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.