Monthly Archives: August 2012

Small victories are certainly better than big defeats; Exelon cancels plans to build new reactors at South Texas site

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Robert Singleton

The site pictured above will remain as is for awhile, as Exelon announced this week that it was withdrawing its site application for two new reactors near Victoria, Texas. As the World Nuclear News reported yesterday: Exelon has completely stopped … Continue reading →

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“Hey, kids!” Urenco’s animated mascot, Richie Enrichment, launches new video game

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Robert Singleton

World Nuclear News reported today: Urenco has launched a video game based on its science mascot, Richie Enrichment. Avilable on multiple platforms it is intended to help young people learn about energy and nuclear power. Richie has for some time … Continue reading →

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Event Reports: Reactors shut down in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Tennessee, and another alcohol-at-work incident; Minnesota incident involves small fires in both Emergency Diesel Generators

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Robert Singleton

(Just a note on the above illustration: It’s from a gallery of Power Plant Trading Cards at: http://www.industcards.com/. I don’t make this stuff up, I just make fun of it.) Some items from this week’s NRC Event Reports page: 1. … Continue reading →

Posted in Drunk at work, Event Reports, Fire, Fitness for Duty, Plant shutdowns, Point Beach, Prairie Island, Reactor problems, Sequoyah, Waterford | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Escalating concerns may keep Belgian reactor closed; four reactors in Virginia may also be subject to increased inspection

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Robert Singleton

On Thursday, inspectors at the Doel nuclear power plant in Belgium discovered cracks in the Unit 3 reactor vessel. As CBS News reported Friday: The possible flaw was discovered while the plant was shut for annual maintenance, Karina De Beule, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Dominion, Europe, North Anna, Surry | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Update: NRC bent over backwards to not shut Millstone

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Robert Singleton

As I told you this morning, Unit 2 at the Millstone nuclear power plant in Connecticut had to be shut down yesterday because the water used to cool the reactor exceeded the operational temperature set out in Millstone’s license. What … Continue reading →

Posted in Event Reports, Millstone, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Water | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Event Reports: Three nukes shut down (or should have been) over weekend; toxic gas release, high temperature, stuck control rod assembly to blame

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Robert Singleton

1. Friday morning, operators at the Watts Bar nuclear power plant in Tennessee declared an emergency and issued a Notice of Unusual Event (NOUE) for the facility’s sole reactor. The NOUE was the result of the detection of a toxic … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvert Cliffs, Event Reports, Millstone, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Watts Barr | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Event Reports: A scram in Arkansas, tritium in the water in Louisiana and a drunken supervisor in Illinois

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Robert Singleton

Some incidents from this week’s NRC Event Reports page: 1. Unit 2 at the Arkansas Nuclear power plant shut down automatically from 100 per cent power Wednesday morning. The shutdown resulted from increased pressure in the Reactor Coolant System. According to this … Continue reading →

Posted in Arkansas Nuclear, Drunk at work, Event Reports, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Plant shutdowns, Quad Cities, Reactor problems, River Bend, tritium | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NRC suspends new license approvals; decision also puts license renewals on hold

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Robert Singleton

Bloomberg Business Week reported yesterday: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is putting a hold on requests for new reactor construction and license renewals —including Missouri’s only nuclear power plant — after a recent federal court ruling questioned the agency’s plans … Continue reading →

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Event Reports: Yet another drunk on duty incident at a nuclear power plant

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Robert Singleton

The Fermi nuclear power plant in Michigan notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that a non-licensed employee supervisor tested positive for alcohol in a Fitness for Duty test last Friday. I don’t know how the nukes make decisions about firing people … Continue reading →

Posted in Event Reports, Fermi, Fitness for Duty, Nuclear Regulatory Commission | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment