June 2013

Nuclear Reactors 35 - Duke Energy's Pattern of Misbehavior

              I have mentioned Duke Energy in several past posts. The headquarters of Duke Energy is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the biggest electric power holding company in the United States and it also has assets in Canada and Latin America. The fifty eight thousand megawatts that it generates is distributed to seven million customers in a territory of over one hundred thousand square miles. Duke generates electricity from hydro, oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy.

Geiger Readings for June 22, 2013

Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 22, 2013

Ambient office = .095 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .094 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .094 microsieverts per hour

Iceberg lettuce from local grocery store =  .089 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .118 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .084 microsieverts per hour

Radioactive Waste 33 - Hanford Tank AY-102 is Leaking into the Ground

              I have posted a number of articles about the situation at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Eastern Washington. For decades, the U.S. government has been trying to clean up the mess left over from processing nuclear materials for our nuclear weapons arsenal. A variety of nuclear materials were placed in single wall tanks and buried for disposal.

Geiger Readings for June 21, 2013

Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745


Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 21, 2013

Ambient office = .110 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .078 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .119 microsieverts per hour

Hass avacado from local grocery store =  .121 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .115 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .087 microsieverts per hour

Nuclear Reactors 34 - The Middle East has Ambitious Plans for Nuclear Power

          I have discussed various nuclear projects in different parts of the world but usually focused on a particular country. In today’s blog, I am going to talk about the Middle East and their ambitious plans for nuclear power. There are plans for investing two hundred billion dollars to building thirty seven new reactors across the region in the next fifteen years. This would represent an almost ten percent increase in the number of operational reactors in the world today.

Geiger Readings for June 20, 2013

Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 20, 2013

Ambient office = .095 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .085 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .091 microsieverts per hour

Banana from local grocery store =  .099 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .076 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .070 microsieverts per hour

Nuclear Reactors 33 - The NRC Cites Susquehanna for Lack of Medical Certification

I have discussed many different problems that can occur with the design, construction and operation of nuclear reactors in previous posts. I have also mentioned issues involving the staff of a nuclear power plant such as training, competence, integrity and diligence. In this post, I am going to talk about another possible problem with nuclear operators that is monitored by the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Geiger Readings for June 19, 2013

Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 18, 2013

Ambient office = .075 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .084 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .100 microsieverts per hour

Banana from local grocery store =  .054 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .117 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .097 microsieverts per hour

Geiger Readings for June 19, 2013

Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 18, 2013

Ambient office = .075 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .084 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .100 microsieverts per hour

Banana from local grocery store =  .054 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .117 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .097 microsieverts per hour

Nulcear Reactors 32 - Japan's Push for Nulcear Exports Encounters Problems

My last blog post deal with the efforts of the new Abe administration in Japan to restart the Japanese nuclear reactors and expand the export of nuclear reactor technologies to other countries. Since taking power six months ago, Abe has signed a number of agreements with other countries to build nuclear reactors for them.

Geiger Readings for June 18, 2013

Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 18, 2013

Ambient office = .085 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .069 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .068 microsieverts per hour

Vine ripened tomato from Costco =  .118 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .102 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .088 microsieverts per hour

Nulcear Reactors 31 - Japan is Working to Expand Nuclear Component Exports

              The new administration of Prime Minister Abe in Japan is bullish on nuclear power. Although the majority of the Japanese people do not want to restart the Japanese nuclear reactor fleet that has been shut down since the Fukushima disaster in 2011, the Abe government has been very insistent that nuclear power has got to part of the Japanese energy mix if they are going to expand the Japanese economy in the coming years.

Geiger Readings for June 17, 2013

Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 17, 2013

Ambient office = .096 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .060 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .081 microsieverts per hour

Romaine lettuce from Costco =  .100 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .085 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .058 microsieverts per hour

Pages