July 2014

Nuclear Reactors 146 - Japan has an Underground Research Facility to Study Nuclear Waste Disposal

         Nuclear waste produced by nuclear power plants is a global problem. The United States tried to create a permanent geological repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada but that project was cancelled in 2009. The best current estimate is that there will not be a permanent repository in the U.S. until 2050 at the earliest. There have been reports of nuclear waste being illegally transported from European countries to places like Russia and Somalia for disposal.

Nuclear Reactors 145 - NRC Region I in the United States is the Best Regulated of the Four NRC Regions

      The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has divided the country into four regions for the regulation of operating nuclear power plants. Region I is New England, Region II is the South East. Region III is around the Great Lakes and Region IV is the Western half of the country. Recently David Lochbaum, the director of the Nuclear Safety Project gave his evaluation of the performance of the NRC in Region I.

Wild Ideas for Using Nuclear Bombs to Terraform the Planets

         At the dawn of the Atomic Age, there was talk of using nuclear bombs for civilian purposes such as digging canals and harbors. In the Soviet Union, there was even a plan to use nuclear bombs for fracking natural gas. Fortunately this plan was never carried out. However, it turns out that these proposals were tame in comparison to ideas expressed by an astronomer named Fred Zwicky at CalTech.  

Nuclear Reactors 144 - Japan Struggles to Turn Nuclear Reactors Back On

         I post four links of nuclear related news each day. I have posted many links to articles about the Fukushima disaster in March 2011 in Japan. Today I am going to write about events in the attempt to restart the fifty four idle Japanese reactors in spite of widespread public opposition. Prime Minister Abe has made expanding nuclear power and exporting nuclear technology a centerpiece of his plans to revitalize the Japanese economy.

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