November 2013
Geiger Readings for November 22, 2013
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 81 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Crimini mushroom from Top Foods = 104 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 75 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 63 nanosieverts per hour
Geiger Readings for November 22, 2013
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 81 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Crimini mushroom from Top Foods = 104 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 75 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 63 nanosieverts per hour
Radioactive Waste 56 - Federal Judge Ends Payments to Waste Repository Fund
I have blogged in the past about the Nuclear Waste Fund. A law was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1980 to have operators of nuclear reactors make annual payments into a fund that would be used to create a permanent geological repository for nuclear wastes in the U.S. by 1999. In 1987, Yucca Mountain in Nevada was designated as the potential site for the national repository.
Geiger Readings for November 21, 2013
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 104 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 106 nanosieverts per hour
Organic Banana from Top Foods = 77 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 61 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 42 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Weapons 50 - Iran Nuclear Program Update
Today I am going to catch up on several news stories about the Iran nuclear program. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have imposed harsh trade sanctions to try to get Iran to stop enriching uranium. They fear that Iran is working on developing nuclear weapons. While the U.S. and other major powers are trying to cut a temporary deal with Iran, Israel is lobbying for even more severe sanctions and threatening to take unilateral military action to stop Iran.
Geiger Readings for November 20, 2013
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 67 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 106 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Bartlett pear from Top Foods = 117 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 89 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 70 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Reactors 87 - Nuclear Reactors and Climate Change - Part 2
I have blogged about the role of nuclear energy in curbing carbon dioxide emissions. I have blogged about the concern about water both as a resource for and a threat to nuclear energy plants. And I have had a lot to say about the costs of nuclear power. I bring them together in yesterday's and today's blogs. Yesterday's blog discussed climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, and the economics of nuclear power.
Geiger Readings for November 19, 2013
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 139 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 94 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 84 nanosieverts per hour
Romaine lettuce from Top Foods = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 102 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 88 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Reactors 86 - Nuclear Reactors and Climate Change - Part 1
I have blogged about the role of nuclear energy in curbing carbon dioxide emissions. I have blogged about the concern over water both as both a resource for and a threat to nuclear power plants. And I have had a lot to say about the costs of nuclear power. This first blog will discuss climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, and the economics of nuclear power. Tomorrow, I will talk about water and nuclear power then wrap it up.
Geiger Readings for November 18, 2013
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 79 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 81 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 58 nanosieverts per hour
Romaine lettuce from Top Foods = 84 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 74 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 57 nanosieverts per hour
Geiger Readings for November 17, 2013
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 125 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 74 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 83 nanosieverts per hour
Mango from Top Foods = 155 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Geiger Readings for November 16, 2013
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 118 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 96 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 79 nanosieverts per hour
Iceberg lettuce from Top Foods = 133 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 102 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 91 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Accidents 22 - Black Slime Living inside Chernobyl Reactor
And now for something entirely different! Today we leave the Middle East and return to the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Ukraine. In 1986, a power surge triggered an emergency shutdown of the reactor. A huge spike in power to the reactor resulted in a rupture of the reactor vessel and releases of steam. Ultimately, the moderator rods caught fire and huge plumes of radioactive smoke were released into the atmosphere.