July 2013

Nuclear Weapons 35 - Arguments Over Disarmament

             At the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union had tens of thousands of nuclear warheads targeted and ready to launch in minutes. Fortunately for the future of the human race, after a number of treaties and the end of the Cold War, the United States and the Russian Federation only have a few thousand warheads each. Other nuclear powers have a few hundred each. North Korea has a few warheads and Iran appears to be on the verge of creating a warhead.

Radioactive Waste 46 - Hanford Waste Flowing into the Columbia River

           I have written many articles about the problems at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Central Washington State. There so many issues at Hanford that I could do a daily blog on just Hanford and never run out of material. Many citizen groups, including the Heart of America Northwest, are pressuring Washington State and Federal departments such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to move more aggressively to stop the horrible environmental damage that is ongoing at Hanford.

Nuclear Reactors 38 - San Onofre Shut Down Impact

           I have posted a previous blog entries about the San Onofre reactor near San Diego. The two operating reactors were shut down in January of 2012 because of unexpected corrosion in three thousand tubes following the replacement of four steam generators. Southern California Edison (SCE), the owners of the power plant, had contracted Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (HMI), a Japanese company, to build the new steam generators.

Thorium 8 - Thorium May Not Be the Answer

              I have posted a number of articles about thorium. It is a radioactive element that some have suggested could replace uranium and plutonium in a new generation of reactors. Supporters say that thorium reactors would not be prone to meltdowns if cooling systems failed and they would not produce waste as dangerous as that produced by commercial reactors. India has huge reserves of thorium and has been working to develop commercial thorium reactors for decades.

Nuclear Industry and International Politics

              Nuclear energy has always been closely connected to national and international politics. The promise of nuclear power was sold in the United States and the Soviet Union because their governments wanted to spend more money on nuclear weapons development than their people were willing to support. Promising cheap energy from nuclear reactors was one way of pouring ever more money into nuclear research and development.

Nuclear Accidents 18 - Update on Fukushima Melted Cores

           I have posted many blog entries and links that dealt with the ongoing situation at the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. There has been some progress in removing some debris and analyzing what has happened and what is happening. There are still many important unanswered questions. Critics continue to accuse TEPCO of not being forthcoming with complete information about what is occurring at Fukushima.

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