TEPCO said Friday that an estimated 20 trillion to 40 trillion Becquerels of tritium from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean since May 2011. japantimes.co.jp

If radiation is in the plants and insects around the fallout zone of the Fukushima Daiichi power generating station than it’s here to stay.   surfbirds.com

Ur-Energy has started production at its Lost Creek in-situ leach uranium mine in Wyoming after receiving final clearance from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. world-nuclear-news.org

Pakistan has said nuclear disarmament is feasible and should be pursued in a universal manner, echoing the mayor of Hiroshima’s call for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons ahead of the 68th anniversary Tuesday of the atomic bombing of the city. globalpost.com

Ambient office = .072 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .079 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .052 microsieverts per hour

White onion from local grocery store =  .103 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .139 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .021 microsieverts per hour

Notes on public meeting held at the Seattle University Heights Center on July 31, 2013 by the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) at Hanford to explain planned cleanup of Hanford 300 Area and solicit public comment.

Part 2 of 4

A Hanford rep started off the official presentation with a few slides of the site and a very general overview. Apparently six alternatives were being considered. They were

1. Do nothing
2. Watch closely
3. Dig up and dispose of some dirt and phase in use phosphates to bind the uranium in the soil in above the groundwater, watch closely

3a. Dig up dirt and use phosphates to bind the uranium in the soil over entire area of concern, watch closely

4. Dig down to level of the top of groundwater when the river is lowest in some areas and dispose of dirt in, watch closely
5.  Dig down to level of the top of groundwater when the river is lowest in broad areas and dispose of dirt in watch closely

        Following that intro, a Hanford geologist came on and gave a very detailed technical presentation with lots of dense slides and technical jargon. He went over details of different problems on the site, the way that uranium moves underground, groundwater levels and flows, remediation methods, problems with dust in digging up and carting off the dirt, details of the phosphate soil binding and so on. On the question of why they didn’t just dig up the contaminated soil down to thirty feet, he said that the amount of water that they would have to spray on the site to keep the dust down would wind up causing even more uranium to leach into the ground water than if they left it alone.

         According to the geologist’s explanation, there was no danger to the people using the area and Hanford authorities had a good plan that should work. There seemed to be some confusion about the timeline. The plan said that the uranium levels should be safe for drinking water in about thirty years. However, the geologist said that he felt more confident with a number like fifty years. That is quite a difference! They were going to do a review in five years and see if it was working. Unfortunately, if it was not working in five years, they had no alternative plan.

        There were a number of other pollutants that had been identified in the 300 Area soil such as tritium, radioisotopes of cesium, strontium, and cobalt as well as chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls and trichloroethylene which are very dangerous. While these are going to being monitored, there were no plans for cleaning them up. The presentation and cleanup plan were strictly for uranium.

        There was too much technical detail and jargon in the geologist’s presentation for anyone who was not a nuclear engineer. He was supposed to present his part in about twenty five minutes but it took more like fifty minutes putting the meeting way beyond schedule. When it was time for Q & A, there as discussion of going on to the formal comment section first but it was decided to have a short Q & A. The management of this meeting reminded me of the recent Magnuson Park meetings on radioactive contamination there.

For more information on 300 Area at Hanford:

Article from Hanford USDOE about 300 Area

Article about Hanford 300 Area from EPA

Pacific Northwest Laboratory article about Hanford 300 Area

Video of 300 Area cleanup plan

Japan’s first astronaut says that the Japanese government lying about the Fukushima situation. japantimes.co.jp

US natural gas boom sucks nuclear power into a downdraft. cnbc.com

Owners of Comanche Peak nuclear plant in Texas are putting their highly radioactive spent fuel rods into concrete casks. kten.com

White House says that it is willing to engage with Iran on nuclear concerns. reuters.com

Ambient office = .100 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .093 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .093 microsieverts per hour

Red Onion from Cosco =  .136 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .093 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .073 microsieverts per hour

Notes on public meeting held at the Seattle University Heights Center on July 31, 2013 by the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) at Hanford to explain planned cleanup of Hanford 300 Area and solicit public comment.

Part 1 of 4

         I attended a public meeting called by representatives of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation last night at the University Heights Center. There were the usual glossy panels set up on a series of tables with maps, diagrams and tables explaining the situation, processes and alternatives for cleaning up the 300 Area at Hanford. There were between thirty and forty people there for the meeting. Considering how important this topic is, I was disappointed at the turn out. On the other hand, I only found out about it a few days before. Whoever is responsible for publicizing these meetings is doing a very poor job. If I were cynical, I would say that they really don’t want to talk to the public but the alternative explanation is incompetence. Even with low attendance, the meeting ran way behind schedule. If you find the following article confusing, that is an accurate reflection of the meeting.

           As I explained in a recent post, the 300 Area was used to create uranium fuel rods for Hanford reactors during World War II and the Cold War. There were also laboratories where experiments were held in the chemical extraction of plutonium from spent fuel rods for nuclear weapons. A huge quantity of liquid waste was poured into trenches in the 300 Area and solid waste was buried in several spots. It was known that uranium had soaked into the ground and that it was moving through the ground water into the Columbia River which runs along the side of the 300 Area. In the 90s, the top 15 feet of soil was removed from some parts of the 300 Area and dumped into a lined landfill at Hanford. The uranium flowing into the river dropped to safe levels. But since then the uranium flow has risen again. It was determined that there was uranium below the fifteen foot level that was been leached out of the soil when the river rose and the ground water rose with it, resoaking the soil that contained the uranium.

          Before the seven PM official presentation, Heart of America Northwest showed some slides and raised some important questions. Three contamination levels were discussed. There is an “industrial” standard for workers in buildings and grounds which would result in eight additional cases of cancer per ten thousand people. The Federal cleanup standard for residential use is one additional case of cancer per ten thousand people. The Washington State Standard is one additional case of cancer per one hundred thousand people. Federal law says that if a state standard is stricter than the national standard, then the state standard should take precedence. The Hanford plan was calling for the weakest of the three for part of the 300 Area and, as far as I understand, the Federal standard for the rest of the area. One additional concern about the designation of the industrial area was that it was going to have to be permanently fenced off and guarded from any public use. This might be difficult to maintain for decades.

For more information on 300 Area at Hanford:

Article from Hanford DOE about 300 Area

Article about Hanford 300 Area from EPA

Pacific Northwest Laboratory article about Hanford 300 Area

Video of 300 Area cleanup plan

Mystery objects with high radiation have been found on the Fukushima coast. ajw.asahi.com

The Fukushima disaster emergency is not over and much more radioactive water could wind up in the oceans. enenews.com

There was a close call at the Alabama Farley nuclear plant when the reactor let out a large amount of gas causing a five hour evacuation. enenews.com

In a mock terrorist attack on the Savannah River nuclear plant in South Carolina, the invaders managed to reach the area where highly enriched uranium and plutonium are stored.  enenews.com

Ambient office = .123 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .074 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .069 microsieverts per hour

Banana from local grocery store =  .125 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .101 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .091 microsieverts per hour

Fukushima plant may have leaked huge amount of radioactive tritium into ocean. enenews.com

South Korean fishery products are nearly free of radiation and safe to eat, the government said Friday, amid renewed public scare over possible contamination from radioactive leakage in Japan over two years ago. globalpost.com

On Thursday, the Oregon-based company announced Rolls-Royce will play “a key role” in preparing NuScale’s application for funding from the Department of Energy to help develop small modular reactor technology. nuclearstreet.com

A parliamentary vote in Taiwan on whether to hold a referendum on the completion of the Lungmen nuclear power plant descended into a brawl between opposing parties. world-nuclear-news.org

Ambient office = .078 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .086 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .070 microsieverts per hour

Vine ripened tomatoe from Cosco =  .156 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .057 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .050 microsieverts per hour