Nuclear Facility dangers abound during severe Earth Changes

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/Nuclear-plant-in-Tai...

Nuclear plant in Taiwan catches fire

TNN | Apr 27, 2015, 08.05 PM IST

A loud noise was heard at midnight around the plant as the turbine released steam into the sky during the process, Taipower said. (Representative Photo)

BEIJING: Taiwan has shut down two reactors after a fire broke out at a nuclear power station in southern Taiwan shortly before midnight on Sunday.
The incident has caused no radioactive leak and no personnel have needed to be evacuated, Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) said in a statement on its website. 

The fire began inside an auxiliary electrical transformer at the Third Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, setting off an alarm at 11:58pm, Taipower said. It was put out by the plant's own firefighters within 17 minutes of its occurance, it said. 

A loud noise was heard at midnight around the plant as the turbine released steam into the sky during the process, Taipower said. 

Taipower said preliminary investigations suggest that it will take two weeks to get the second reactor operational again. The transformer, which was one of a number of devices supplying electricity to the plant, has been damaged due to short circuit. 

The accident is expected to affect China's ambitious plans that include launching eight new nuclear power plants this year besides granting approvals for another set of six new plants. The government aims to build capabilities for producing 30,000 megawatts by 2020. 

Chinese nuclear experts have argued that the country has the best safety standards in place after the government recently lifted the ban on new plants, which was imposed after Japan's Fukushima accident in 2011. 

Giving details of the accident, Taipower said that another reactor in the affected plant, the No. 1 reactor is unaffected. 

The second reactor, which has a electricity generating capacity of 951 megawatts, has been in operation since May 1985. 

Taiwan has three nuclear power plants in operation and another one under construction. There has been much public debate about whether the island should become a nuclear power-free society, particularly in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

Egypt nuclear reactor in Cairo to begin June 21st and is already having problems, leaking radiocative materials.  Employees were forbidden to speak of the problems the facility is having.  It's a go.......... to open.views

• 5:06 EGYPT Nuclear Reactor Leaking ( Nebraska Nuke P...by NibiruMagick20122,747 views

www.watch.watch5.handleToggleDescription">

Uploaded by NibiruMagick2012 on Jun 6, 2011

The Anshas nuclear reactor, located on the outskirts of Cairo, has leaked ten cubic meters of radioactive water for the second time in a year, according to Samer Mekheimar, the former director of the Nuclear Research Center's atomic reactions department. Mekheimar submitted a note to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, saying the leakage took place on 25 May as a result of operating the reactor without taking into account safety precautions. He also said the Atomic Energy Agency kept the incident secret and threatened to fire the staff if they talked about it. "The fact that the reactor was by mere chance not operated the next day saved the area from environmental disaster," he wrote. "All ministries were changed after the revolution, except the Ministry of Electricity and Energy," he added. "It still kept the same minister and his deputies from the dissolved ruling party." Meanwhile, sources at the Nuclear Safety Authority said they were denied entry to the reactor to conduct an inspection. Director of the Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed al-Kolaly, said that levels of radiation inside the reactor are normal, and that the International Atomic Energy Agency has praised the reactor
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?edis=NC-20110606-3103...

Egypt nuclear reactor to begin operation this month
Saturday Jun 4, 2011 - 17:06
http://english.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=340633

Fort Calhoun, NE -- OPPD declares notification of unusual event at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station.
http://www.action3news.com/story/14850579/oppd-declares-notificatio...

Neb. nuke plant declares emergency due to flooding
http://www.klkntv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14848122

• http://youtu.be/SsZOr6NdeXI

ZetaTalk: Nuclear Reactor Accidents

---

Written November 27, 2010

Perhaps that we can expect incidents at nuclear stations during the 7 of 10 events, i.e. in SE Asia on achievement of a 7/10, in the west and the north of the S America during its roll, during rupture of the New Madrid fault line, in the western Europe during a tsunami? I assume that earthquakes and tsunami can present some problems on nuclear pollution even before the pole shift. Any comments of the Zetas?

After the Chernobyl disasters it is understandable that mankind is nervous about the coming pole shift and the potential of nuclear disasters in their nearby power stations. We have encouraged all to contact the operators of these facilities, and advise them of the coming disasters, encouraging them to shut down the facilities at the first sign of major quakes and the like. We have explained that to a certain extent we, as benign aliens under the control of the Council of Worlds, can step in and remove the explosive potential from these power stations, as we have from nuclear bombs held by the US, by Russia, and by other nations. In a shutdown procedure, bolts that inhibit the nuclear reaction are dropped between the reactor rods, stopping the nuclear reaction cold. This is a simplistic explanation, as the power plant controls run on electricity which can surge or fail, thus interfering with a shutdown. Such electrical surges or failure, happening during a shutdown, has been associated with nuclear accidents at Chernobyl, and SL-1 for example. As the hosing from the magnetic tail of Planet X continues to waft over the Earth, such surge and brownout can be expected. We predict that many nuclear power plants will be shut down, permanently, during the Earth changes leading into the pole shift, due to a combination of earthquake threats or damage and electrical surge and brownout. The grid will, in any case, be down after the pole shift, so this is only an early loss. As to flooding of reactors during the Earth changes or the pole shift tides, other than interfering with the electrical controls, this does not create, in and of itself, a disaster. Water is used to cool the reactor rods. It is the absence of water, due to the pumps being inoperable, that is a problem.

All rights reserved: [e-mail]

http://www.zetatalk.com/7of10/7of10-21.htm

ZetaTalk: Nuclear Call
written February 4, 2012

---

The issue of whether benign alien assistance will come during disasters, neutralizing nuclear facilities, comes up often, understandably. Those who currently live near nuclear facilities worry constantly about sudden earthquakes or operator neglect, which can cause a meltdown with consequent radiation pollution far and wide. Fukushima is the latest example. As the earthquakes are on the increase, and the 7 of 10 scenarios about to afflict those countries which have utilized nuclear power extensively, this concern will only increase.

The answer in these matters, which we have repeatedly explained, is first that the Element of Doubt must be maintained. This is an aspect of the gradual awakening of mankind to the alien presence that ensures that contactees will not be savaged by those in panic, fearing for their lives. In the past, the establishment - MJ12 composed of the CIA, military intelligence, and the very wealthy - withheld information on their preliminary contact with aliens. Where they claimed they were saving the public from panic, this move was self serving as they wanted alien technology for themselves, and also did not want to be knocked from their perch in the eyes of the public.

Rather than reassure the public about the alien presence, the old MJ12 deliberately moved to foster fear in the public. Hollywood has been enlisted to produce a stream of movies showing aliens landing to eat people, colonize the Earth, and infect and takeover human bodies and minds. The old MJ12 likewise harassed and monitored contactees, to control the plethora of books and videos being produced by enthusiastic contactees. The Element of Doubt at base is to protect the growing army of contactees, whom the establishment fears. What it their threat? That they challenge the legitimacy of the establishment to lead, creating a secret network, an information exchange taking place on space ships among contactees, which the establishment is powerless to stop.

Enter the nuclear power plant issue, which is a legitimate concern even among those in the establishment. As the pace of the Earth changes has picked up, our answers have moved from being vague in 2008, stressing that this is in the hands of man, to hinting by 2010 that the collective Call from many in the Service-to-Other would make a difference and that alien interference would be allowed, to admitting after Fukushima in 2011 that some interference had occurred.

Has the degree of concern from Service-to-Other souls on Earth, giving a collective Call on this matter, made a difference? Unquestionably. From the start of ZetaTalk we have stressed that matters such as a healing only take place as a result of a Service-to-Other call. Those who Call for themselves, out of self interest, are ignored. The collective Call out of concern for others, made by those in the Service-to-Other on Earth, have and will make a difference on the nuclear power plant issue.

http://www.zetatalk.com/index/zeta589.htm

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2016/03/06/fire-reported...

Fire reported at Oconee Nuclear Station

7:16 p.m. EST March 6, 2016

A transformer burned for about 30 minutes Sunday afternoon at Oconee Nuclear Station, Oconee County Emergency Management said.

No evacuations were necessary and there was no threat to the public, officials said. The cause of the fire has not been determined, said Scott Batson, Oconee Nuclear site vice president.

The transformer fire itself was classified as an "unusual event," the least serious type of accident at a nuclear facility.

Fire from the burning transformer damaged a power line that runs from the transformer to a switch yard, from which power is sent to the grid, according to Batson. That forced officials to send out an alert, the second least serious level of emergency at a nuclear power plant, he said.

The alert was necessary because the problem could have affected operations of the plant itself. However, there was no damage to the Unit 1 reactor, he said.

Unit 1 was shut down as a precaution, because without the transformer, remaining transformers would not have been able to carry the load of electrical output, Batson said.

He said he didn't know when the unit would be put back into operation, and wouldn't speculate on what may have caused the transformer fire, other then a mechanical malfunction.

Duke Energy personnel running the reactor and responding to the fire did a good job of handling the situation in accordance with procedures, he said. There was no danger of release of radioactivity from the fire, he said.

The transformer is 25 to 30 feet from the turbine building that serves Unit 1 and about 100 yards from the reactor building itself, he said. Unit 1 is one of three reactors at the plant. The other two were unaffected by the incident, Batson said.

Richie Candill, chief of the Keowee Fire Department, said about 40 firefighters from four different local fire departments battled the blaze for about a half an hour after getting the call at 3:19 p.m.  They used a foam and water mixture to suppress the fire since oil within the transformer was burning, he said.

No one was hurt, he said.

An inspector from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was on the scene soon after the fire, according to Batson.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://tlarremore.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/nuclear-event-potential...

Nuclear Event – Potential Uncontrolled Radiation Release: Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant, Pennsylvania

2016/03/04

Susquehanna Steam Electric Station. Salem Township, Luzerne County, PA (70 miles NE of Harrisburg, PA) in Region I. Image: Wikimedia Commons

North America – USA | State of Pennsylvania, Berwick – Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant
Location: 41°05’20.0″N 76°08’56.0″W
Present Operational Age: ~34 years
Emergency Level: POT UNCNTRL RAD REL

Current Event Notification Report:
Nuclear Event in USA on Wednesday, 02 March, 2016 at 13:30 [EST].

SECONDARY CONTAINMENT INOPERABLE

“On March 2, 2016 at 1330 hrs. [EST], Secondary Containment became inoperable due to failure to meet a Surveillance Requirement (SR 3.6.4.1.3).

“The inoperability was caused when Unit 2 Reactor Building Airlock doors were inadvertently opened simultaneously.

“Secondary Containment was restored March 2, 2016 at 1331 hrs. when the doors were closed.

“This event is being reported under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) and per the guidance of NUREG 1022, Rev. 3, section 3.2.7, as a loss of a Safety Function. There is no redundant Susquehanna Secondary Containment system.”

The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_73271.shtml

World News

Nuclear power is so safe the system can be brought down by a little bird shit

By Staff Writers, RT

RT.com

Friday, Mar 4, 2016

Bird poop blamed for Indian Point nuclear reactor shutdown

The Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant on the banks of the Hudson River in Buchanan,

Bird feces piling up on power lines is the most likely reason behind the latest shutdown of the Indian Point reactor in New York, a state-commissioned probe into the incident at the aging nuclear power plant has revealed after months of investigation.

One of the reactors at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, 25 miles north of New York City, was shut down after a transmission line trouble on December 14.

After months of investigation into the cause of the malfunction that lasted for three days, the plant operator Entergy Corporation now says that the shutdown was likely a result from a string of “large bird” droppings landing on the plant’s electrical equipment.

“Damage was caused by a bird streamer. Streamers are long streams of excrement from large birds that are often expelled as a bird takes off from a perch,” company officials said in last month’s report, obtained by Lohud, part of the USA Today news network.

“If a streamer contacts an energized conductor, the electrical current may travel through the streamer back to the bird or pole/transmission tower. The result may be a bird electrocution, power outage, and/or line trip,” Entergy explained.

Following the investigation, managers at the nuclear plant have started installing bird guards on transmission towers and are now conducting additional inspections and cleanings of the lines.

An Entergy spokesman Jerry Nappi confirmed that the December accident was caused by an “electrical disturbance” on outdoor high voltage transmission lines, stating that the actual cause is “still being reviewed by an outside engineering expert.”

“A possible cause is bird 'streaming',” Nappi said, an issue that is a “common cause” for electrical interruptions in high voltage transmission lines throughout the world. Yet Nappi noted that he couldn't recall a similar incident in the past several years from birds at Indian Point.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has raged a personal vendetta to shut down the nuclear plant that lies within an hour drive of 20 million people. Two days after the December 14 accident, Cuomo ordered the Department of Public Service to investigate a series of unexpected outages.

The Indian Point Energy Center produces some 25 percent of New York City’s and Westchester’s electricity. The combined power generated by the two units amounts to over 2000 megawatts. The facility employs some 1,600 people.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/03/04/national/science-health...

Mutations, DNA damage seen in Fukushima forests, says Greenpeace

The captain of the Greenpeace yacht Rainbow Warrior III, Peter Wilcox, pilots his ship past the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Feb. 22. | AFP-JIJI

Conservation group Greenpeace warned on Friday that the environmental impact of the Fukushima nuclear crisis five years ago on nearby forests is just beginning to be seen and will remain a source of contamination for years to come.

The March 11, 2011 magnitude-9.0 undersea earthquake off the nation’s northeastern coast sparked a massive tsunami that swamped cooling systems and triggered reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

Radiation spread over a wide area and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes — many of whom will likely never return — in the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

As the fifth anniversary of the disaster approaches, Greenpeace said signs of mutations in trees and DNA-damaged worms were beginning to appear, while “vast stocks of radiation” mean that forests cannot be decontaminated.

In a report, Greenpeace cited “apparent increases in growth mutations of fir trees, … heritable mutations in pale blue grass butterfly populations” as well as “DNA-damaged worms in highly contaminated areas.”

The report came as the government intends to lift many evacuation orders in villages around the Fukushima plant by March 2017, if its massive decontamination effort progresses as it hopes.

For now, only residential areas are being cleaned in the short-term, and the worst-hit parts of the countryside are being omitted, a recommendation made by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

But such selective efforts will confine returnees to a relatively small area of their old hometowns, while the strategy could lead to re-contamination as woodlands will act as a radiation reservoir, with pollutants washed out by rains, Greenpeace warned.

The conservation group said its report relies largely on research published in peer-reviewed international journals.

But “most of the findings in it have never been covered outside of the close circles of academia”, report author Kendra Ulrich said.

The government’s push to resettle contaminated areas and also restart nuclear reactors elsewhere around the country that were shut down in the aftermath of the crisis are a cause for concern, Ulrich said, stressing it and the IAEA are using the opportunity of the anniversary to play down the impact of the radiation.

“In the interest of human rights — especially for victims of the disaster — it is ever more urgent to ensure accurate and complete information is publicly available and the misleading rhetoric of these entities challenged,” she said.

Scientists, including a researcher who found mutations of Fukushima butterflies, have warned, however, that more data are needed to determine the ultimate impact of the Fukushima accident on animals in general.

Researchers and medical doctors have so far denied that the accident at Fukushima would cause an elevated incidence of cancer or leukemia, diseases that are often associated with radiation exposure.

But they also noted that long-term medical examination is needed, especially due to concerns over thyroid cancer among young people — a particular problem for people following the Chernobyl catastrophe.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=321620

Nuke reactor shut down 3 days after restart in western Japan

Feb 29,2016

OSAKA, Japan, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The No.4 reactor at Takahama plant in Fukui prefecture was shut down only three days after its restart, operator Kansai Electric Power Co. said on Monday.

According to Kansai Electric Power Co., the reactor was automatically shut down after problems with a generator and a transformer triggered alarms.

The reactor renewed operation on Friday despite a radioactive coolant water leak that happened over a week ago and caused an investigation. It reached criticality, or a state of sustained nuclear chain reaction, on Saturday.

There is no problem with the reactor's cooling system this time, and the incident has caused no environmental impact, according to the power company.

The cause of the shutdown is under investigation now, said the company.

There are currently three nuclear reactors in operation in Japan, including the No. 3 reactor at the same plant which resumed operation on Jan. 29, and two reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The Japanese government is trying to bring all of the nation's 48 reactors back online and make 20 percent of the country's electricity generated from nuclear power by 2030.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.rt.com/usa/332566-indian-point-chernobyl-hudson/

Indian Point plant leak sparks concern over ‘Chernobyl on the Hudson’

Published time: 16 Feb, 2016 02:45

News of the tritium water leak at the Indian Point nuclear power plant has rekindled concerns about the 40-year-old plant among the local residents, public health experts and environmentalists.

Situated on the Hudson River, 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, Indian Point serves the electricity needs of around 2 million people. Its two working reactors have operated since 1974 and 1976, respectively.

Last month, crews preparing one of the reactors for refueling accidentally spilled some of the water containing the radioactive hydrogen isotope tritium, causing a massive radiation spike in groundwater monitoring wells. Entergy, the Louisiana-based company that owns the plant, chalked up the readings to “fluctuations that can be expected as the material migrates.”

The tritium leak is the ninth in a series of technical troubles at the facility in just the past year, four of which were serious enough to shut down the reactors, RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky reported after visiting the plant.

According to Entergy, the tritiated water spill was contained within the plant, and never reached the Hudson or any other water source. 

“There is no impact to public health or safety,” company spokeswoman Patricia Kakridas told RT.

Joanne DeVito feels differently. She and her daughters were all diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2013, after living near Indian Point for two decades.

According to Joseph Mangano, executive director of the Radiation and Public Health Project, the area around Indian Point is a “cancer cluster,” with the local rate of thyroid cancer 66 percent higher than the national average.

RPHP researchers compared the state and national cancer data from 1988-92 with three other five-year periods (1993-97, 1998-02, and 2003-07). The results, published in 2009, show the cancer rates going from 11 percent below the national average to 7 percent above in that timespan. Unexpected increases were detected in 19 out of 20 major types of cancer. Thyroid cancer registered the biggest increase, going from 13 percent below the national average to 51 percent above.

Entergy rejects any correlation between the plant’s operation and an increase in cancer rates. “There is no relation whatsoever,” Kakridas told RT.

“Everybody who lives near a nuclear plant is exposed to radiation. Some plants are worse than others,” Mangano told RT. In the case of Indian Point, it is a very old plant, and “there is a greater danger because of a large population living close by.”

Read more

‘65,000% radioactivity spike’: New York Gov. orders probe into water leak at Indian Point

At the time RPHP’s study was published, more than 20 million people lived within 50 miles of the plant.

The first reactor at Indian Point went into service in 1962, but was decommissioned in 1974 because the core cooling system no longer met regulatory requirements. The facility’s initial 40-year license expired in December last year, but the NRC has issued Entergy a temporary extension pending final approval.

While federal regulators seem set to extend the plant’s life by another 20 years, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is just as determined to shut it down.

Critics of the plant have called it a “Chernobyl on the Hudson.” RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky points out that this is not entirely fair. Indian Point is over 40 years old, and has had nine accidents over the last year alone. Chernobyl’s Reactor 4 was only three years old when it exploded in April 1986. Before then, the Chernobyl facility had only one previous accident.

[Scott]

Radioactive water leak suspends Japan reactor start-up (2/21/16)

A radioactive water leak has halted plans to re-start a reactor at a nuclear power plant in western Japan, which would have been the fourth to come online after a nationwide shutdown, its operator said Sunday.

Kansai Electric Power said some 34 litres (8.8 gallons) of cooling water containing radioactive substances leaked out from the reactor at its Takahama plant 380 kilometres (236 miles) west of Tokyo.

“Resumption procedures related to the incident have been suspended as we are still investigating the cause,” a company spokesman said, adding that there was no impact on the environment outside the plant.

The government and utility firms have been pushing to get reactors back in operation nearly five years after a huge earthquake and tsunami caused a disastrous meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The accident forced all of Japan’s dozens of reactors offline for about two years in the face of public worries over the safety of nuclear technology and fears about radiation exposure.

...Two reactors in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima, operated by Kyushu Electric Power, restarted in August and October 2015, ending the two-year hiatus in nuclear power generation.

But many Japanese remain wary and thousands of former residents have refused to return to areas hit by the Fukushima meltdown over fears of radiation exposure.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2016/02/radioactive-water-leak-suspe...

An aerial view shows No. 4 (front L), No. 3 (front R), No. 2 (rear L) and No. 1 reactor buildings at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama nuclear power plant in Takahama town, Fukui prefecture, in this photo taken by Kyodo November 27, 2014.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-idUSKCN0VU060

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://enenews.com/officials-emergency-alert-declared-nuclear-plant...

Officials: Fire/Explosion Reported at US Nuclear Plant — Emergency Alert Declared — Fire/Explosion occurred after “unexpected power decrease” in reactor — “Emergency response facilities staffed” — “Abnormal event with potential to impact plant equipment or public health and safety” (VIDEO)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Feb 8, 2016 (emphasis added): Facility: BRUNSWICK [Nuclear Plant in N.C.]… Emergency Class: ALERT… EMERGENCY DECLARED… RPS [Reactor Protection System] ACTUATION – CRITICAL… MANUAL SCRAM AND ALERT DECLARATION DUE TO ELECTRICAL FAULT RESULTING IN FIRE/EXPLOSION… Unit 1 declared an Alert… due to an explosion/fire in the Balance of Plant 4 kV switchgear bus area. Prior to the Alert declaration, the operators initiated a manual SCRAM due to an unexpected power decrease from 88% to 40%. The licensee has visually verified that there is no ongoing fire and is investigating the initial cause of the event… [T]he licensee reported the following… “a manual reactor scram was initiated due to loss of both recirculation system variable speed drives as a result of an electrical fault. At this time, a Startup Auxiliary Transformer (SAT) experienced a lockout fault; interrupting offsite power to emergency buses 1 and 2. Emergency Diesel Generators (EDGs) 1, 2, 3, and 4 automatically started”… The licensee has notified… DHS, FEMA, USDA, HHS, DOE, DHS NICC, EPA… FDA… and Nuclear SSA…

WWAY, Feb 7, 2016: Electrical damage sets off alert at Brunswick Nuclear Plant… An Alert is the second in increasing significance of four nuclear emergency classifications.

WECT, Feb 8, 2016: [Unit 1] remains in shutdown mode, while officials work through “detailed process/procedures to fully understand this event and make the needed repairs”… An alert… is used when abnormal events have the potential to impact plant equipment or public health and safety… No estimated timeline has been given for getting Unit 1 back into service.

North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Feb 7, 2016: Duke Energy notified the emergency management agencies… of damaged electrical equipment at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant…

Duke Energy, Feb 7, 2016: Alert declared and exited at Brunswick… federal, state and local officials were notified, and Brunswick plant emergency response facilities were staffed…

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://bellona.org/news/nuclear-issues/2016-02-russias-kola-nuclear...

Nuclear issues, Nuclear Russia

Russia’s Kola nuclear plant reactor shutdown spooks environmentalists

The number 4 reactor at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant was automatically disconnected from the power grid via an automatic emergency switch-off for reasons that are still under investigation, the station’s website reported, giving environmentalist pause.

Published on February 9, 2016

Inside the Kola Nuc;lear Plant. (Photo: Anna Kireeva/Bellona)

The number 4 reactor at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant was automatically disconnected from the power grid via an automatic emergency switch-off for reasons that are still under investigation, the station’s website reported, giving environmentalist pause.

The website reported that no radiation spikes had been detected at the plant, and that background radiation levels in the surrounding area have reportedly remained stable.

The website also said its remaining three reactors were operating as normal. But this has done little to quell puzzlement among nuclear watchers.

Nils Bøhmer, Bellona’s executive director and nuclear physicist told the Independent Barents Observer news portal that it’s that concerning plant engineers haven’t pinned down a reason behind the shutdown yet, and were unable to give Bellona any further information when the group contacted the plant.

“If it was a simple non-dangerous reason for the shutdown, they would have known it by now,” said Bøhmer. “We have been in contact with the plant and they couldn’t point to any particular reason.”

“That’s either a sign that they don’t know, or they don’t want to tell. Both give reason to concern,” said Bøhmer.

The Kola Nuclear Power Plant. (Photo: Courtesy of b-port.com)

Andrei Zolotkov, a nuclear adviser with Bellona located in Murmansk, close to the Kola Plant, agreed.

He said in an email interview that the current vacuum of information for the reactor switch-off leaves a lot of room for speculation, as plants “usually provide information on any reason for shut down.”

Zolotkov said that this information is usually rapidly made public.

“In the majority of cases, [the shutdowns] aren’t connected to the reactor’s functioning,” he said. “It will be a breakdown in the turbine generators or the open power switching stations.”

But he said a reactor’s most important functions take place in its first circuit, where the reactor, pumps and steam generators are located.

“[Breakdowns in] these parts are too important to directly inform the media about,” said Zolotkov. “Therefore it can be assumed that something falling outside the usual list of small incidents at a nuclear power plant may have occurred.”

If there is any more concrete information behind the strange occurrence, said Zolotkov, it’s because plant management is not passing it on to the public information service.

“If it turns out that the reason behind the incident is more significant, or gets sloughed off to the category of ‘insignificant’ then the plant’s management will have a lot to answer for,” he said.

The No 4 reactor at the Kola Nuclear plant started operations in 1984. In 2014, it received a nearly record-breaking lifespan extension of 25 years.... When it shuts down in 2039 it will have been in service for 55 years.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://breaking911.com/radioactive-material-discovered-in-groundwat...

Radioactive Material Discovered In Groundwater At Indian Point Nucl...

By: Robert Walker (Breaking911 Newsroom) February 6, 2016 | 6:59 PM

Radioactive material has been detected in the groundwater at Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the water contaminated by tritium leaked into the groundwater at the nuclear facility.

“The company reported alarming levels of radioactivity at three monitoring wells, with one well’s radioactivity increasing nearly 65,000 percent,” he said.

“This latest failure at Indian Point is unacceptable and I have directed Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos and Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to fully investigate this incident and employ all available measures, including working with Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to determine the extent of the release, its likely duration, cause and potential impacts to the environment and public health,” Cuomo said.

The governor then added that the contaminated water did not leave the site and reiterated that there is no immediate threat to public health.

The state’s environmental conservation and health departments will now investigate.

Indian Point Energy Center has a generating capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts and provides enough power to light about 2 million homes.