – Russia Is Developing Hypersonic Stealth Nuclear Space Bomber, Report Says – New reports suggest Russia is developing a first of its kind hypersonic stealth nuclear bomber which can launch nuclear missiles in the space. The hypersonic PAK-DA strategic bomber will be fast enough to travel anywhere in the world within two hours of time. The prototype of the bomber aircraft is currently under development and is expected to be ready to take flight in 2020, following successful engine tests. The PAK-DA test engine is expected to get exhibited at the International Military Technology Forum “Army 2016” which is scheduled to be held in Moscow from September 6 to September 11.

July 19, 2016 – The Hill – Cancel the plutonium fuel factory – Twenty years ago, in the Clinton Administration, both of us helped launch a program to build a factory to turn the excess plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons into fuel for nuclear reactors. At that time, the full life-cycle cost estimate to make this plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel was expected to be less than $2 billion dollars. Now, however, with official cost estimates ballooning to over $30 billion, it is clear that the project has become too expensive. It is time to stop throwing good money after bad and pursue cheaper alternatives that will serve our national security better. The Obama administration has proposed to cancel this boondoggle and pursue a “dilute and dispose” alternative that would simply mix the plutonium with inert materials to make it more difficult to recover and dispose of it as waste. Current estimates suggest this alternative would cost dramatically less, since it is much simpler and would not require building new facilities (though the diluted plutonium would ultimately have to fit in an existing nuclear waste site in New Mexico or wait for the establishment of a new repository). Unfortunately, Congress is debating legislation that would force the administration to keep funding the MOX factory – largely as a pork barrel project for South Carolina.

July 19, 2016 – Brattleboro Reformer – Closed nuke’s plan to ship radioactive water raises concerns – The closed Vermont Yankee nuclear plant will be mothballed for decades before it is dismantled and its radioactive components are shipped off. But already, plans by the plant to ship hundreds of thousands of gallons of radioactive water to a Tennessee processing facility are raising concerns. It’s a situation being played around the country as aging nuclear plants begin to close. Nearly all are expected to stand dormant for up to 60 years while their radioactivity diminishes and their decommissioning funds grow. But early in their retirements, huge amounts of contaminated water will need to be shipped off for processing.

July 19, 2016 – The Bulletin 225 – It’s in region’s interests to help Millstone compete – In the wake of recent nuclear plant closures and in anticipation of others, leaders and regional players have been fretting about the potentially severe consequences if Millstone Power Station in Waterford were to shut down. There is no imminent threat that that will happen. But after Vermont Yankee shuttered in 2014 and with the planned closure of Massachusetts’ Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station looming in just three years, many are understandably concerned about the viability of the industry. Dominion Resource, the owner and operator of Millstone, this year lobbied the Legislature for a measure that would have allowed the plant to bid on long-term energy contracts, mitigating volatile wholesale auction pricing. The measure passed the Senate but died in the House.

July 19, 2016 – Counter Punch – The Indian Point Nukes: a Disaster Waiting to Happen – “Indian Point” is a film about the long problem-plagued Indian Point nuclear power plants that are “so, so risky—so close to New York City,” notes its director and producer Ivy Meeropol. “Times Square is 35 miles away.” The plants constitute a disaster waiting to happen threatening especially the lives of the 22 million people who live within 50 miles from them. “There is no way to evacuate—what I’ve learned about an evacuation plan is that there is none,” says Meeropol. The plants are “on two earthquake fault lines,” she notes. “And there is a natural gas pipeline right there that an earthquake could rupture.” Meanwhile, both plants, located in Buchanan, New York along the Hudson River, are now essentially running without licenses. The federal government’s 40-year operating license for Indian Point 2 expired in 2013 and Indian Point 3’s license expired last year.

July 19, 2016, Associated Press – New group wants SC to stop passing on nuclear plant costs – A group of small businesses, community leaders and environmental groups is asking state regulators to stop letting South Carolina Electric & Gas pass all the costs of two nuclear plants under construction on to ratepayers. The two new plants in Jenkinsville are years behind schedule, and cost at least $4 billion more than first thought. SCE&G is now asking the state Public Service Commission for its ninth rate increase since 2009 to pay for the plants — this one to pay off an additional $846 million in increased costs. “We have to stop giving SCE&G a blank check,” said Frank Knapp, president of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.

July 19, 2016 – Alamagordo Daily News – Tularosa Downwinders hosting candlelight vigil today – The Tularosa Basin Downwinders are hosting a candlelight vigil today in memory of those who lost their lives from the aftermath of the first atomic bomb test at the Trinity Site. Trinity Site is where the first atomic bomb was tested at 5:29:45 a.m. Mountain War Time on July 16, 1945. The 51,000 acre area was declared a national historic landmark in 1975. Catholic Bishop Oscar Cantu will lead the prayer and bless the cancer survivors and those living with cancer during the candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. at the Tularosa Little League Field on La Luz Ave. west of Tularosa. Tularosa Downwinders spokeswoman Tina Cordova said the Downwinders are asking cancer survivors and those living with cancer to fill out health surveys between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Tularosa Public Safety building, 609 Saint Francis Drive, today.

July 19, 2016- KING 5 Seattle – Touring B reactor at Hanford nuclear waste site – Hanford is America’s most contaminated nuclear waste site, but how did it get that way? The tours given by the Manhattan Project (now in partnership with the National Parks Service) might not answer that question directly, but gives you insight into the largest construction project in US history. I took a tour of B reactor, one of nine on the site. I thought that I would be bored, as I’m no nuclear physicist, and we would have two hours to explore the site. It was the only one of three tours that fit within my schedule, and I was determined to learn more about the site that is now causing so many to get sick.

July 18, 2016 – 81 FR 46716 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting Notice – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will convene a teleconference meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) on August 10, 2016, to discuss the draft report of the ACMUI Germanium-68/Gallium-68 (Ge-68/Ga-68) Generators Subcommittee. The report will include the subcommittee’s comments on the draft Ge-68/Ga-68 Generators licensing guidance. Meeting information, including a copy of the agenda and handouts, will be available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acmui/meetings/2016.html. The agenda and handouts may also be obtained by contacting Ms. Sophie Holiday using the information below. DATES: The teleconference meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 10, 2016, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Public Participation: Any member of the public who wishes to participate in the teleconference should contact Ms. Holiday using the contact information below. Contact Information: Sophie Holiday, email: sophie.holiday@nrc.gov, telephone: (301) 415-7865.

July 18, 2016 – 81 FR 46716-46718 – NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION – Board of Regents of the University of California, Irvine Nuclear Reactor Facility – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a renewal of Facility Operating License No. R-116, held by the Board of Regents of the University of California (the licensee) for the continued operation of its University of California, Irvine Nuclear Reactor Facility (UCINRF) for an additional 20 years.

July 18, 2016 – Niagara Today – DEC releases North Avenue spoils pile radiation readings – Mayor Paul Dyster and his senior planner had to answer continued questions last week about the potential danger posed by a pile of contaminated soil from the city’s recent train station construction that remains on North Avenue. “Is it safe?” Niagara Falls City Councilman Ken Tompkins asked at a meeting last week. “Where it sits right now, is it safe?” Dyster said “it is,” and reiterated comparisons to the material found beneath Lewiston Road in 2010 that state Department of Environmental Conservation staff deemed not a threat to public health, which DeSantis cited when he declared the pile “perfectly safe” nearly three weeks ago. Representatives of the DEC told the Gazette on Thursday that analysis near the fence line of the 915 North Ave. site “determined no levels exceeding natural background values,” or naturally occurring radiation levels.

July 18, 2016 – Japan Today – New documentary questions Japan’s use of nuclear energy – Documentary filmmaker Yoshitaka Nitta has made a movie based on a question he has asked himself since the nuclear meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011. The question is “Why does Japan insist on reactivating nuclear power plants despite the worst nuclear accident in its history?” In the movie titled “Atom and Peace—Ruiko, Nagasaki Prayer,” Ruiko Matsunaga, a 24-year-old elementary school teacher in the city of Nagasaki in southwestern Japan, travels from Aomori to Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan and then back to Nagasaki, visiting places where there is “peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

July 18, 2016 – The TeCake – NASA deep space exploration is in threat as reserves of plutonium 238 depletes – NASA uses plutonium-238 to send the spacecraft’s off to space which seems to make the curiosities about the space world disappeared, and we now have a lot of information about most of the planets. But what if the fuel runs out? Plutonium-238 is obtained as the by-product while making the nuclear weapons. Its radioactive decay makes it a superfuel and there is no replacement found. Nuclear fission systems are too heavy, solar power is too weak and chemical batteries don’t last long. As it decays it gives out enough energy to generate electricity and keep the expensive parts of the spacecraft warm in cold and dark region of space. Voyager 1’s journey would not have been possible without this fuel which left on a 5 years mission to explore Jupiter and Saturn and after thirty six years today, it is still exploring covering more than 19 billion kilometres. Voyager 1 is expected to keep running till 2025 when it will finally run out of three batteries filled with plutonium-238.

July 18, 2017 – Cosmos – How much radiation damage do astronauts really suffer in space? – Space is a really inhospitable place to live – there’s no breathable air, microgravity wastes away your bones and muscles and you’re subjected to increased doses of radiation in the form of high-energy charged particles. These can cause damage to the cells in your body by breaking up the atoms and molecules that they’re made of. But what are these sources of radiation and exactly how much is an astronaut on the International Space Station exposed to over the course of a six-month stay? With the latest expedition about to return to the safety of planet Earth on June 18, I thought I’d have a look at the data to find out. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitors the levels of radiation at low Earth orbit using the instruments on board five polar orbiting environmental satellites. These orbit the Earth every 101 minutes. Since the Earth rotates underneath them, this allows us to build up a pretty comprehensive view of the space radiation at similar altitudes to the ISS every day. By flying the space station through the radiation map each day, we can work out the total amount of radiation astronauts receive.

July 18, 2016 – DOTMed.com – ACR updates manual on contrast media to address gadolinium concerns – ACR has updated its manual on contrast media to include the FDA’s statement on the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) for the approximately 30 million patients who receive doses for MR exams each year. The industry has recently discovered that GBCA can reside in the brain tissue of patients who received multiple doses over their lifetime. In response, the FDA published a safety alert in July 2015 stating that it was investigating the risk of GBCA deposits. There have been no reports to date that show that the deposits are associated with neurotoxicity, even among GBCAs with the highest rates of deposition. But until the clinical effects are fully understood, the safety and tissue deposition potential of all GBCAs will be evaluated.

July 18, 2016 – AzoOptics.com – Scientists Use New X-Ray Laser Experimental Station to Study Nature of Hemoglobin – A new X-ray laser experimental station at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory recently welcomed its first research group, scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Members of the Berkeley Lab’s Yachandra/Yano research team ran the inaugural experiment from July 1 to 4. They used the X-ray laser to develop new spectroscopic tools, with an initial focus on studying an enzyme in blood known as hemoglobin. Hemoglobin allows oxygen to be carried around our bodies and gives red blood cells their distinctive color. In contrast, Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography (MFX) is blaze orange, following the LCLS tradition of personalizing each instrument at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), a DOE Office of Science User Facility. LCLS is a hard X-ray free-electron laser that fires in pulses just a few millionths of a billionth of a second in length, offering a look at chemistry on the natural timescales of reactions.

July 18, 2016 – Sputnik International – Iran’s Atomic Agency Refutes Reports on Purchase of Bulgarian Old Reactors – Earlier in July, media reported about plans of Sofia and Tehran to conduct a deal on purchasing “secondhand” reactors for the needs of Iranian nuclear power plant in southwestern city of Bushehr. “This claim is completely false since nuclear reactors cannot become ‘secondhand’ to begin with,” Salehi said, as quoted by the Iranian Mehr news agency. At the same time he added that Bulgaria wanted to sell the equipment it had after the cancellation of project on construction of two reactors with Russia’s Rosatom state-owned nuclear energy corporation. The Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant started operating in 2011 and reached full capacity the following year.

July 18, 2016 – Northeast Today – Meghalaya Remembers Legendary Freedom Fighter U Tirot Sing Syiem on 181st Death Anniversary – The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) remembered legendary Khasi freedom fighter U Tirot Sing Syiem on his 181st death anniversary in functions held across the state. At a function held at the Madan Iewrynghep at Laitumkhrah in Shillong, the KSU used the occasion to draw attention to the issue of uranium mining in the state which the union is opposed to. The KSU felt that the confrontation faced by the state today is parallel to challenges faced by the Khasi freedom fighter from Hima Nongkhlaw in his quest to gain freedom from British rule.

July 18, 2016 – Sputnik International – IAEA Visit to Russian NPP to Promote State’s Nuclear Industry – The International Atomic Energy Agency’s visit to the two nuclear enterprises will take place on July 19-21 at the initiative of Russia’s Rosatom state-owned nuclear energy corporation, and is set to become the fourth such visit to Russian nuclear enterprises. The Beloyarsk power station is the only plant in the world using the innovative sodium-cooled BN-600 and BN-800 fast breeder reactors. The BN-800 reactor was connected to the power grid in early 2016 and is expected to start commercial operations later in the year.

July 18, 2016 – Star News – Heed dangers of radon, health officials advise – Radon is an issue of concern in Minnesota. Tested properties in three-fourths of Minnesota counties — including Sherburne and Wright — have shown high average radon levels, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Radon is an odorless, colorless gas that occurs naturally in soil. It is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers. MDH has launched a new online tool to help residents get a more accurate picture of radon levels in their counties. The agency has created the new interactive county radon maps and charts using five years of data from 2010 to 2014 with more than 86,000 properties tested. To see the new tools, go to https://apps.health.state.mn.us/mndata/radon.

July 18, 2016 – Silicon Republic – Russia claims to be working on a nuclear bomber spacecraft – Russia and Vladimir Putin are making some international leaders rather anxious with news that the country is developing a new spacecraft capable of firing nuclear missiles at targets down on Earth. Since the end of the Cold War, the nuclear bomber aircraft has been gradually turned over to conventional weapons with the reality that there can be little justifiable reason to use them in modern conflicts. However, according to the Russian state-owned website Sputnik News, the country is now looking into space as a means of creating a terrifying drone-like spacecraft that will fly above the Earth’s atmosphere and deliver nuclear payloads on targets below. The experimental aircraft being developed by the Russian Strategic Missile Forces Academy (SMF) is similar in design to the Boeing X-37 craft being developed in the US. This highly-advanced craft would be remotely controlled on the ground and would deliver payloads to space to the International Space Station (ISS) and beyond, much like the Space Shuttle of old.

July 18, 2016 – Enformable – New film about Indian Point nuclear power plant provides insights about regulating the nuclear industry – “Indian Point” is a film about the long problem-plagued Indian Point nuclear power plants that are “so, so risky—so close to New York City,” notes its director and producer Ivy Meeropol. “Times Square is 35 miles away.” The plants constitute a disaster waiting to happen threatening especially the lives of the 22 million people who live within 50 miles from them. “There is no way to evacuate—what I’ve learned about an evacuation plan is that there is none,” says Meeropol. The plants are “on two earthquake fault lines,” she notes. “And there is a natural gas pipeline right there that an earthquake could rupture.” Meanwhile, both plants, located in Buchanan, New York along the Hudson River, are now essentially running without licenses. The federal government’s 40-year operating license for Indian Point 2 expired in 2013 and Indian Point 3’s license expired last year. Their owner, Entergy, is seeking to have them run for another 20 years—although nuclear plants were never seen as running for more than 40 years because of radioactivity embrittling metal parts and otherwise causing safety problems.

July 18, 2016 – Associated Press – Closed nuke’s plan to ship radioactive water raises concerns – The closed Vermont Yankee nuclear plant will be mothballed for decades before it is dismantled and its radioactive components are shipped off. But already, plans by the plant to ship hundreds of thousands of gallons of radioactive water to a Tennessee processing facility are raising concerns. It’s a situation being played around the country as aging nuclear plants begin to close. Nearly all are expected to stand dormant for up to 60 years while their radioactivity diminishes and their decommissioning funds grow. But early in their retirements, huge amounts of contaminated water will need to be shipped off for processing. It’s a reminder that even as the benefits of nuclear power fade in memory in regions where plants are closing, the retired reactors will remain an environmental and public safety challenge for decades to come.

July 18, 2016 – Power-Technology.com – JFN receives contract for Mitsubishi’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan – UK-based decommissioning and remote handling company James Fisher Nuclear (JFN) has secured a new high-value contract from engineering company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Under the contract, JFN will be responsible for developing the latest technology to sample radioactive debris sitting below reactor cores at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma, Japan. JFN’s nuclear business director Bertie Williams said: “For some time JFN has been regarded as an industry leader in this field and this award shows our expertise and experience is recognised and valued worldwide.

July 18, 2016 – CapeCod.com – Pilgrim Requests Extension from NRC for Post Fukushima Order – The owner of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Entergy, is seeking an extension from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to comply with a post Fukushima order for its boiling-water reactor to have reliable hardened containment vents. The vents are designed to remove combustible gases after an accident to prevent explosions seen at Fukushima. The plant is asking for an extension through December 31, 2019 so a permanent plant modification would not be needed as the plant is set to close by June of 2019. “The plant does have a limited operational timeframe going forward, but our mandate is to make sure that the public is going to be adequately protected,” said Neil Sheehan, an NRC Spokesman.

July 18, 2016 – KEPR TV – DOE: Demo and cleanup date for Hanford plutonium plant pushed back 1 year – There’s a change to the demolition and cleanup of the Plutonium Finishing Plant, the most hazardous facility on the Hanford site according to the Department of Energy, (DOE.) After reconsideration, the DOE determined that the September 30th finish date can’t be met. Officials say unaccounted-for hazards have pushed the finish date back by a full year. The new deadline is now set for September 30, 2017. The Plutonium Finishing Plant at Hanford produced two thirds of the nation’s plutonium stockpile.

July 18, 2016 – Tri-City Herald – Whistleblowers recount retaliation by Department of Energy – Hanford has not bothered to implement a pilot project intended to provide more protection for whistleblowers going up against contractor lawyers paid for by the Department of Energy, Sen. Clair McCaskill of Missouri said Thursday. It was one of many ways DOE has failed to hold its nuclear contractors accountable, according to a highly critical Government Accountability Office report. The report found only two violation notices have been issued against contractors in the past 20 years. “All the words that the (Department of Energy) proclaims about wanting to have a strong safety culture, a safety-conscious work environment and that it has zero tolerance for retaliation are a pretense,” whistleblower Sandra Black said at a news conference on Capitol Hill, her voice shaking with emotion.

July 14, 2016 – 81 FR 45504-45505 – DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (ABRWH or Advisory Board) – In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), and pursuant to the requirements of 42 CFR 83.15(a), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announces the following meeting of the aforementioned committee: Times and Dates: 8:15 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Mountain Time, August 9, 2016; 8:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Mountain Time, August 10, 2016. Public Comment Time and Date: 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.*, Mountain Time, August 9, 2016. Place: Residence Inn by Marriott, 635 West Broadway, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402; Phone: (208) 542-0000; Fax: (208) 542-0021. Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. The meeting space accommodates approximately 100 people. The public is also welcome to listen to the meeting by joining the teleconference at USA toll-free, dial-in number, 1-866-659-0537 and the pass code is 9933701. Live Meeting Connection: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/cdc/join?id=M3QDP7&role=attend&pw=ABRWH; Meeting ID: M3QDP; Entry Code: ABRWH. Background: 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 which 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 (SEC).