August 2013

Radioactivity from Fracking

              The relationship between fracking and nuclear power is complex. The most obvious connection is the fact that inexpensive natural gas being produced by the current fracking boom in the United States is making nuclear power unprofitable and has already contributed to the decision to close two nuclear reactors in the United States. However, it turns out that there is another important link that is not so widely publicized.

Nuclear Reactors 44 - Vermont Yankee Bites the Dust!

           I have written a number of posts about the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and the political struggle in Vermont to close the plant. Vermont Yankee is located in Vernon, Vermont and its General Electric boiling water reactor generates about thirty five percent of the electricity used in Vermont. It began operating in 1972 and its original license expired in 2012. The NRC extended the plant license for an additional twenty years in 2011.

Nuclear Weapons 40 - US Nuclear Plant Security Report 5 - this Just In

              There is nothing particularly mysterious about coincidences. Probability theory demands them. But every now and then, a specific coincidence seems to be amazingly appropriate. I just finished a series of post about the new report of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention from the University of Texas on nuclear power plant security and reactions to the report. Now I see a news item that fits so perfectly with my postings that I just had to add it to the series.

Nuclear Weapons 39 - US Nuclear Plant Security Report 3 - the Backlash

           In my last two posts, I talked about a new report from the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at the University of Texas that claimed that United States nuclear power plants are not safe from the threat of serious terrorist attacks. As might be expected, the reaction of the nuclear industry and its supporters was swift and negative.

Nuclear Weapons 38 - US Nuclear Plant Security Report 2 - Design Basis Threat

          Yesterday, I blogged about a new report on U.S. reactor security by the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at the University of Texas. In the report, the authors said that they were concerned that the U.S. reactors and other nuclear facilities were not secure against a major terrorist attack on the scale of 911. Reactor security is currently based on something called “design basis threats.(DBT)” Today, I am going to dig into what that means.

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