Nuclear News: Church Rock - The best-kept nuclear secret
Today's big stories from the nuclear industry:
Daily Kos: The best-kept nuclear secret
’Thirty years ago this week - on July 16 - the worst accidental release of radioactive waste happened at the Church Rock uranium mine and mill site. While the Three Mile Island accident (that same year) is well known, the enormous radioactive spill in New Mexico has been kept quiet. It is the U.S. nuclear accident that almost no one knows about. On July 16, 1979, just 14 weeks after the Three Mile Island reactor accident, and 34 years to the day after the Trinity atomic test, the small community of Church Rock, New Mexico became the scene of another nuclear tragedy. Ninety million gallons of liquid radioactive waste, and eleven hundred tons of solid mill wastes, burst through a broken dam wall at the Church Rock uranium mill facility, creating a flood of deadly effluents that permanently contaminated the Puerco River. However, the accident happened "far from civilization" in a remote area inhabited by possibly the most poverty-stricken and disenfranchised community of people in the country - Native Americans. The massacres and smallpox blankets were over, but another deliberate act of racially-based discrimination - the avoidable radioactive contamination of the Navajo community and likely well beyond it - went unpunished and largely unreported.’
Nasdaq: Japan's Mitsubishi Eyes Lithuania Nuclear Project - PM
’VILNIUS, Lithuania (AFP)--Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.TO), one of the world's leading manufacturers of nuclear reactors, is interested in working on Lithuania's planned nuclear energy plant, the Baltic nation's prime minister said Tuesday. "Their interest in our plan is important for us," Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said, quoted by the Baltic News Service. "We think that we can use this to develop wider contacts as well," he told reporters in Vilnius after meeting with Mitsubishi representatives. Kazuo Tsukuda, chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, "showed interest in Lithuania's strategic project," a Lithuanian government press release said.’
Reuters: Russia says no Iran sanctions for START deal: report
’MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will not agree to tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program in exchange for a new nuclear arms cuts deal with Washington, Interfax news agency quoted a foreign ministry source as saying Tuesday. Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama's nuclear adviser suggested that progress on a U.S.-Russian nuclear arms pact could help persuade Moscow to be more cooperative on Iran. "There are no reasons to link these issues or count on Russia being more cooperative in toughening sanctions against Iran if there is progress in talks with the United States on further cuts in strategic offensive weapons," the source said.’
The Sun News: Marshall proposes nuclear power for military bases
’Buried deep inside the 650-page House Defense Authorization bill for 2010 is a line item that could bring a host of national security and energy issues to the forefront. The proposal would commission a study, due from the Pentagon by June of next year, to look at "the feasibility of developing nuclear power plants on military installations." The bill recently cleared the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate debates its own authorization bill this week. While Marshall cautioned that "we're simply studying the possibility of using military bases," his proposal is a response to the military's desire to make its installations energy independent from local power grids. "It's important to the military that they have clean, efficient, secure energy," Marshall said. "And then the nice thing about military installations is that they can help address one of the concerns about nuclear energy, and that is security."’
APP.com: Oyster Creek has unplanned shutdown
’LACEY - Severe weather conditions led to an unplanned shutdown of Oyster Creek Generating Station, which operators of the nuclear power plant called an "unusual event" Sunday morning. The shutdown occurred at 1:48 a.m. Sunday and followed an interruption of off-site power to the station owned by Exelon Nuclear. It was likely due to electrical storms that swept through the region overnight. Exelon Mid-Atlantic Communications Manager Beth Archer said in a prepared statement Sunday that the "unusual event" ended at 4:05 a.m. following the restoration of off-site power. "The plant is still off-line today for equipment testing," Archer said Monday. "Because of the competitive electricity market, we can not characterize the length of outages as it is proprietary information." "The unit automatically shut down safely when the plant lost off-site power at 1:35 a.m. As per plant procedures, operators declared the unusual event when off-site power was interrupted for more than 15 minutes. Several other power outages in the area related to the severe weather were reported prior to the plant shutdown," the release stated.’
Knoxnews.com: TVA evaluating plan to burn plutonium-loaded fuel
’TVA is evaluating the possible use of mixed-oxide fuel -- which contains surplus plutonium from the nuclear weapons program -- at its two Sequoyah nuclear power plants near Chattanooga and perhaps Browns Ferry or other reactors in the future. The National Nuclear Security Administration, a sub-unit of the Dept. of Energy that runs the weapons program, announced today that TVA had signed a "letter of intent" to enter into negotiations with Shaw AREVA MOX Services LLC. MOX Services is NNSA's contractor to build and operate a MOX fuel fabrication facility in South Carolina. TVA spokesman John Moulton emphasized that the letter of intent is non-binding. "We have agreed to work together explore the potential use of weapons-grade MOX fuel in TVA reactors," Moulton said. The letter with Shaw AREVA MOX Services was signed July 6, the TVA spokesman said.’
