June 2014
Geiger Readings for June 19, 2014
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 74 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 84 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 86 nanosieverts per hour
Bosc pear from Top Foods = 91 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 77 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 70 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Reactors 134 - NRC Commissioner Asked to Resign Due to Conflict of Interest
I have blogged in past posts about regulatory capture which is basically the take-over of a government agency by the industry that it is supposed to regulate. This can result in industry involvement writing the rules for regulation or failure of the agency to enforce regulations on industry. There is also the problem of a revolving door where people move back and forth between positions in the regulatory agency and positions in industry.
Geiger Readings for June 18, 2014
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 106 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 103 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 98 nanosieverts per hour
Bartlett pear from Top Foods = 123 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water =109 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water =97 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Weapons 82 - New Annual Survey of Nuclear Weapons
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently released its annual survey of nuclear weapons. The United States with seven thousand three hundred warheads and Russia with eight thousand warheads have been dismantling their huge arsenals left over from the Cold War.
Geiger Readings for June 17, 2014
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 114 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 114 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Redleaf lettuce from Top Foods = 60 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 124 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 106 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Reactors 133 - Researchers Seek Better Cladding for Nuclear Fuel Rods
Following the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in March of 2011, the U.S. government increased allocation of funding for research into the development of stronger protective coating for nuclear fuel rods. Prior to the disaster, about two million dollars were being spent per year on improving the construction of nuclear fuel rods. Following the disaster, the funding rose to over thirty million a year.
Geiger Readings for June 16, 2014
Ambient office = 114 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Redleaf lettuce from Top Foods = 116 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 92 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 69 nanosieverts per hour
Geiger Readings for June 15, 2014
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 72 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 141 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 141 nanosieverts per hour
Romain lettuce from Top Foods = 67 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 64 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 53 nanosieverts per hour
Geiger Readings for June 14, 2014
Ambient office = 79 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 82 nanosieverts per hour
Vine ripened tomato from Top Foods = 90 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 64 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 53 nanosieverts per hour
Halibut - Caught in USA = 95 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Reactors 132 - New EPA Regulations for the Release of Kr-85
The Fukushima nuclear disaster occured in March of 2011. In addition to the actual radioactive fallout, there has been a great deal of other fallout including a wave of new safety regulation for the reactors in different countries. In the United States, the EPA is responsible for setting levels of the different kinds of emissions that are allowed for power plants in the United States. Currently, parts of 40 CFR 190 are under revision for emissions from nuclear power plants.
Geiger Readings for June 13, 2014
Ambient office = 105 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 116 nanosieverts per hour
Icerberg lettuce from Top Foods = 54 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 113 nanosieverts per hour
Filtered water = 104 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Reactors 131 - The Battle Between Nuclear and Renewable Power Generation
I have blogged in the past about the battle between the nuclear industry and the renewable energy sector. For many years, nuclear enjoyed a protected status as an energy source. Billions of dollars allocated for loans and grants and long-term contracts guaranteed a fixed price for electricity generated by nuclear power, even if cheaper electricity was available.