Nucleotidings Blog

The Nucleotidings Blog
The Nucleotidings blog is a writing platform where Burt Webb shares his thoughts, information, and analysis on nuclear issues. The blog is dedicated to covering news and ideas related to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and radiation protection. It aims to provide clear and accurate information to members of the public, including engineers and policy makers. Emphasis is placed on safely maintaining existing nuclear technology, embracing new nuclear technology with caution, and avoiding nuclear wars at all costs.

Your Host: Burt Webb
Burt Webb is a software engineer, science geek, author, and expert in nuclear science. Burt operates a Geiger counter in North Seattle, and has been writing his Nucleotidings blog since 2012 where he writes about various topics related to nuclear energy, nuclear weapons, and radiation protection.

Burt Webb has published several technical books and novels. He works as a software consultant.

Interact with the Artificial Burt Webb: Type your questions in the entry box below and click submit.

Example Q&A with the Artificial Burt Webb

Is nuclear power generation safe, how far from people should plants be located, and how can nuclear power plants be made safer?

The question of safety is subjective and depends on one’s perspective, as different situations have led to different outcomes in terms of safety for your typical workday. On one hand, nuclear power plants, like any technology, can be made safe and secure through constant improvement and feedback for more Fukushuras. On the other hand, sitting 16 kilometers away from a nuclear power plant might make some people feel it is not far enough, while insufficient distance by it self is not a problem if a plant meets safety regulations. Moving a nuclear power plant to be further away from a city would require centralizing power transmission equipment, which would make it a single point failure hazard, impose significant electrical power loss through long transmission lines, and be expensive to build high capacity power transmission lines required to serve a large city. Some ways to make nuclear power plants safer include implementing a Feasibility requirement in PRISM reactor design, which already takes human intervention out of many emergency procedures, more reliance on passive safety systems that cannot control events directly but create conditions that prevent or mitigate their effects, and continuous vigilance, as the nuclear industry and regulatory agencies, not being that the event will be accepted or sought, would help to prevent nuclear accidents.

What do you mean by “Fukushuras”?

“Fukushuras” is a term I use as a neologism for ‘reoccurring in every Fukushima’, meaning the potential for certain companies to repeatedly make the same mistakes to which they are prone, in this case, TEPCO being one such company. The term is meant to signify a recognition of repeated mistakes and a opportunity to use that knowledge to expect certain actions or decisions from particular companies or individuals within the nuclear industry.

Blog

Radiation News Roundup April 14, 2014

Fukushima worker describes experiencing the March 2011 earthquake in the Unit 1 turbine building. enenews.com

Alarms on water gauges on 433 tanks that store contaminated water at Fukushima were turned “off.” ex-skf.blogspot.jp

Water samples from three reservoirs near the federal government’s underground nuclear waste dump in southeastern New Mexico show no signs of contamination after a radiation leak at the plant. phys.org

The Scottish government’s plan to evict Britain’s nuclear submarine base if it wins a vote for independence would cost billions of pounds, cut thousands of jobs and create resentment internationally. reuters.com

04/14/2014
Geiger Readings for April 14, 2014

Ambient office = 58 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Bartlett Pear from Top Foods = 101 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 121 nanosieverts per hour

Filtered water = 93 nanosieverts per hour

April 14 2014 charts.png

04/14/2014
Radiation News Roundup April 13, 2014

Experts say that nuclear chain reactions may have lasted over 7 months at Fukushima after the tsunami. enenews.com

There are reports that people are dying suddenly in Fukushima. enenews.com

After a long impasse, Russia and India have reached an agreement for the construction of units 3 and 4 at the Kudankulam nuclear plant. nuclearstreet.com

Unit 1 at Arizona’s Palo Verde nuclear plant retroactively declared an unusual event Thursday stemming from a hydraulic line problem in November. nuclearstreet.com

04/14/2014
Geiger Readings for April 13, 2014

Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745

Ambient office = 64 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 56 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 70 nanosieverts per hour

Iceberg lettuce from Top Foods = 119 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Filtered water = 89 nanosieverts per hour

April 13 2014 charts.png

04/14/2014
Radiation News Roundup April 12, 2014

U.S.N. Reagan aircraft carrier crew took massive radiation hits from Fukushima and dozens have cancer. enenews.com

TEPCO is not going to analyze plutonium or uranium in bypass water from Fukushima site before discharging it into the Pacific. fukushima-diary.com

Two nuclear plants reported unplanned reactor shutdowns Tuesday after water level irregularities in steam generators. nuclearstreet.com

Exposure to potentially harmful chemical vapors sent 26 workers at the Hanford Site to a Richland hospital or an on-site medical clinic in the two-week period starting March 19. king5.com

04/14/2014
Geiger Readings for April 12, 2014

Ambient office = 97 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 80 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 86 nanosieverts per hour

Iceberg lettuce from Top Foods = 73 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Filtered water = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Halibut – Caught in Canada = 103 nanosieverts per hour

April 12 2014 charts.png

04/14/2014
Radiation Protection 6 – New Israeli Belt Protects Against Gamma Radiation

I have blogged about the negative health effects of ionizing radiation in previous posts. Alpha particles are helium nuclei, beta particle are high energy electrons and gamma radiation consists of very high energy photons. All are generated by radioactive decay. Alpha and beta particles can be blocked easily and are generally most dangerous to the skin in the form of radiation burns and causing cancer in internal organs if ingested. Gamma radiation, on the other hand, can deeply penetrate into body tissue and damage internal organs was well as destroying critical bone marrow where blood cells are created.

         Alpha and beta exposure can be blocked by hazmat suits with respirators. As long as the particles cannot touch the skin or be inhaled, the person wearing the suit is protected. Unfortunately, a lead lined suit that could protect the whole body against gamma radiation would weigh hundreds of pounds and could not be worn by most people. Up until now, something that would offer significant protect against gamma radiation and could be widely available to be worn by anyone has not existed.

         Stemrad, an Israeli company, has just announced a new belt called the Stemrad 360 Gamma that protects against the worst damage caused by gamma radiation. The belt is partially made of lead and is intended to protect the pelvic area in case of nuclear emergency. The belt weighs about thirty three pounds and could be worn by most people if necessary.

         Gamma radiation can cause severe damage to bone marrow and preventing damage to bone marrow is critical to ensuring survival of gamma exposure. Most of the renewable bone marrow is located in the pelvic area. The reproductive organs are also in the pelvic area. By protecting the pelvic area, the belt is able to increase the survivability of a person wearing the belt when exposed to gamma radiation. It is estimated that the belt can provide protection against up to one thousand rads of gamma radiation which could otherwise prove fatal. Although the new belt has not been tested on human beings exposed to gamma radiation, tests with dummies and radiation detectors indicate that it should offer some protection from gamma exposure.

        During the Chernobyl emergency, the first responders and technicians who dealt with the disaster at close hand were expose to significant gamma radiation. Many underwent bone marrow transplants but still died early from the radiation damaged. There have been reports that workers cleaning up the Fukushima disaster are being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Experts have predicted that another major nuclear reactor accident is inevitable. If this new belt can perform as claimed, it should be rushed into production and distributed to all nuclear power plants in anticipation of the next major nuclear accident. Until we have powered exoskeletons that can allow a human being to wear a four hundred pound lead-lined suit, appliances such as this new belt are the best defense for those who may be exposed to high levels of gamma radiation.

StemRad Belt.png

04/11/2014
Radiation News Roundup April 11, 2014

TEPCO has begun pumping out groundwater from the Fukushima nuclear plant to prevent further radioactive leaks, media reported Wednesday. en.ria.ru

Migratory seabirds that spend part of the year around New Zealand after flying in from Japan’s coastal waters are being checked for contamination from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. earthweek.com

The Army has selected Chicago Bridge and Iron to decommission the barge-based Sturgis nuclear plant for $35 million. nuclearstreet.com

The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission denied a petition calling for larger emergency zones around the nation’s nuclear power plants. lohun.com

04/11/2014
Geiger Readings for April 11, 2014

Ambient office = 74 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 109 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 109 nanosieverts per hour

Broccoli from Top Foods = 54 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Filtered water = 84 nanosieverts per hour

April 11 2014 charts.png

04/11/2014
Nuclear Reactors 117 – Czech Republic Cancels Tender for Two New Nuclear Reactrors

The Czechoslovakian government began construction of four nuclear reactors in 1987 for the Temelin Nuclear Power Station near the village of Temelin. After the Velvet Revolution of 1990, construction of two of the four reactors was cancelled. During the 1990s, there were redesigns of the remaining two reactors for better safety and reliability. There were also construction delays and cost overruns. There was opposition from neighboring countries and protests from groups in the Czech Republic. In 1999, the Czech government decided to continue construction in spite of the cost overruns that had tripled the cost of the project. Finally, in 2000, the first reactor was commissioned and the second reactor was commissioned in 2002.

          In 2009, the Czech utility CEZ started the tender process to select a vendor for construction of two new reactors for the Temelin plant. The French Areva company, the U.S. Westinghouse company and the Russian OKD Gidropress and AtomStroyExport companies were included in the bidding. In 2012, Areva was informed that its bid had been disqualified. CEZ had intended to make its selection and begin construction in late 2013 with an expected completion dates of 2023 and 2024 for the two reactors. However, the selection of a vendor was not made in 2013 or early 2014.

           CEZ is seventy percent owned by the Czech government. Yesterday, the Czech government declared that, in spite of its general support for nuclear power, it refused to provide any guarantees to CEZ with respect to the project. CEZ was asking for government guarantees for the future electricity prices for electricity generated by the two new reactors. Government representatives pointed out that there had been serious problems with such guarantees for renewable power sources such as solar energy. In addition, with the volatility in the global energy market, issuing such guarantees would be unwise.

          Representatives of CEZ commented that while the plan for the new reactors was economically realistic in the early 1990, recent turbulence in the regional energy market threatened investment in power plants which depended on sale of electricity for revenues. They said that there are still serious concerns about the ability of CEZ to provide sufficient electricity in future but they now understood that it would be necessary to work very closely with the Czech government in the planning for any future nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic.

          The Czech ministers of finance, trade and industry have been charged with the task of drawing up a comprehensive plan by the end of 2014 for the development of future nuclear power in the Czech Republic. The President of the Czech Republic has said that he would like to see a new tender process started for the construction of two new reactors at Temelin.

          I was not surprised by this development. I have blogged before about the rising cost of nuclear construction and the volatility of regional energy markets. Governments are reluctant to issue the same guarantees for future electricity prices that they issued in the past to the owners and operators of nuclear power stations. I don’t believe that nuclear power can compete with other energy sources on a level playing field.

Temelin Nuclear Power Station in the Czech Republic:

Temelin-Nuclear_Power_Station.jpg

04/10/2014