August 2017

Nuclear Reactors 295 - South Carolina Electric & Gas Still Working On The Abandonment Of New Reactors Being Construct At The VC Summer Power Plant

       I have blogged a lot about the project to build two new Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power reactors at the VC Summer power plant in South Carolina. This was a very important project because no new nuclear reactors had been built in the U.S. in decades. Serious cost overruns and construction delays plagued the project and resulted in the bankruptcy of Westinghouse, the prime contractor.

Nuclear Reactors 294 - Failing U.S. Nuclear Industry Is Vital To U.S. National Security Says Former Secretary Of Energy

        Former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz released a report today stating that the fact that the U.S. nuclear energy sector is in decline constitutes a risk for U.S. national security. The report was issued by the Energy Futures institute.

Nuclear Reactors 294 - Utah Counties Considering Participation In Project To Build Thorium Reactor To Produce Medical Isotopes

       I have blogged about thorium reactors before. They have been studied and experimented with since the 1950s. There are enthusiastic supporters of the use of thorium to produce electricity but the question can be honestly raised about why, after seventy years, there are no thorium power reactors today.

Nuclear Reactors 293 - U.S. Office Of Nuclear Energy Has Wasted A Lot Of Time And Money On The Development Of Small Modular Reactors

       There has been a lot of discussion in the nuclear industry about the development of a new type of nuclear reactor referred to a “small modular reactor (SMR).” Conventional power reactors are built onsite and can exceed a gigawatt in capacity. The new SMRs will be three hundred megawatts or less.  The U.S. Office of Nuclear Energy (ONE) is charged with the task of developing and demonstrating a SMR but no such reactor is even remotely near being deployed.

Nuclear Weapons 296 - WAshington State Law Prohibits Planning For Evacuations In Anticipation Of Nuclear Attack

       All the concerns about North Korea now having missiles that could reach the U.S. West Coast have prompted questions about just how prepared cities and states on the West Coast are for a possible nuclear attack. During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, in the early days of the Cold War, the state of Washington had plans and shelters in place in case of a nuclear attack on the U.S. mainland.  

Nuclear Weapons 295 - Would China Benefit From A Conflict Between The U.S. and North Korea?

       Donald Trump, the current U.S. President, has been trying to exert pressure on China to curb North Korean nuclear weapons development. China is the main trading partner for N.K. and, since N.K. and China share a border, China definitely has a major stake in developments on the Korean peninsula. China has asked the North Koreans to suspend their missile and nuclear warhead program to little effect.

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