#nuclear
GB Grid: #Nuclear is generating 4.74GW (15.79%) out of 30.05GW
via @bojacobs
Revealed: #Sellafield #nuclear site has leak that could pose risk to public
Safety concerns at #Europe’s most #hazardous plant have caused diplomatic tensions with US, Norway and Ireland
Anna Isaac and Alex Lawson
Tue 5 Dec 2023
"Sellafield, Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site, has a worsening leak from a huge silo of #RadioactiveWaste that could pose a risk to the public, the Guardian can reveal.
"Concerns over safety at the crumbling building, as well as cracks in a reservoir of toxic sludge known as B30, have caused diplomatic tensions with countries including the US, Norway and Ireland, which fear Sellafield has failed to get a grip of the problems.
"The leak of radioactive liquid from one of the 'highest nuclear hazards in the UK' – a decaying building at the vast Cumbrian site known as the Magnox swarf storage Silo (MSSS) – is likely to continue to 2050. That could have 'potentially significant consequences' if it gathers pace, risking contaminating #groundwater, according to an official document.
"Cracks have also developed in the concrete and asphalt skin covering the huge pond containing decades of nuclear sludge, part of a catalogue of safety problems at the site.
"These concerns have emerged in #NuclearLeaks, a year-long #Guardian investigation into problems spanning cyber #hacking, #radioactivecontamination and toxic #workplace culture at the vast nuclear dump.
"Sellafield, a sprawling 6 sq km (2 sq mile) site on the Cumbrian coast employing 11,000 people, stores and treats nuclear waste from weapons programmes and nuclear power generation, and is the largest such facility in Europe."
"Opinion: Nuclear testing fallout reached 46 states — Compensation should reach those states too"
"Biden’s horse-trading on nuclear technology and fuels is an unprecedented proliferation risk"
They are still trying to normalize nuclear materials as miraculous:
"A Man Drank So Much Radium His Skull Literally Disintegrated"
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-man-drank-so-much-radium-his-skull-literally-disintegrated
This is besides the cost for electricity:
"Regulators begin hearings on how much customers should pay for Georgia nuclear reactors.
Commissioners began hearings Monday on the proposed deal, which would add $8.95 a month to a typical residential customer’s monthly bill, atop the $5.42 that Georgia Power is already collecting."
"Sellafield, Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site, has a worsening leak from a huge silo of radioactive waste that could pose a risk to the public...
The leak of radioactive liquid from one of the “highest nuclear hazards in the UK” – a decaying building at the vast Cumbrian site – is likely to continue to 2050."
ENEC inks deal with Kazatomprom, MOUs with TerraPower, GEH — Read more at #Nuclear News: https://www.ans.org/news/article-5589/enec-inks-deal-with-kazatomprom-mous-with-terrapower-geh/
GB Grid: #Nuclear is generating 4.76GW (12.77%) out of 37.30GW
Reflections on Nuclear Science Week: Nuclear curiosity is on the rise — Read more at #Nuclear News: https://www.ans.org/news/article-5553/reflections-on-nuclear-science-week-nuclear-curiosity-is-on-the-rise/
We’ve got to come to grips with the fact that #ClimateChange will almost assuredly result in societal collapses - at least regionally. While #nuclear power is mostly safe when managed by competent people with intact infrastructure like external power for cooling, what happens when that infrastructure collapses and those competent personnel are no longer being paid and need to hunt for food and water for their families?
Investing in any technology that can’t safely be turned off and walked away from in a crisis is investing in a catastrophe multiplier.
Incredible story about #Sellafield #nuclear waste storage.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/05/sellafield-nuclear-site-leak-could-pose-risk-to-public
Uh. #Sellafield es la instalación nuclear más antigua de #ReinoUnido y una de las más antiguas de Europa, con actividades nucleares desde 1947. Tras el cierre de la central #nuclear (en 2003) y la planta de reprocesado de combustible nuclear (en 2022) se dedica a la gestión de residuos nucleares. Según el @TheGuardian, un edificio de salvaguarda de residuos terminado en 1983 (y que tardó 19 años en construirse) se cae a cachos poco a poco
Yesterday, it was revealed there had been hacks and security breaches at a large nuclear site in the UK.
Today, we learn there's a radioactive leak that's been causing diplomatic tensions with the US, Norway, and Ireland — and obviously could pose a real health threat.
This should be headline news, not just in the Guardian. Sellafield/the government largely rejected yesterday's claims, but they've been quiet about the latest ones.
Revealed: #Sellafield #nuclear site has #leak that could pose #RiskToPublic
Safety concerns at #Europe’s most hazardous plant have caused diplomatic tensions with #US, #Norway and #Ireland
‘Dirty 30’ and its toxic siblings: the most dangerous parts of the Sellafield site
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/05/sellafield-nuclear-site-leak-could-pose-risk-to-public
#Windscale
Well this isn't concerning at all.
“a previously unreported document reveals that 2.3-2.5 cubic metres of radioactive “liquor” has been leaking from the facility every day. This liquid is a soup of radioactive magnesium alloy filings dissolved into water, from waste cladding that encased spent Magnox nuclear fuel.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/05/sellafield-nuclear-site-leak-could-pose-risk-to-public
#UKPol #nuclear #Sellafield #UK #news #UKPolitics #radiation
![A graphic from the Guardian showing the average radioactive water loss rates from the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation. There are significant gaps in the data.
All data is in cubic meters per month, and per day in square brackets.
1970s: 90 [3]
1980: 5 (the expected loss due to evaporation)
2019: 39 [1.3]
2021-23: 72 [2.3-2.5]
2045-50: leakage expected to continue until waste is rehoused in this period.](https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/cache/media_attachments/files/111/528/741/018/136/385/small/481b2932dddc0370.png)
What’s happening in big fusion? A global update — Read more at #Nuclear News: https://www.ans.org/news/article-5588/whats-happening-in-big-fusion-a-global-update/
Declaration to triple nuclear energy launched at COP28 — Read more at #Nuclear News: https://www.ans.org/news/article-5587/declaration-to-triple-nuclear-energy-launched-at-cop28/
No? The dilemma is about 10x reduction of CO2 intensity of electricity generation - literally, France now is 64 gCO2eq/kWh, running mostly on #nuclear, Germany is 552 gCO2eq/kWh, running mostly on coal and gas as #renewables run at 30% (wind) and stunning 2.5% capacity (PV)
https://app.electricitymaps.com/zone/DE
"""
The leak of radioactive liquid from one of the “highest nuclear hazards in the UK” – a decaying building at the vast Cumbrian site known as the Magnox swarf storage Silo (MSSS) – is likely to continue to 2050. That could have “potentially significant consequences” if it gathers pace, risking contaminating groundwater, according to an official document.
"""
Revealed: Sellafield nuclear site has leak that could pose risk to public https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/05/sellafield-nuclear-site-leak-could-pose-risk-to-public #Nuclear #EnvironmentalJustice
This one is great: On #nuclear power and #SMR reactors and how irrelevant those will be to really attack the #ClimateEmegency .
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/30/what-drives-this-madness-on-small-modular-nuclear-reactors/
GB Grid: #Nuclear is generating 4.37GW (11.03%) out of 39.64GW
Bill Gates: no fairness in climate change fight without innovation https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/bill-gates-no-fairness-in-climate-change-fight-without-innovation/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #BillGates #BrunoLeMaire #Innovation #nuclear #Publicfunding
Bill Gates: no fairness in climate change fight without innovation https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/bill-gates-no-fairness-in-climate-change-fight-without-innovation/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #BillGates #BrunoLeMaire #Innovation #nuclear #Publicfunding
Sellafield #nuclear site compromised by Russian and Chinese #hackers | TechRadar
https://www.techradar.com/pro/sellafield-nuclear-site-compromised-by-russian-and-chinese-hackers
For those countries and people who promote #nuclear, e.g. the governments of #UK and #france as the great future please read about just one of the many negatives here: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/05/sellafield-nuclear-site-leak-could-pose-risk-to-public
Nuclear energy is neither safe nor cheap or sustainable.
Former top Ohio utility regulator surrenders in $60 million bribery scheme linked to energy bill
$60 million bribery scheme related to a legislative bailout for two Ohio nuclear power plants that has already resulted in a 20-year prison sentence for a former state House speaker.
Yesterday, The Guardian reported that UK’s most hazardous nuclear site, Sellafield, has been hacked into by cyber groups closely linked to Russia and China.
But the British govt says that's not the case:
“Our monitoring systems are robust and we have a high degree of confidence that no such malware exists on our system,” Reuters quoted the government as saying.
“This was confirmed to the Guardian well in advance of publication, along with rebuttals to a number of other inaccuracies in their reporting,” the government added.
Guardian report: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/04/sellafield-nuclear-site-hacked-groups-russia-china
Reuters report:
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-says-no-evidence-sellafield-nuclear-site-has-been-hacked-2023-12-04/
#nuclear #cybersecurity two tags you don't ever want to see together. Add in #Windscale and the triad is complete.
-- https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/04/sellafield-nuclear-site-hacked-groups-russia-china --
Now sitting a little more uneasily, if that's at all possible.
Interesting graph from above article shows that Europe and N America now have the legacy of hundreds of nuclear power station either decommissioned or due to be decommissioned. It takes about 100 years to clear a nuclear site depending on the tech used.
We will be paying for these crumbling dangerous monoliths for generations.
#ukpolitocs #nuclear #energy #renewables #green #climate #NetZero
#Sellafield #nuclear site hacked by groups linked to Russia and China
#sts, #environmentalSTS, #nuclearSTS, any thoughts on this? Beyond revisiting #BrianWynne's work on the complex?
@peterjriley2024 Thanks for this. It will appear on nuclear-news.net Very timely #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Revealed: major safety fears at Europe's most dangerous nuclear site (Sellafield)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCCC5h23pq4
#Sellafield #Nuclear
If you are in the LA area, there is a great exhibition at Cerritos College by a collective of women artists working on nuclear themes.
"SWANS: Slow War Against the Nuclear State: Making Art After Alamogordo and Hiroshima and Bikini Atoll and Chernobyl and
Fukushima and…"
Check out the pdf below for details.
#nuclear #NuclearArt #Cerritos @nuclearhumanities
https://www.cerritos.edu/art-gallery/_includes/docs/Brochure-SWANS-final-small_ua.pdf
"Nuclear safety in time of crisis or war"
"Nuclear facilities can make tempting targets for combatants during periods of conflict and the on-going hostilities in Ukraine bring those fears to the fore. To date, reactor containments have not been deliberately targeted in Ukraine or Russia, but those nations with a nuclear development programme would be wise to consider the possibility."
#Zaporizhzhia #nuclear #NuclearPower
https://www.neimagazine.com/features/featurenuclear-safety-in-time-of-crisis-or-war-11305009/
"The site has the largest store of plutonium on the planet and is a sprawling rubbish dump for nuclear waste from weapons programmes and decades of atomic power generation."
"Sellafield, ... 11,000 staff, was last year placed into a form of “special measures” for consistent failings on cybersecurity, according to sources at the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the security services." /2
#windscale #nuclear #accident #atomic #hackers #cyber #cybercyber #security #cybersecurity #plutonium
"'When the plane dropped the bomb you could see all the bones in your fingers,' he said.
Mr Roberts was rushed to a military hospital when he returned to the UK after suffering internal bleeding and underwent nine hours of surgery."
But hey, he got a medal.
#nuclear #NuclearWeapons #NuclearTest #Kiribati #ColdWar #UK #BNTVA
"Overnight blackout reported at Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant"
#Zaporizhzhia #NuclearPower #nuclear
https://news.yahoo.com/overnight-blackout-reported-russian-occupied-093126509.html
Please tell me again why #nuclear #energy is the right choice and how it is so incredibly safe. Please tell me. #ThreeMileIsland #Chernobyl #Sellafield
Sellafield nuclear site hacked by groups linked to Russia and China https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/04/sellafield-nuclear-site-hacked-groups-russia-china?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
You get a check! And you get a check! And you!
"Former chair of Ohio’s utility regulator indicted in nuclear bailout law scandal"
"The Air Force is expanding a review of cancers for service members who worked with nuclear missiles"
Experts worldwide have long considered "dirty bombs" inevitable because they are cheap to make and transport.
"Police find radioactive material that could fuel 'dirty bombs' in Houston scrapyard"
"'Let us be a lesson', say Kazakhs wary of return to nuclear testing"
#Kazakhstan #nuclear #Semey #NuclearWeapons #NuclearTests #ColdWar @histodons
Sellafield: ‘bottomless pit of hell, money and despair’ at Europe’s most toxic nuclear site. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/04/sellafield-money-europe-toxic-nuclear-site-cumbria-safety
#UK #Sellafield #nuclear site hacked by groups linked to russia and china
#Malware may still be present and potential effects have been covered up by staff, investigation reveals
The astonishing disclosure and its potential effects have been consistently covered up by senior staff at the vast nuclear waste and decommissioning site, the investigation has found.
Read more here🔗 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/04/sellafield-nuclear-site-hacked-groups-russia-china
The Guardian reports that the UK's nuclear site Sellafield has been hacked into by cyber groups closely linked to Russia and China. They do not identify which groups.
🔗 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/04/sellafield-nuclear-site-hacked-groups-russia-china
#Sellafield #Russia #China #nuclear #cyberespionage #cybersecuritynews
There’s a few IPCC AR6 technical summaries but none has page 123 and there’s no statement to the effect you wrote, so I assume you copied that from Wikipedia or some renewables fanpages 😉
The correct IPCC report to refer in terms of electricity sources is AR6 WG3 (mitigation). And while it does certainly note massive growth in renewables capacity, it’s also quite clear that as of today, #nuclear is the largest single low-carbon source, which has delivered more (2790 TWh) electricity in 2019 than wind and solar together (2100 TWh) in spite of its slow growth:
Solar PV grew by 170% (to 680 TWh); wind grew by 70% (to 1420 TWh) from 2015 to 2019. Solar PV and wind together accounted for 21% of total low-carbon electricity generation and 8% of total electricity generation in 2019. Nuclear generation grew 9% between 2015 and 2019 and accounted for 10% of total generation in 2019 (2790 TWh); hydro-electric power grew by 10% and accounted for 16% (4290 TWh) of total generation. In total, lowand zero-carbon electricity generation technologies produced 37% of global electricity in 2019. {6.3, 6.4}
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_TechnicalSummary.pdf
And there’s nothing wrong with that: it’s great that renewables have grown and many countries have potential to grow it much further. The problem is that renewables are variable and the only dispatchable low-carbon sources are hydro power (geographically limited) and nuclear. Countries that ideologically refuse nuclear, like Germany or Australia, almost always end up running on coal and gas.
Exceptions are countries lucky enough to have plenty of potential for hydro power, such as Norway, Sweden, Portugal etc, but you can’t have that in Germany or Poland because nobody is going to flood new valleys for hydro plants.
The most realistic scenarios are therefore those, which assume growth of renewables and nuclear as their baseload supply, as demonstrated by France, Sweden or UK, all of which have significantly lower CO2 emissions already today, especially when compared to Germany which continuously says “but in just ten years we’ll come up with a Wunderwaffe“, be it batteries, be it power-to-gas etc.
😳The #UK’s most hazardous #nuclear site, Sellafield, has been hacked into by cyber groups closely linked to #Russia and #China, the Guardian can reveal.
The astonishing disclosure and its potential effects have been consistently covered up by senior staff at the vast nuclear waste and decommissioning site
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/04/sellafield-nuclear-site-hacked-groups-russia-china?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Okay, so you seem to be explicitly penalising countries for the use of low-carbon #nuclear electricity, which explains why a country that has one of the largest CO2 emissions in EU scored so high in your ranking. And I’m kind of fine with that, it’s your ranking, so you can use whatever criteria you want. I just have one request: don’t call it ranking of “fossil free world” because you’re only ridiculing yourself by praising Germany that mostly runs on coal and gas as “fossil free”.
But Germany?! With CO2 emissions of well beyond 500 gCO2eq/kWh?!
Do I understand correctly that in your “fossil free world” ranking you’re actually penalising countries for #nuclear when it’s the most efficient replacement for fossil?! So France on your list has twice as bad ranking as Germany, when in reality France’s emissions are 11x lower than Germany, thanks to low-carbon nuclear base?
Plot to Triple Nuclear Power by 2050 Decried as 'Dangerous Distraction' at COP28 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes https://www.commondreams.org/news/triple-nuclear-power-cop28
At #COP28, you'll hear a lot about a #nuclear renaissance. This isn't going to materialize - neither at Gigawatt-scale nor of a "small modular" flavor (#SMR).
Michael Barnard explains the dynamics & the psychology why certain groups still like to convince themselves otherwise.
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/30/what-drives-this-madness-on-small-modular-nuclear-reactors/
@mackaj In a free market, no business would accept the risk of developing nor operating any #nuclear power plant.
I think I get it now. Governments typically only contract the development of a single nuclear power plant, not of a series of plants, leading to local optimizations rather than global optimizations.
We probably have to wait for China to step in with a long-term vision and a heap of subsidies, and see them conquer yet another new market.
It’s economics, not technology.
I just boosted it, but you should really, really read this article by Michael Barnard on nuclear reactors if you have any interest in the subject:
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/30/what-drives-this-madness-on-small-modular-nuclear-reactors/
(Is Barnard on Mastodon? Who knows: it's impossible to search Mastodon for anything as far as I can tell.)
I recommend the article highly but want to quibble with / expand on one point:
"As I noted recently, nuclear energy and free markets aren’t compatible. Nuclear programs are state programs with subordinate corporate partnerships."
A thousand times yes. But this is mostly true of *any* large scale grid-connected energy. You don't just build a power plant, then say eh the free market didn't support it and shut it down, and you don't look at market signals and go "Electricity in (location) is expensive. Looks like we could make a profit by undercutting the market there." No. The electric grid can't fail (at least, in a major industrialized country) and governmental permitting is powerful enough so that none of these things are built without the government basically wanting them built and causing them to be built. *All* of the market talk is more or less a sham and only comes into play when some company like Enron turns it into a scam profit center.
“In an urban society, everything connects. Each person's needs are fed by the skills of many others. Our lives are woven together in a fabric — but the connections that make society strong also make it vulnerable.”
From Threads (1984).
One of the films that was truly horrifying to watch.
What are the seven conditions for success for #nuclear energy?
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/30/what-drives-this-madness-on-small-modular-nuclear-reactors/
#Nuclear is a #FOSS streaming #music player and a #Spotify alternative. It lets you listen to #music for free without ads and tracking.
#fedi22 #linux #foss #technology #programming #webdev #opensource
🚨Breaking via @letsreplanet: Major clean energy pledge signed at #COP28!
The following countries have pledged to triple #nuclear capacity by 2050:
Romania 🇷🇴
Finland 🇫🇮
Czech Republic 🇨🇿
Slovakia 🇸🇰
Republic of Korea 🇰🇷
Sweden 🇸🇪
France 🇫🇷
UAE 🇦🇪
Canada 🇨🇦
United States 🇺🇸
Ukraine 🇺🇦
United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Poland 🇵🇱
Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Japan 🇯🇵
The Declaration reads - 1/7
At #COP28 22 countries call for tripling of #nuclear by 2050.
Masayoshi Iyoda, a Japan campaigner at 350.org, said: “There is no space for dangerous nuclear power to accelerate the decarbonization needed to achieve the Paris climate goal … it is nothing more than a dangerous distraction. The attempt of a ‘nuclear renaissance’ led by nuclear industries’ lobbyists since the 2000s has never been successful - it is simply too costly, too risky, too undemocratic, and too time-consuming. We already have cheaper, safer, democratic, and faster solutions to the climate crisis, and they are renewable energy and energy efficiency."
Nuclear advocates: Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, Japan, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States
Have you noticed? The nuclear lobby is swamping the news media with its false "nuclear for climate"message #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #climate
Nuclear lobby's big push to 'shine' at COP28- no expense spared. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Nuclear-to-shine-at-COP28,-says-Bilbao-y-Leon
🌞 Good morning #fediverse! This is GBH #News bringing you the world from #Boston. It's 32F at Logan Airport and visibility is 10 mi.
Former Sec. of State Henry Kissinger is dead. He was 100 years old.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure cooled last month. #economy
Activists stopped the Pilgrim #nuclear power plant from discharging radioactive water into #CapeCod Bay, but continuing to allow it to evaporate might mean higher radiation exposure for area residents.
Break pt 2:
#Sellafield #nuclear site a 'toxic mix of #bullying and harassment'
By Jim Reed and Sarah MacKinlayBBC News
9th March 2021, 09:03 EST
"Fear of reprisals'
"A work environment where staff are treated with dignity and respect is an 'essential trait of a healthy nuclear safety culture', according to the World Association of Nuclear Operators, an organisation formed in the aftermath of the #Chernobyl disaster - of which Sellafield is a member.
"An internal staff survey commissioned by the firm in 2018 and seen by the BBC showed 54% of the employees who filled in the poll agreed they 'could speak out about doing the right thing without fear of reprisals', a fall of 11 percentage points since the previous survey in 2016.
"'Sellafield management said staff surveys brought focus' to concerns about bullying and harassment at the site.
"'We did not ignore this, or seek to cover it up,' said a spokesperson. "We confronted the issue, proactively shared information with employees, and developed a company-wide improvement programme. This work is continuing."
"The BBC has also spoken to a number of former and current members of staff who had concerns about #safety at the site."
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56011909
#NoNukes #NoWar #NuclearWeapons #ToxicWorkEnvironment #Whistleblowers #Safety
Innovative #nuclear reactor concepts are temptingly easy to make but the detailed design always kills them. Our #LDR50 is designed the other way around: aim at simplicity and manufacturability instead of high performance. I think this is the correct way. Performance can only be improved through operational experience. That was also the case with our current operational fleet. If you aim too high, you'll never get it built.
Also, if we stick to chemical content, coal ash also should be qualified as low-level radioactive waste… but it isn’t, because coal industry.
Fossil gas and oil extraction sludge is also radiactive… but it isn’t legally, because oil and gas industry.
Water extracted from geothermal wells is also radioactive because the very concept of geothermal energy originates half in radioactive decay (ongoing) and half in the heat from planet formation (leftover). Of course, it’s not legally radioactive because how could #renewables be regulated in the same way as evil nuclear power?
Rare-earth mining which provides elements critical for modern electronics and especially for photovoltaics also contain a lot of radioactive elements, just as anything mined underground, and it’s also not legally radioactive, because renewables and stuff. That is, unless it happens to be co-mined with uranium, then of course it is, because #nuclear 😂
Radon spas, popular in some countries, where people literally bathe in geothermal water with high radon content, also don’t count as radioactive waste, and in some countries (Austria, Germany) they are actually refunded as legitimate balneotherapy. You can actually imagine the German anti-nuclear protesters celebrating closure of their nuclear power plants in cold weather because “radiation kills”, only to then jump into cosy radioactive bath!
There’s many of these, recommended reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_waste#Naturally_occurring_radioactive_material
"Giant batteries that ensure stable power supply by offsetting intermittent renewable supplies are becoming cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gas-fired generation world-wide. [...] In the first half of the year, 68 gas power plant projects were put on hold or cancelled globally"
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/giant-batteries-drain-economics-gas-power-plants-2023-11-21/
That may also put an end to the neo-nuclear #SMR pipe dream.
#Energy without #fossil or #nuclear is now greener *and* cheaper.
Renewables could be online quicker and cheaper.
Germany has the Europe’s largest installed capacity in #renewables. Yet, it runs on coal and gas today, plus some imports from #nuclear France:
https://app.electricitymaps.com/zone/DE
Germany’s CO2 emissions intensity right now is nearly 10x worse than France, cost of electricity in Germany is 3x higher than in France, and they had to restart coal mines after Russian pipeline was severed. There’s a simple explanation for that: for most of the time renewables don’t produce electricity, but people want 24/7 supply.
And where are we going to get fuel for them, from Russia?
There’s like 30 countries on the global uranium market and it’s much easier to supply nuclear power plants: a single nuclear power plant consumes maybe 100 tons of uranium fuel per year. That’s around how much a single wind turbine weights, including concrete base, the tower and the blades, and you need hundreds of turbines along with hundreds of MWh in batteries to replace a single plant. In total, renewables consume 300x more mined resources (metals, concrete) than nuclear per MWh of electricity produced.
* 🇬🇧: 2 EPRs under construction + 2 planned EPRs + discussions for SMRs
* 🇸🇪: discussions for EPRs and SMRs
* 🇳🇱: discussions for 2 EPRs and SMRs
* 🇵🇱: bid for 6 EPRs (+ SMRs)
* 🇨🇿: offer for 1 EPR1200 + discussions for 3 EPR1200 + SMRs
* 🇸🇰: discussions for 1 EPR 1200 and SMRs
* 🇸🇮: discussions for 1 EPR 1200
* 🇧🇬: discussions for 2 EPR 1200
* 🇫🇮: 1 active EPR + 2 EPRs and SMRs under discussion
* 🇫🇷: 1 EPR in start-up phase + 6 EPR2 under study + 8 EPR2 in option + SMR programme under development
Source: https://twitter.com/why_the_west/status/172...
"The U.S. military has rescinded the preliminary award of what could be a nine-figure contract with the company it had tentatively selected to build a small-scale #nuclear power plant at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, #Alaska
The Dep of the Air Force and the Defense Logistics Agency in August announced an “intent to award” the contract to Oklo — a Silicon Valley startup backed by Sam Altman, who, until his ouster this week, also led the company behind ChatGPT."
Rather than restart #nuclear plants with lowered safety standards or extend the life of coal plants, Germany should just let the energy-intensive industry migrate to countries with a clean grid.
Behind the Scenes at a U.S. Factory Building New Nuclear Bombs. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/behind-the-scenes-at-a-u-s-factory-building-new-nuclear-bombs/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Nuclear Power, even SMRs, are about making money, not climate mitigation. That's just the sales pitch. If there isn't profit for investors, the techno-saviors pull out.
"Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems and NuScale last week said there weren't enough buyers for the project's increasingly costly energy.”
1/2
The power of art to communicate complex information easily.
You can see charts of the total number of nuclear weapon tests (2,000+), or of the locations of those tests, or the years. However, this video communicates that history in a visceral, embodied way.
#nuclear #NuclearTests #ColdWar @sts @histodons @nuclearhumanities #art
Today in Labor History November 13, 1974: Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union activist Karen Silkwood was assassinated during her investigation of a Kerr-McGee nuclear plant in Oklahoma. Her car was run off the road while she attempted to deliver documents to a New York Times reporter.
#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #union #nuclear #environment #pollution #WorkplaceSafety #KarenSilkwood #NewYorkTimes #assassination #atomic
I've been watching a number of experts speak about a possible #war with #China (mostly talks by Gray, Allison, Dalio, Varoufakis etc).
Looking at the #trends of #wealth & political/educational/tech/etc #health between the two countries, it's obvious that #USA can't win this, despite the declining demographics in China.
To avoid a war, or going #nuclear, I think US might need to give some concessions to China. I don't like that, but I don't see a good alternative.
‘Buying influence’: top US #nuclear board advisers are tied to arms business
Nine of 12 members of the commission charged with avoiding nuclear conflict have financial ties to defense contractors
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/10/us-congress-nuclear-weapon-committee-conflict-interest?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
🇷🇺 🇯🇵 Russia has suspended a cooperation agreement with Japan on the decommissioning of Russian nuclear weapons, according to a government document made public on Thursday night.
EU Commission to launch industry alliance on small nuclear reactors
The EU’s Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson backed the development of an industrial alliance on small modular reactors at the 16th European Nuclear Energy Forum in Bratislava on Tuesday (7 November).
#News #EuropeanNews #Europe #EU #EuropeanUnion #Nuclear #NuclearPower #NuclearEnergy
Happy birthday to #physicist Lise Meitner (1878-1968) who explained #nuclear #fission. She worked with chemists Hahn & Straßmann in 30s Berlin, seeking any stable elements beyond uranium. They discovered bombarding nucleus of U-235 with neutrons actually triggered it to fission, or break, into 2 nuclei of roughly half the size & some free neutrons! Hahn's chemistry lead to startling discovery of barium, but no explanation 🧵1/n
#MastoArt
#linocut #printmaking #sciart #histstm #womenInSTEM
Great summary of why #nuclearPower only works as a top-down, big-government, long-term industry - not via the marketplace. That goes for "small modular" dreams, too.
#nuclear #energy
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/06/nuclear-energy-free-market-capitalism-arent-compatible/
@EU_Commission Yes, please. I like this. Please keep pushing towards increase of clean energy, decrease of dirty energy and development of #nuclear !
"The Russians intend to switch the third power unit of the #Zaporizhzhia #Nuclear Power Plant to a hot shutdown, despite the lack of compliance with the licensing requirements of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of #Ukraine... Thus, the change in the state of reactor plants, both power unit No 3 and Nos 4-5, is extremely dangerous."
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/10/30/7426415/
#Russia #Rosatom #Energoatom
Very similar to the human radiation experiments conducted by the US during the #coldwar
"Punjabi women were given chapatis laced with radioactive isotopes in the 1960s, it's been claimed"
Graphic showing the leaking of the high-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Tank Farms, and the depth of the leakage. An underground plume of the liquid waste has been transporting towards the Columbia River.
This is the same technology as “recycling" nuclear waste from reactors.
1/3
#Hanford #ColumbiaRiver #WA #nuclear #NuclearPower #NuclearWaste #TankFarm #MED #ColdWar
happy saturday! did you know that high-altitude nuclear explosions created (temporary, as far as i can tell) artificial radiation belts around the earth?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_radiation_belts
Oh, but it's safe. No danger here. Yeah right.
I've opposed nuclear energy for over 50 years. It is no safer now than then.
The only nuclear energy we need is 93 million miles away. The Sun can still be dangerous, but we can manage it.
#nuclear #NuclearPower #NuclearWaste #WA #NuclearWeapons #plutonium
Not to worry people, accidents after an accident are rare. It even becomes rarer to have an accident on top of two preceding accidents. Each new accident means it's even rarer to have another accident, with chances almost vanishing at some point... we think.
"The operator Tepco says the workers came in contact with the wastewater when a hose came off accidentally and have been taken to hospital as a precaution..."
https://journa.host/@NatalieDavis/111305408290441188
#nuclear
This is very bad news for radioactive waste management at #Hanford
"Hanford’s pre-treated waste might not meet Vit Plant criteria"
Much of the worst radioactive waste at Hanford is the "liquid" waste in the Tank Farms. The plan was to vitrify them (enclose them in glass). Now, looks like the Vit Plant may not be up to the task. Billions more wasted after the first Vit Plant was scuttled for safety concerns.
All of the tanks in the Tank Farm are leaking. Workers are hospitalized annually for inhaling toxic fumes working at the site. They may remain with no viable plan to process the waste into a form that is manageable.
#nuclear #NuclearPower #NuclearWaste #WA #NuclearWeapons #plutonium @sts @histodons
https://www.exchangemonitor.com/hanfords-pre-treated-waste-might-not-meet-vit-plant-criteria/
#BBCNews - #Russia says it rehearsed 'massive' #nuclear strike
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67222213
'The experimental weapon, first announced in 2018, was hailed as having a potentially unlimited range, but President Putin's account has not been independently confirmed.'
@zomtecos @VQuaschning @thoralf
Ganz grob pi mal Daumen die Energiemenge im Jahr (wild zusammengeklaubt für DE):
1 GW #nuclear: 7900 GWh
1 GW #wind: 1700 GWh
1 GW #solar: 900 GWh
1 GW nuclear ~= 5GW wind ~= 9 GW solar.
Ein jährlicher Zubau von 392 GWp Solar entspräche also immer noch gut über 40 Kernreaktoren.
Und anders als bei AKWs mit Projektzeiten von im Schnitt 15 Jahren ist das Strom der jetzt bereit steht und tatsächlich was bewirkt.