Nuclear Facility Incidents seem to be abnormally high with fatalities and radiation exposure.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Explosion at French Nuclear Facility Kills One

 

The Marcoule nuclear plant is shown in Chusclan, France, in this March 30, 2011 file photo. (Guillaume 

Sept. 12, 2011

An explosion at a nuclear facility in France has killed one person, injured at least three others but does not appear to have caused radiation to leak from the site, French officials said today.

The explosion occurred at a nuclear waste processing center in the Marcoule nuclear facility in southern France.

Officials at France's atomic energy commission told ABC News the explosion occurred in a furnace used to melt waste with low to very low radioactive levels. The blast was contained completely in the furnace.

 

Kenya Pipeline Explosion Kills At Least 61 Watch Video

 

France's government nuclear safety body, the ASN, released a statement hours after the explosion reporting that there did not appear to be any radioactive leak.

"This is an industrial accident, not a nuclear accident," said a spokesperson for the energy firm EDF, which operates the plant.

The Marcoule nuclear facility does not house any active nuclear reactors.

French nuclear officials downplay risks from blast

No leak of radioactive material in explosion that killed 1, safety body says

  The French nuclear Marcoule site, scene of an explosion Monday, is in the Gard region of France, in Languedoc-Roussillon, near the Mediterranean Sea. (Reuters)

Beginning of Story Content

An explosion at a nuclear waste-management site at the Marcoule complex in southeastern France on Monday has killed at least one man, but safety officials say there was no leak of radioactive material at one of the country's oldest nuclear facilities.

Four people were also injured in the explosion, which occurred around 12:37 p.m. local time. One person was badly burned and has been airlifted to a hospital in Montpellier, while three others were taken to a local hospital, according to reports.

No names have been released, and the incident is being described as an "industrial" rather than nuclear accident.

What is at the site

The sprawling Marcoule nuclear site has been around since the 1950s and includes research facilities as well as a waste disposal service run by Centraco, which is on the grounds and is where the explosion took place.

Marcoule also produces a fuel called MOX, which is made from weapons-grade plutonium. The fuel can then be used in commercial nuclear reactors.

Two reprocessing sites in France, La Hague and Marcoule, "contain over 90 per cent of France’s radioactive waste inventory. Their inventories include spent fuel, separated plutonium, large quantities of liquid and vitrified high-level waste, and various types of intermediate, transuranic and low-level radioactive wastes,” according to the International Panel of Fissile Materials.

The fuel production and the waste disposal techniques are controversial, and a number of environmental groups have lined up against them, saying the plants that process the highly radioactive material are dangerous places that release too much radioactivity.

The Agency for Nuclear Safety (ANS) said the explosion was set off by a fire near a furnace at the Centraco facility, a centre for processing and conditioning low-level radioactive waste that is situated at the massive Marcoule complex.

The accident was under control within the hour, the agency said in a statement.

"According to initial information, the explosion happened in an oven used to melt radioactive metallic waste of little and very little radioactivity," the statement said. "There have been no leaks outside of the site."

The Marcoule site does not house any nuclear power reactors.

Marcoule is located in the Gard region of France, in Languedoc-Roussillon, near the Mediterranean Sea.

No evacuation notice was given to the local area but a security perimeter around the site has been established, according to reports.

Marcoule opened in 1950s

Marcoule is owned by French power utility EDF and is adjacent to a nuclear research centre.

The reason for the blast wasn't immediately clear, but officials said it was contained within the furnace area. An investigation has also been opened.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/12/france-nuclear-plant-...

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/explosion-french-nuclear-plant-kills-...

 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/16/2897074/shearon-harris-shut-...

Shearon Harris nuclear plant shut down because of cracking

Published: May 16, 2013 

Duke Energy Progress shut down the Shearon Harris nuclear plant in Wake County on Wednesday after the company discovered that the reactor vessel – which holds the plant’s nuclear fuel and contains the nuclear reaction – showed early indications of corrosion and cracking.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported Thursday morning that plant officials made the discovery earlier this week during a review of ultrasonic data that had been recorded in spring 2012.

The year-old data showed a one-quarter-inch flaw in the reactor vessel head, the term for the lid that is bolted on top of the vessel to maintain superheated water under high pressure.

It’s not clear why it took Progress a year to discover the corrosion, a question the NRC will attempt to answer in its review of the incident. General concerns about vessel head corrosion increased in the wake of the discovery in 2002 of a grapefruit-size cavity in the reactor vessel of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Ohio, which is owned by FirstEnergy Corp.

The Davis-Besse incident, considered one of the most serious safety lapses in U.S. nuclear history, resulted in a two-year shutdown, more than $50 million in fines and penalties, and indictments against several utility employees and a contractor.

The Shearon Harris defect was caught early and did not penetrate the vessel wall, a protective barrier made of carbon steel and measuring about six inches thick. There is no indication that radioactive water leaked out of the vessel, the NRC said.

“The reactor is shut down, and our repair plans are in progress,” Progress spokeswoman Kim Crawford said. “There is no impact to public health or safety as a result of this issue.”

Progress offered no information on its repair schedule Thursday, but the work is likely to take at least several weeks. Additional information could be available Monday at a public meeting the NRC scheduled at the Holly Springs Cultural Center to present an overview of Shearon Harris’ safety record.

The public meeting was scheduled in advance to review the nuclear plant’s 2012 performance; however, NRC staff will be prepared to answer questions about the recently discovered vessel head corrosion and ensuing plant shutdown, NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said.

Because the vessel head repairs will take place in a highly radioactive area, the work will require using remotely operated robotics, Hannah said. He said repairs will involve scraping out corroded material and welding the area, not unlike filling a dental cavity, and will likely be performed by technical specialists brought in from an outside engineering company.

“I’m sure they’ll try to do the repairs as quickly as they can because as long as the plant is shut down they are not making electricity,” Hannah said.

The nuclear plant, which has been generating electricity since 1987, is less than 25 miles from downtown Raleigh.

Duke Energy Progress, formerly known as Progress Energy, is the Raleigh-based subsidiary of Charlotte-based Duke Energy. Duke acquired Progress in July 2012, and Duke officials have since been publicly critical of Progress’ nuclear plant performance during the run-up to the merger.

In February, Duke decided to shut down Progress’ Crystal River plant in Florida after concluding it would have been too expensive to repair. That facility was idled in 2009, never to restart again after the containment building wall was repeatedly cracked during a botched attempt to replace two steam generators.

The Shearon Harris vessel head corrosion was discovered in a welded section where a nozzle allows the insertion of a mechanism that’s used to control neutron-absorbing rods inside the reactor.

Such corrosion is a common form of degradation in nuclear plants, said David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“Impurities in the water can collect in tiny cracks formed in metal by stress,” said Lochbaum, a former NRC employee. “These impurities, called corrosion, exacerbate stress factors accelerating the propagation of tiny cracks.”

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/16/2897074/shearon-harris-shut-...

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/16/2897074/shearon-harris-shut-...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-gr-calvert-cliffs-shutdown-...

Calvert Cliffs reactor shut down

Second unplanned nuclear outage in two weeks

By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun

6:43 p.m. EDT, May 21, 2013

One of two reactors at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in southern Maryland was shut down again Tuesday, the second unplanned outage in the past two weeks.

Plant operators powered down Unit 2 manually around 5:30 a.m. after a pump that feeds water to a steam generator shut down because of high vibrations, according to Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The cause of the pump's vibrations appears to be a failed mechanical coupling between the pump's motor and the pump, he said.

Sheehan and Kory Raftery, spokesman for Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, said the manual shutdown went smoothly and posed no safety risks for plant workers or the public. Raftery said the reactor was in "stable condition."

• Related
• Calvert Cliffs nuclear reactor shuts down
• Nuclear regulators uphold ruling on Calvert Cliffs reactor project
• UniStar appeals Calvert Cliffs reactor rejection

Both spokesmen said Tuesday's shutdown appears unrelated to the unplanned "scram" of the same reactor on May 8. In the earlier case, according to accounts from Constellation and the NRC, an electrical malfunction caused some valves to close that feed steam to the turbine. The turbine then shut down, prompting the reactor itself to shut down automatically to prevent the buildup of steam pressure in the cooling system.

The reactor was out of service for five days, according to Raftery, while the valves were being worked on and tested. Plant personnel also installed electrical monitors to check for further problems, he said.

Unit 2 will remain shut down until an investigation of the latest malfunction is completed, repairs are made and the system is fully tested, the Constellation spokesman said. Unit 1, the other reactor at the plant in Lusby, is operating at 100 percent power.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://rt.com/usa/palisades-nuclear-plant-leak-895/

Palisades nuclear plant shut-down after leak

Published time: May 06, 2013 18:44

Image from nrc.gov

A Michigan-based nuclear power plant has been shut down due to water leakage from the tank, which exceeded its capacity. Inspectors are now studying the problem to see if there is any danger to the public.

The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, located in Covert Township, Mich., was removed from service Sunday morning after the water tank exceeded its site threshold and leaked.

The incident marks the second time the injection and refueling tank leaked, according to federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng. During the previous leakage, water seeped into the plant’s control room.

“This tank has leaked before. It leaked in 2012. The plant had to shut down to repair the leak to the tank,” she told AP. “It’s a repeat occurrence.”

The tank holds up to 300,000 gallons of borated water, which floods the reactor during refueling outages. It also serves to remove heat from the reactor when there is a loss of coolant by sourcing the safety injection system. After last year’s incident, operators of the nuclear power plant set a 38-gallon daily leak limit, which was exceeded Sunday. Inspectors are now working to identify the source of the leak and repair the tank.

In previous years, NRC officials also found several other problems with the Palisades plant. In May 2011, investigators discovered improperly maintained emergency equipment. In October 2010, the manager of the control room was also found to have left the station without following protocols.

In August 2011, the plant experienced the failure of a water pump component, which holds the pipe together. The following month, there were a series of electrical failures that occurred as a result of two small metal pieces coming into contact with one another and shutting down the plant, Michigan Live reported.

After the 2012 leak, the NRC conducted an 11-day inspection of the Palisades plant and concluded that it has sufficiently addressed previous problems identified in 2011, but said it needed additional oversight to ensure that corrections were being properly made at the plant. The NRC determined that the plant would need to undergo an additional 1,000 hours of inspection beyond the 2,000 hours that occur at nuclear plants each year.

But even though the most recent case of leakage is the second time the problem has occurred, officials at the plant claim there are no risks to those working at or living near the facility. 

"There is no impact on the health and safety of plant employees or the public," Palisades spokeswoman Lindsay Rose told AP.

But the spokeswoman’s words may do little to reassure local residents: in 2012, the NRC downgraded the Palisades plant, classifying it as one of the four worst performing nuclear plants in the US. Although officials at the plant claim to have fixed the source of the previous leakage, its previous problems were not properly addressed.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://enenews.com/nrc-degraded-condition-at-illinois-nuclear-plant...

NRC: “Degraded condition” at Illinois nuclear plant — Leak inside primary containment — Days after emergency due to lightning strike

Published: April 30th, 2013 at 11:43 am ET
By ENENews

Title: Event Notification Report
Source: NRC
Date: April 29, 2013

[...] 50.72(b)(3)(ii)(A) – DEGRADED CONDITION [...]

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED PLANT SHUTDOWN

“This notification is being provided in accordance with 10CFR50.72(b)(2)(i), Plant Shutdown required by Technical Specifications, and 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(ii)A, Degraded or Unanalyzed Condition.

“At 2245 CDT on 04/27/13, LaSalle Unit 1 [Illinois] commenced a Technical Specification required plant shutdown, due to identification of pressure boundary leakage. At 2124 CDT on 04/27/13, a through-wall leak was identified in the body of 1E51-F076, Reactor Core Isolation Cooling system steam supply inboard isolation bypass warmup valve. This qualifies as pressure boundary leakage, which requires entry into Technical Specification 3.4.5, Reactor Coolant System Operational Leakage, Required Action C, to be in Mode 3, Hot Shutdown, by 0924 [CDT] on 04/28/13, and Mode 4, Cold Shutdown, by 0924 [CDT] on 04/29/13. This leakage is significantly less than 10 gpm and therefore does not meet the threshold for entry into the Emergency Action Plan. At the time of discovery, Unit 1 was in startup mode following a forced outage. A unit shutdown has been initiated. A repair plan is being prepared at this time, and the unit will remain in Cold Shutdown until repairs are complete.”

The leak is located inside the primary containment and was visually identified during a containment walk-down. [...]

Earlier this month at LaSalle: Emergency declared at U.S. nuclear plant after lightning strike -- ...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2013/04/second-breathing-incident-...

Second breathing incident at Oak Ridge nuclear waste plant prompts DOE action

A second incident in recent months involving loss-of-supplied-air to nuclear workers at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge prompted the Department of Energy to take a closer look at what's going on there.

During a December 2012 event, the supplied air was inadvertently cut off to workers in the box-breakdown area at the waste processing facility. Another incident, similar in nature, occurred in early March at the Oak Ridge plant.

According to a report by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the latest event resulting in cutting off the air to three workers involved in waste activities at the site.

"The workers expedited egress on indication of loss of air," the report states, "but one of the workers became disoriented and nearly collapsed while removing the (protective) suit."

The Department of Energy's Environmental Management office in Oak Ridge sent a letter to WAI (Wastren Advantage Inc.), the plant operator, and expressed its concern, the report said.

Asked about the incidents, DOE spokesman Mike Koentop said in an email response:

"On March 7, WAI experienced an event in which personnel utilizing supplied breathing air in the TWPC were inadvertently disconnected from the system. Because a similar incident had occurred in December 2012, the Oak Ridge Environmental Management Program expressed concern to WAI about the rigor of operations and safety processes associated with the breathing air system."

Koentop said WAI suspended operations in areas of the plant that require supplied breathing air. The contractor also developed a comprehensive corrective action plan to address the issue, he said.

"During the week of March 27, an Oak Ridge EM independent review team evaluated the WAI plan, interviewed employees, reviewed procedures, and identified corrective actions to be implemented as necessary," Koentop said.

The DOE team evaluated the Oak Ridge contractor's corrective actions, and operations resumed on April 9, Koentop said.

"We have developed a culture of safety across the Oak Ridge Reservation, and when incidents occur we react quickly and accordingly," the DOE spokesman said in response to question. "We are confident that the process improvements significantly reduce the risk to employees working in areas where supplied air is required."

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/21/hartlepool-nuclea...

Hartlepool nuclear power plant fire triggers emergency response No injuries as firefighters attend incident after blaze broke out and smoke billowed from plant guardian.co.uk, Sunday 21 April 2013 04.34 EDT A fire at a nuclear power plant triggered a major response by emergency services after smoke was seen billowing into the air. Police and fire crews were called to Hartlepool power station at about 6.30pm on Saturday after a blaze broke out while a turbine was being reactivated. The fire caused smoke to billow from the plant but Cleveland police said it was drifting away from nearby homes. Firefighters extinguished the blaze but remained on site as a precaution. No one was injured. A statement from the force said: "During incidents such as this, there are several procedures that take place including the venting of steam generators. This particular process causes noise, which residents of nearby areas such as Seaton Carew may hear. "There is smoke billowing as a result of the fire, but it is currently heading in a direction that does not cause any implications for members of the public." EDF Energy, which runs the facility, confirmed a small fire was detected in the turbine hall of unit 2 at Hartlepool power station. A spokesman added: "The fire was quickly brought under control and any residual smouldering extinguished at 7.53pm. "There were no injuries as a result of this incident and there is no threat to the public or staff. "Unit 1 at the power station continues to operate normally.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.fultonsun.com/news/2013/apr/02/three-injured-tuesday-cal...

Three injured Tuesday at Callaway nuclear plant

Tuesday April 2, 2013

Three Ameren Missouri employees were injured late Tuesday afternoon in an accident at the Callaway Nuclear Power Plant near Reform.

The company said the accident occurred in the switch yard of Callaway Energy Center at 5:06 p.m. in a short statement issued nearly five hours later.

The cause of the incident is being investigated, the company said, without providing any details.

The power plant operations “have not been impacted by the incident, and the facility continues to operate safely,” the company said.

The three employees were not identified.

“Our first concern is for the well being of our co-workers,” the statement said. “Out of respect for the privacy of the employees and their families, we are not providing details of their status at this time.”

No one was available from the South Callaway Fire Protection District.

But a supervisor for the Callaway County Ambulance Service said the fire district and ambulance service responded to the plant.

However, he was not able to provide any details, referring a reporter to Ameren.

Neither the Ameren news release, nor a company spokesman reached by telephone, provided information to confirm, or deny, a television report that the “incident” was an electrical explosion and that one of the employees was flown to University Hospital in Columbia for treatment.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.thelocal.fr/page/view/two-killed-at-french-nuclear-power...

File photo: Cattenom nuclear power station. Photo Lourenço Tomas

Two killed at French nuclear power station

Published: 01 Mar 2013 08:35 GMT+01:00

Two workers were killed and a third was seriously injured when a raised platform they were standing on collapsed at one of France's largest nuclear plants.

Nuclear Event in France on Friday, 01 March, 2013 at 04:22 (04:22 AM) UTC.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=NC...

Two people have died and one is seriously injured after an accident at Cattenom nuclear power station located in Moselle, according to police sources. The accident occurred on Thursday shortly after 5pm at the central nuclear reactor building. Unit 4 had been closed to allow for a ten-year safety inspection and maintenance check. According to early witness accounts part of a platform and ladder broke off and fell four metres onto workers. The victims are thought to be from two different companies providing inspection and maintenance services. Managers of the site underline that it is not a nuclear accident and there is no risk to surrounding communities. La central de Cattenom, close to the border with Germany has 4 reactors of one thousand and 300 megawatts each and is number 7 in the world

[Derrick Johnson]

ZetaTalk about avoiding nuclear reservations

Washington experiences the same trauma as Oregon, but has additional problems to worry about in the nuclear reservations that their military has seen fit to place in their beautiful country. The populace lives with disease and dread already, so this is nothing new, but during the shift the violent heaving and jerking that the ground will experience will spew buried or capped waste into the air. This will shower down into a wider area than before, poisoning to some extent those living there. Those who live 30 miles from the nuclear reservations are advised that a 100 mile distance is a better buffer.

 

 http://www.zetatalk.com/info/tinfx102.htm

[Moderating Staff]

Comment by Lynne Warbrooke 25 minutes ago

Nuclear tank in Washington State leaking fluids

A tank that holds radioactive liquids is leaking at the most contaminated nuclear site in the U.S., the governor of Washington state said Friday, raising concerns about the integrity of other storage facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The US Department of Energy said liquid levels are decreasing in one of 177 underground tanks at the nuclear reservation, which was created during World War II as part of a secretive project to build the atomic bomb.

Monitoring wells near the tank have not detected higher radiation levels, but Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the leak could be in the range of 150 gallons (568 liters) to 300 gallons (1,135 liters) over the course of a year and creates a long-term threat that could impact groundwater or rivers.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objecti...