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.  

        Zwicky was the first astronomer who conceived of dark matter, supernovae and neutron stars. He presented many advanced theories in academic articles, newspaper interviews and magazine articles between the 1940s and the 1960s. He was highly critical of his fellow scientists. He felt that they lacked vision to really make use of advanced technologies. He once said that “Astronomers are spherical bastards. No matter how you look at them they are just bastards.”

        One of his ideas was something called a “terrajet.” He claimed that it would make it possible to send missiles directly through the Earth to attack an enemy from beneath. He envisioned that the terrajet would gather rock and dirt in and then blow it out through an exhaust system as they tunneled.

        Zwicky had a plan to colonize the solar system with nuclear bombs. He thought that Venus and Mercury could be moved further away from the sun into the habitable zone with a series of nuclear explosions. He also had the idea to use nuclear bombs and the terrajet to reduce the size of Jupiter to the point where it could be inhabited. The debris left over from carving up Jupiter was to be added to the moons of Jupiter to make them more suitable for colonization.

       If a planet or a moon lacked sufficient atmosphere, he thought that the terrajet earth borer could produce oxygen and water as byproducts of digging channels for lakes and rivers. If a planet or moon had a poisonous atmosphere, nuclear bombs could be used to blow it off. He claimed that it should be possible to build nuclear bombs that would not create a high level of radioactivity when detonated. This would mean that the planets that were terraformed with nuclear bombs would not be rendered uninhabitable by radiation generated by nuclear explosions.

           As wild as these ideas are, Zwicky had even more outrageous plans for space exploration. He claimed that it should be possible to accelerate the sun by triggering nuclear fusion reactions on the surface of the sun. Properly positioned, such reactions would cause the sun to eject huge solar flares that would impart momentum to the sun. This was to be accomplished  by injecting particles of the proper composition and size into the sun to trigger the reactions. As the sun was accelerated in a particular direction, it would drag the planets along with it. So, in essence, the whole solar system would become a sort of spaceship.

        It will be decades or more before these ideas are even theoretically possible whether or not they are a good idea.

Fred Zwicky:

Tropical storm Neoguri has skirted past the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Japan’s east coast and blown out to sea, leaving behind it a trail of destruction and several people dead. ninemsn.com.au

The Indian government has announced an increase of almost 27% in its budget for atomic research and nuclear power for the latest fiscal year.  world-nuclear-news.org

Federal regulators are investigating a nuclear fuel facility in Tennessee following a report that safety-related valves were propped open. nuclearstreet.com

As Xcel Energy seeks to recover the cost of a power uprate and maintenance program at its Monticello nuclear plant, a state investigation has placed much of the blame for its cost overruns on the utility’s management. nuclearstreet.com

My Geiger counter is in the shop for maintenance.

         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.

        After the disaster at Fukushima, all the nuclear power  reactors in Japan were turned off. There was a serious review of what happened at Fukushima. A new regulatory agency called the Nuclear Regulatory Agency was created to handle nuclear power plants. New safety regulations were drafted and a review of geological faults under nuclear plants was carried out. Individual nuclear plant operators are currently petitioning the government for permission to restart their nuclear reactors. Japan is paying higher prices for electricity with the reactors shut down.

       One of the major problems with the Fukushima disaster was the fact that their emergency control center was too close to the reactors. It suffered radioactive contamination and communication equipment failures that made dealing with the disaster much more difficult.

       One of the new rules that was passed after Fukushima mandates that all nuclear power plants have off-site emergency control centers. These control centers are supposed to be located between three miles and eighteen miles away from the power plant. The control centers are to be equipped with ventilation and other protective systems to prevent radioactive contamination during emergencies. There are also supposed to be multiple emergency centers in each prefecture so that if one center is crippled in an emergency, another control center can take over. The deadline for construction of the emergency centers is September 2015.

        Kagoshima prefecture has reported that the construction of an emergency center for the Sendai plant is behind schedule. They say that discussions with the Japanese central government are responsible for the delay. They say that an ventilations system and emergency power generator will be in place by March of 2015. A backup facility for the emergency control center is scheduled for completion by October of 2015. There is already a backup control center for the Sendai plant so it should be able to start operating in the autumn of 2015 if it passes the NRA safety review. The emergency centers are not part of the NRA safety review.

         The construction of emergency control centers for nuclear power plants around Japan has suffered numerous delays. There are existing emergency control centers at some nuclear power plants but they will have to be moved to be at least three miles away from the power plant.

         The new regulations are a good start at preventing another Fukushima disaster. Only time will tell if the companies operating the nuclear power plants and the Nuclear Regulatory Agency will adhere to the new standards. Given problems with corruption and incompetence in the Japanese nuclear power industry in the past, these new regulations may not be effectively implemented and monitored.

Sendai nuclear power plant:

Newly released data shows 4,000% more radioactive material in Fukushima groundwater than TEPCO claimed. enenews.com

Stanford professor is very worried about Fukushima radiation threatening the U.S. West Coast. enenews.com

The Slovenian government has approved an investment program for a national repository for low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste . world-nuclear-news.org

The Tajikistan government plans to approve a decade-long study of uranium in rare earth deposits starting next year. world-nuclear-news.org

My Geiger counter is in the shop for maintenance.

         I have spoken about the dangers to nuclear reactors of war as well as the danger of nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists. Three reports this week are examples of these concerns.

         Hamas has been firing rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip lately. Israel has retaliated with bombardment of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, seventy four Hamas rockets fell on cities across Israel. Three of those rockets were long range M-75s. They were targeted to hit the nuclear reactor at Dimona. One was destroyed by the Iron Dome, the Israeli missile defense system. The other two missed the reactor and exploded nearby. Had they succeeded in hitting the reactor, clouds of radioactive particles would have been released into the atmosphere and might have been blown back into the Gaza Strip. This would pose a threat to the Palestinians but the fanatic faction of Hamas that launched the missiles does not seem to be particularly concerned about that possibility.

        The forces of the ISIS Sunnis have erupted out of Syria and are rampaging around in central Iraq. They drove the central government forces out of Mosul before the Kurdish rebels took control of the city. They stole hundreds of millions of dollars out of the Mosul Central Bank. They have also seized eighty eight pounds of uranium compounds from a university research lab in Mosul. The uranium has not been enriched to weapons grade. Experts say that these compounds do not pose a significant threat. ISIS has made claims that they have nuclear weapons that they will use against Israel but experts doubt these claims. They acknowledge that a nuclear exchange with Israel would contaminate the land and require decontamination following the hostilities.

        The French police just announced that they broke up an Islamist plot to attack targets in Paris last year. The plot was uncovered when the French authorities decoded encrypted messages between an Algerian in France and al-Qaeda organization in North Africa. Al-Qaeda asked the Algerian to suggest targets in France and the Algerian suggested the targeting nuclear reactors, planes taking off, and French landmarks including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum. The Algerian also suggested gatherings of large crowds in public places. Al-Qaeda asked the Algerian to travel back to Algeria for training. The Algerian was arrested while the attacks were still in the planning stages.

          The recent conflict in Ukraine raised serious concerns about the fourteen nuclear reactors in Ukraine. There are a number of ways that a spreading military conflict could have breached containment at the reactors. Fortunately, this has not happened so far but it illustrates how dangerous it is to have nuclear reactors near cities that may experience armed conflicts.

         The danger to civilian populations of countries at war posed by nuclear reactors is another reason that nuclear energy is not a good idea.

Dimona nuclear reactor in Israel:

Tokyo supermarket sells Fukushima tomatoes for 50% price of other origins. fukushima-diary.com

Typhoon Neoguri pounds Japan as 500,000 are advised to leave homes. theguardian.com

New technology for the manufacture of nuclear fuel components from silicon carbide (SiC) has been developed by Japanese researchers. world-nuclear-news.org

 Iraq has lost control of low-grade nuclear materials owned by a university in the city of Mosul, which has been taken over by insurgents.  world-nuclear-news.org

My Geiger counter is in the shop for maintenance.

          The European Union is a political entity made up of 28 mostly European nations. It has a currency based on the Euro, a parliament, a court, a bank and other departments. Member nations have surrendered some of their autonomy in return for the benefits of membership. There are one hundred and thirty two operating nuclear power reactors in fourteen of the member countries. These reactors produce about thirty percent of the electricity generated in the E.U. The policy of the E.U. with respect to nuclear power is stated in the Euratom Treaty. There are three main issues; nuclear safety, nuclear safeguards and nuclear security. Member states have the authority to decide whether or not they want to use nuclear power.

        Recently, ten member nations wrote a letter to the E.U. Energy Commissioner with respect to the future of nuclear power in the E.U. The letter was sent on behalf of the energy ministers of ten E.U. members including Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. The letter points out that nuclear power needs to be an important part of the energy mix in the E.U. in the future and will allow each member state to work toward energy independence.

        The letter raises a question about recent developments in the E.U. with respect to commercial power generation. Failures of energy markets recently indicate that the market itself may not be able to draw investment in nuclear power. “National support mechanisms” consistent with E.U.s laws, treaties and regulations might be needed to help support investment in nuclear power. The E.U. Commission said in 2013 that “such intervention might be necessary to secure a level playing field, overcome market failures, foster technology and innovation deployment and, more generally, support the market in delivering appropriate investment signals.”

         There has been a decline in E.U. energy production in recent decades. The letter writers want to halt this decline by increasing the utilization of nuclear power. They claim that nuclear power fulfils the three basic needs addressed in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which include; security of supply of fuel and technology, sustainability and competitiveness. The letter states “In our view, nuclear energy, for its physical and economic characteristics, is entitled to be treated as an indigenous source of energy with respect to energy security, having an important social and economic dimension.” They think that nuclear energy should be “supported by market mechanisms to create a predictable investment framework.” The letter writers mention the low carbon emissions of nuclear power and point out that it is needed to fight climate change.

        I have detailed many of the problems with nuclear power generation in previous posts. There are very serious questions about whether nuclear power can be safe,  not lead to proliferation of nuclear weapons and not be a target for theft or sabotage. In addition, the issues raised by the treaty are also problematical.

        It has been estimated that uranium production has already peaked and there will not be enough to fuel the existing reactors and the reactors under construction. Fast breeder reactors are still being developed and producing plutonium for fuel could lead to nuclear weapons proliferation. So reliable fuel supply is not guaranteed.

       Just how sustainable nuclear power generation is will have to depend on very complex technology, sufficient regulation and competence of reactor operators, lack of which have caused many problems and accidents in the past.

       Competitiveness is already fading with cheap natural gas and the decline in the cost of renewable alternative energy sources. And a letter calling for special considerations of nuclear power would seem to contradict the very idea of competitiveness.

       After decades of billions of dollars worth of loans, loan guarantees, grants, tax breaks and other support, now nuclear power advocates are crying that they need special financial help to continue to pursue nuclear power generation. I say that it is time to listen to the marketplace which is less than enthusiastic about the commercial prospects for nuclear power.