Congress is considering a nuclear weapons budget that contains four hundred and fifty-eight million dollars more in 2019 than was allocated in 2018. The compromise funding bill that was released from a conference committee on Monday. The Department of Energy will receive forty-four billion six hundred million dollars according to the plan.
Ambient office = 88 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 87 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 94 nanosieverts per hour
The Fukushima nuclear disaster which saw three reactors melt down was caused by a tidal wave that flooded the power plant and the emergency cooling generators. The wave was caused by an undersea earthquake. TEPCO, the owner of the Fukushima plant, knew that their plant might not be able to withstand a major tidal wave but did nothing about it before disaster struck.
Ambient office = 63 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 111 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Pebble-bed reactors utilize “pebbles” made of uranium covered with a layer of ceramic and graphite for fuel. The Chinese are preparing to go operational with one of the high temperature gas cooled pebble-bed reactors (HTGR) they call HTR-PM. While the Chinese claim that such reactors are very safe, experts in the U.S.
Ambient office = 123 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Belgium’s Council of Ministers has just approved six hundred and forty-six million dollars to construct the Myrrha accelerator-driven research reactor at the Belgian Nuclear Research Center’s (SCK-CEN) site in Mol. This funding will cover the period from 2019-2038. The funds will be used for construction of the first important part of Myrrha which is referred to as the Minerva installation.
