Monthly Archives: November 2011

Fukushima Unit 1 was close to China Syndrome, according to new report

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) just issued a new report on the severity of the damage to the reactors at Fukushima Units 1, 2 and 3, and it is worse than previously thought. The Wall Street Journal reported this morning: … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquake, Fukushima, GE Mark I reactor, Japan, Plant shutdowns, Radiation leak, Reactor problems | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Event Report: Illinois nuke shuts down after steam valves fail

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

Yesterday afternoon, operators at the Clinton nuclear power plant in Illinois were ramping down the station’s sole reactor in preparation for refueling. At 16 per cent power, the reactor scrammed on high steam dome pressure after the main steam valves unexpectedly closed. … Continue reading →

Posted in Clinton, Event Reports, GE Mark I reactor, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Plant shutdowns, Reactor problems | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Event Report: South Texas nuke shuts down

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

Reactor 2 at the South Texas Nuclear Project shut down early yesterday morning due to a turbine trip and generator lockout. The unit’s Auxiliary Feedwater system activated following the turbine trip. A steam dump valve failed in the open position … Continue reading →

Posted in Event Reports, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Plant shutdowns, Reactor problems, South Texas Project | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dry weather threatening to shut French nukes

Posted on November 29, 2011 by

Reuters reported this morning: Dry weather conditions are starting to hit output at France’s nuclear reactors with EDF forced to stop one reactor in northern France to protect river flows, EDF said on Monday. France, the European Union’s biggest power … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Plant shutdowns, Water | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Canadian nuke fires eleven employees for drug activity at work

Posted on November 29, 2011 by

A report in this morning’s Montreal Gazette raises more questions than it answers about a recent incident at the Pickering nuclear power plant. According to the Gazette: On Nov. 18, 11 workers at the Pickering nuclear power plant were fired … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Drugs at work, Fitness for Duty, Security | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

TEPCO selling assets to fund compensation efforts

Posted on November 29, 2011 by

Bloomberg Businessweek reported earlier today: Tokyo Electric Power Co. will raise 186.3 billion yen ($2.4 billion) selling its stake in KDDI Corp., its biggest disposal since saying it plans to offload assets to pay compensation for the Fukushima disaster. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquake, Finance, GE Mark I reactor, Japan, Plant shutdowns, Radiation leak, Reactor problems | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Louisiana nuke workers were exposed to radiation in 2009

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

The Claims Journal reported this morning: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says workers were exposed to a low level of radiation during maintenance work in 2009 at the Entergy Corp.’s Waterford 3 nuclear power plant in Louisiana. The Times-Picayune reports that … Continue reading →

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Update: Fukushima manager expected death during early days of crisis‏

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

Following published reports this morning that Masao Yoshida, plant manager at Fukshima Daiichi, has entered the hospital for unspecified medical treatment, the Vancouver Sun turned up this from the November 13 Japan Times: Yoshida … confessed that he almost gave up … Continue reading →

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Fukushima plant manager enters hospital for treatment of unspecified illness

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) is holding details close to the vest, but Bloomberg Businessweek reported this morning: Masao Yoshida, the manager of Japan’s crippled Fukushima atomic plant, was transferred to the hospital after almost nine months directing efforts to contain … Continue reading →

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Event Reports: Bearing failure in Michigan, loss of offsite power in Wisconsin

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

A couple of items from today’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission Event Reports today: 1. Friday afternoon, operators at the Cook nuclear power plant in Michigan manually started the Unit 1 Auxiliary Feedwater Pumps after one of the pumps suffered a bearing failure. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cook, Electrical problems, Event Reports, Loss of offsite power, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Point Beach, Reactor problems | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment