Posts tagged nuclear
Pakistan Is Rushing To Finish Weapons-grade Nuclear Reactor
May 18th
Buildup to war
New satellite images have shown the alarming speed at which Pakistan is constructing a weapons-grade nuclear reactor. The aerial images, taken on April 20, show the rapid building progress of the fourth reactor to produce plutonium in Pakistan’s Khushab facility.
Alarming: The rate of construction at the Khushab nuclear facility has 'raised eyebrows' with US officials
The site was barren in 2009 and the facility ‘costing billions’ was undetectable by satellite just 17 months ago, but has since grown at an alarming rate. The facility in Khushab is the fastest growing nuclear program in the world, with the speed of the latest reactor’s construction prompting concern from U.S. officials.
Pakistan first revealed the Khushab site and its plutonium production facility in 1998 after the country’s first nuclear test. Although the U.S. has provided Pakistan with $20 billion in military and economic aid since September 11, 2001, it has been said that there is ‘no explanation’ as to how Pakistan are paying for the latest reactor.
Paul Brannon, a nuclear analyst with the Institute for Science and International Security, said: ‘The buildup is remarkable.
‘You can see the square of the reactor building, you can see the inner square of the reactor hall where the actual reactor goes, and if you measure the dimensions of the building it matches up exactly to the second and the third reactors. ‘And that nobody in the U.S. or in the Pakistani government says anything about this — especially in this day and age—is perplexing.’ source – Daily Mail
Russia Reloads Fuel Into Iranian Nuclear Plant
Apr 8th
The madness continues
Moscow, April 8 (IANS) Iran Friday began reloading nuclear fuel into the reactor of its Bushehr power plant, Xinhua reported. The refueling is being carried out after a series of checks completed on the plant, said Russian state-run contractor Atomstroyexport, which is carrying out the task.
The Iranian nuclear plant at Bushehr
‘On April 8, 2011, loading of fuel into the core began at Bushehr,’ the company said in a statement, adding all operations are being carried out as per schedule agreed with Iran. To ensure safety, it was necessary to remove the fuel from the reactor earlier, as experts had found small metal pieces in a cooling system, it said. It said the Bushehr plant has fully complied with the nuclear non-proliferation regime and international laws. It, however, didn’t say when the plant would be commissioned.
The construction of the plant started in 1975 by German companies. However, the work was halted after the US imposed an embargo on hi-tech machinery supplies to Iran after the 1979 revolution. In 1998, Russia had signed a contract with Iran to complete the construction. In February this year, upon Russia’s request, Iran temporarily removed the fuel from the reactor core in order to conduct a number of tests and carry out technical work. source- Yahoo News
Dead Men Walking: Fukushima 50 Fully Expect To Die
Mar 31st
Workers at the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan say they expect to die from radiation sickness as a result of their efforts to bring the reactors under control, the mother of one of the men tells Fox News.
The so-called Fukushima 50, the team of brave plant workers struggling to prevent a meltdown to four reactors critically damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, are being repeatedly exposed to dangerously high radioactive levels as they attempt to bring vital cooling systems back online.
Speaking tearfully through an interpreter by phone, the mother of a 32-year-old worker said: “My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary to save the nation.
“He told me they have accepted they will all probably die from radiation sickness in the short term or cancer in the long-term.”
The woman spoke to Fox News on the condition of anonymity because, she said, plant workers had been asked by management not to communicate with the media or share details with family members in order to minimize public panic.” source – Fox News
Glowing! Radiation At Japan Nuke Plant 10 MILLION Times Normal
Mar 26th
Out of control
TOKYO — Radioactivity in water at one earthquake-crippled Japanese nuclear reactor soared to 10 million times its usual level Sunday, prompting the plant operator to evacuate workers, local media reported. The report about Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor No. 2 came as Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers were grappling with how to remove and store highly radioactive water pooling there and in two other troubled units.
The nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan has been leaking radiation making its way into food and water. The discovery of puddles with radiation levels 10,000 times the norm sparked a temporary evacuation of the plant on Thursday. Two workers who stepped into the water were hospitalized with possible burns. The development set back feverish efforts to start up a crucial cooling system knocked out in a massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but has helped experts get closer to determining the source of the dangerous leak.” source – MSNBC
Netanyahu: Military Action If Iran Sanctions Fail
Mar 17th
Only option left
(Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday the world must make clear that Iran would face “credible military action” if sanctions do not shut down Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
Netanyahu, in an interview on CNN, said it was clear Iran was pursing its nuclear ambitions despite international sanctions and was getting a lot closer to obtaining nuclear arms.
“They have enriched enough material now almost for three nuclear bombs,” he said. “They still have to re-enrich it again but that is what they are doing.
“The only thing that will work is if Iran knew that if sanctions fail there will be a credible military option.”
Asked what would constitute a credible military action, Netanyahu said: “It means action that will knock out their nuclear facility.” source – Reuters
US: Nothing To Stop Japan Nuke Meltdown
Mar 16th
Is a total meltdown inevitable
The chief of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools at Japan’s most troubled nuclear plant, but Japanese officials denied it.
If NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is correct, this would mean there’s nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down. The outer shell of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area. Jaczko did not say Wednesday how the information was obtained, but the NRC and U.S. Department of Energy both have experts on site at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex of six reactors. He said the spent fuel pool of the complex’s Unit 4 reactor has lost water.
Jaczko said officials believe radiation levels are extremely high, and that could affect workers’ ability to stop temperatures from escalating.
Japan’s nuclear safety agency and Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the complex, deny water is gone from the pool. Utility spokesman Hajime Motojuku said the “condition is stable” at Unit 4.” source – NPR
Japan Crisis Worse Than Three Mile Island
Mar 15th
People warned to stay inside
SOMA, Japan — The nuclear accident at an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant in Japan can now be classed as level six out of an international scale of one to seven, experts said Tuesday. France’s ASN nuclear safety authority’s assessment came after Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation had spread from the four stricken reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant along Japan’s northeastern coast.
Two reactors exploded on Tuesday at the plant after days of frantic efforts to cool them. Level seven was used only once, for Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986. The 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania was rated a level five.
“It is very clear that we are at a level six, which is an intermediate level between what happened at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl,” ASN president Andre-Claude Lacoste told a news conference in Paris. “We are clearly in a catastrophe.”
On Three Mile Island, the radiation leak was held inside the containment shell — thick concrete armor around the reactor. The Chernobyl reactor had no shell and was also operational when the disaster struck. The Japanese reactors automatically shut down when the quake hit. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) imposed a 30-km (18-mile) no-fly zone around the Fukushima site Tuesday.” source – MSNBC
