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Technology Stocks : The *NEW* Frank Coluccio Technology Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: axial who wrote (38744)	6/7/2011 3:52:46 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 46821

After the Nuclear Beatdown: What Electric Generation Options Remain? By Paul Mauldin \| Smart Energy Portal \| June 6, 2011 Germany’s announcement that it was shutting down its 17 nuclear plants by 2022 wasn’t a complete surprise. Under pressure from environmentalists and in light of Japan’s continuing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Germany’s government is committing to exit from all nuclear power (at least on Germany’s turf) by 2022. Germany is not alone in having nuclear jitters. The European Commission and the European Nuclear Safety Regulators' Group (ENSREG) called for stress tests of all 143 nuclear plants in the EU. These began on June 1, 2011. Switzerland isn’t waiting for test results. The Swiss have already decided to freeze plans to build three new nuclear power plants and to decommission the country’s five operating plants. Cont.: smartenergyportal.net ------

To: axial who wrote (38744)	6/13/2011 5:08:38 AM
From: axial	Respond to of 46821

Japan Radiation Sleuths Use Borrowed Geigers "‘Extremely Slow’ “The government’s action was inefficient, extremely slow and outdated,” said Sentaro Takahashi, a professor studying radiation control at Kyoto University. “Right from the start, Japan lacked the crisis management to cope with a disaster that requires quick plans and action.” Radiation leaks from the Fukushima reactors have spread over 600 square kilometers, Tomio Kawata, a fellow at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, said in a research report published May 24 and given to the government. Radioactive soil in pockets of areas outside the 20- kilometer exclusion zone around the plant have reached the same level as in Chernobyl following a reactor explosion in the former Soviet Union territory 25 years ago, the report said. Tokyo Electric, the operator of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, failed to provide sufficient measures to prevent the disaster, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano said last month." bloomberg.com Jim

To: axial who wrote (38744)	6/20/2011 11:27:18 PM
From: axial	Respond to of 46821

US plants on flood alert world-nuclear-news.org "On 6 June, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) declared a 'notification of unusual event' at its Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant due to the rising level of the Missouri River and some onsite flooding. This is the least-serious of four emergency classifications that are standard in the US nuclear industry. The utility noted projections from the US Army Corps of Engineers that the river level at the plant site - 19 miles (31 kilometres) north of Omaha, Nebraska - was expected to reach 1004 feet (306 metres) above mean sea level and to remain above that level for more than one month. The alert is set to remain in effect at Fort Calhoun until OPPD can be sure the level of the river would remain below 1004 feet. The single 482 MWe pressurized water reactor at Fort Calhoun has been in safe shutdown since 9 April, when it entered a scheduled refuelling outage. OPPD said, "In addition to the existing flood-protection at the plant, OPPD employees and contractors have built earth berms (raised barriers) and sandbagged around the switchyards and additional buildings on site. They also are filling water-filled berms around the plant and other major buildings on site, have staged additional diesel fuel inside the Protected Area and are building additional overhead power lines to provide another option for power for the plant's administration building, training centre and one of its warehouses." Separately OPPD declared a level two alert at the plant on 7 June due to smoke in an electrical switchgear room. An investigation found no fire or release of radiation and the plant was subsequently returned to the level one emergency classification. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which is monitoring the situation at Fort Calhoun, said, "Although the plant briefly lost its normal ability to cool the spent fuel pool, temperatures in the pool remained at safe levels and the plant recovered pool cooling without the need for any of the plant's multiple back-up systems." On 16 June, OPPD's board of directors approved a measure to authorize plant management to buy any material, equipment or services it needed to prevent flooding at Fort Calhoun, without having to go through the usual procurement process. "The high volume of water released from upstream dams already has caused some flooding in OPPD's service area," the company said in a statement. It added, "Those water releases continue to pose a threat to the electric system and generation facilities along the river." The company stressed, "No release of radioactive material requiring offsite response or monitoring has occurred or is expected." Cooper operating under precaution Meanwhile, further downriver, the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) has also declared a 'notice of unusual event' at its Cooper nuclear power plant, three miles (5 kilometres) southeast of Brownville, Nebraska. The notification, declared on 19 June, was made as part of the safety and emergency preparedness plan that the plant follows when flooding conditions are in effect. The plan's procedures stipulate that such a notice is declared when the Missouri River's water level reaches 42.5 feet (13 metres) or greater than 899 feet (274 metres) above sea level. Plant workers began taking preventative measures against rising waters on 30 May. These included filling sandbags, constructing barricades, procuring materials and supplies, and reinforcing the access road. NPPD said that if the level of the river rises to 45.5 feet (14 metres) or 902 feet (275 metres) above sea level, the plant – comprising a single 830 MWe boiling water reactor - would be shut down as a "protective safety measure." In a statement, NPPD said; "There is no threat to plant employees or to the public; the plant continues to operate safely." Jim