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.

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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

  • Geiger Readings for Feb 01, 2023

    Geiger Readings for Feb 01, 2023

    Ambient office = 100 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 67 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 70 nanosieverts per hour

    Blueberry from Central Market = 76 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 78 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 63 nanosieverts per hour

  • Nuclear Weapons 809 – Iran Has Enough Enriched Uranium To Create Several Nuclear Weapons – Part 2 of 2 Parts

    Nuclear Weapons 809 – Iran Has Enough Enriched Uranium To Create Several Nuclear Weapons – Part 2 of 2 Parts

    Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
         The Iranian mission to the U.N. responded to questions about Grossi’s remarks. They said that Iran “is prepared to stick to its commitments within the framework of the (deal) provided the other parties do the same. The Iranian nuclear program has never been about making nuclear weapons and enriching has nothing to do with deviating from it.” These comments were made despite Iran accelerating its enrichment after the collapse of the 2015 deal.
         Iranian state television separately quoted Mohammad Eslami who is the head of Iran’s civilian nuclear program. He said that Iran would welcome a visit by Grossi to the country.
         As Iran’s rial currency plunge further to historic lows against the dollar amid its crises, Iranian officials also have made unsupported claims about American officials agreeing to their demands for frozen money abroad being released.
         At the U.S. State Department, the concerns about Iran’s claims have grown more and more pointed. Ned Price is a State Department spokesperson who responded to a question on Monday. He said, “We’ve heard a number of statements from the Iranian foreign minister that are dubious if not outright lies, so I would just keep that broader context in mind when you point to statements from the Iranian foreign minister.”
         Price and other officials in the Biden administration say that any future talks with Iran remain off the table as Iran cracks down on months-long protests after the death of ZMahsa Amini. She was a young woman detained in September by Iran’s morality police. At least five hundred and twenty seven people have been killed and over nineteen thousand five hundred arrested during the unrest. This was reported by Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group monitored the protests.
         Another part of American and European exasperation comes from the fact that Iran is sending bomb-carrying drones to Russia which have repeatedly targeted Ukrainian power plants and civilian targets. Iran has a strained history with Russia. It is not clear what they expect to get for supplying weapons to Russia. One Iranian lawmakers has suggested that Iran could get Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of pre-1979 U.S. warplanes. No such deal has yet been confirmed.
         Such fighter jets would provide a key air defense for Iran. This could be critical as its nuclear sites are tempting targets for Western nations fearful of an nuclear armed Iran. Israel has carried on strikes in Iraq and Syria to stop nuclear programs. It has publicly stated that it will not permit Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
         The U.S. and Israel also launched their biggest joint air, land and sea exercise this week with over one hundred and forty warplanes, an aircraft carrier group and almost eight thousand troops called Juniper Oak. The Pentagon described the drill as “not meant to be oriented around any single adversary or threat.” However, it comes amid increasing tensions with Iran and includes aerial refueling, targeting and suppressing enemy air defenses. Such capabilities would be crucial in conducting airstrikes.
         For now, Grossi said that there was “almost no diplomatic activity” over trying to restore the Iran nuclear deal. He now describes the agreement as an “empty shell.” However, he still urged more diplomacy as Iran would still need to design and test any possible nuclear weapon. “We shouldn’t give up,” he said.

  • Geiger Readings for Jan 31, 2023

    Geiger Readings for Jan 31, 2023

    Ambient office = 85 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 109 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 111 nanosieverts per hour

    Avocado from Central Market = 87 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 94 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 84 nanosieverts per hour

  • Nuclear Weapons 808 – Iran Has Enough Enriched Uranium To Create Several Nuclear Weapons – Part 1 of 2 Parts

    Nuclear Weapons 808 – Iran Has Enough Enriched Uranium To Create Several Nuclear Weapons – Part 1 of 2 Parts

    Part 1 of 2 Parts
         The United Nations’ (U.N.) top nuclear official is now warning that Iran has enough highly enriched uranium to build “several” nuclear warheads if it chooses. Unfortunately, diplomatic efforts once again restricting Iran’s nuclear program seem even less likely than before as Iran supplies drones to Russia in its war on Ukraine and riots shake the Islamic Republic.
         The warning about Iran’s uranium was issued by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He was responding to questions from European lawmakers this week which illustrated just how concerned the international community is. Iran has never enriched uranium to as high a level, even during the height of previous tensions between the West and Iran under the hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before the 2015 nuclear deal.
         For the past few months, nonproliferation experts have suggested that Iran had enough highly enriched uranium to build at least one nuclear weapon. Iran has long claimed that its program is for peaceful purposes. Grossi remarked that “we need to be extremely careful” in describing Iran’s nuclear program. He also bluntly acknowledged just how big Iran’s high-enriched uranium stockpile had grown. Gross said, “One thing is true: They have amassed enough nuclear material for several nuclear weapons, not one at this point.”
         The Argentinian diplomat then referred to Benjamin Netanyahu’s famous 2012 speech to the U.N. In the speech, the Israeli prime minister held up a cartoon-style bomb with a burning wick. He drew a red line through the image to urge the world not to allow Iran’s program to highly enrich uranium. The 2015 nuclear deal drastically reduced Iran’s uranium stockpile and capped its enrichment to three point six seven percent. Netanyahu successfully lobbied then-President Donald Trump to withdraw from the accord and created the current international tension.
          Grossi said, “You remember there was to be this issue of the breakthrough and Mr. Netanyahu drawing things at the U.N. and putting lines — well, that is long past. They have 70 kilograms (155 pounds) of uranium enriched at 60%. … The amount is there. That doesn’t mean they have a nuclear weapon. So they haven’t proliferated yet.”
          However, the danger still remains. Analysts pointed out what happened with North Korea (N.K.). It had reached a 1994 accord with the U.S. to abandon its nuclear weapons program. The arrangement collapsed in 2002. By 2005, N.K. was concerned about U.S. intentions after it invaded Iraq so it announced that it had built nuclear weapons. Today, N.K. has ballistic missiles that are designed to carry nuclear warheads and are capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
         Iranian diplomats have for years pointed to Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei’s preachings as a binding religious edict or fatwa that Iran would not develop an atomic bomb. However, Iranian officials in recent months have begun to openly talk about the possibility of building nuclear weapons.
         Talks between Iran and the West ended last August with a “final text” of a roadmap on restoring the 2015 arrangement that that Iran has still not accepted.
    Please read Part 2 next

  • Geiger Readings for Jan 30, 2023

    Geiger Readings for Jan 30, 2023

    Ambient office = 89 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 101 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 106 nanosieverts per hour

    Shallots from Central Market = 122 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 119 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 102 nanosieverts per hour

  • Geiger Readings for Jan 29, 2023

    Geiger Readings for Jan 29, 2023

    Ambient outside = 114 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 113 nanosieverts per hour

    Red bell pepper from Central Market = 113 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 80 nanosieverts per hour