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.
Trump denies report that FBI sought nuclear documents during Mar-a-Lago nbcnews.com
Ohio Lt. Gov. pushed for even larger nuclear bailout energynews.us
Ambient office = 84 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 104 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 105 nanosieverts per hour
Avocado from Central Market = 89 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 87 nanosieverts per hour
Part 1 of 2 Parts
For months, the world has been concerned that fighting around the huge Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine poses a risk for all of Europe. Earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a global nuclear watchdog, said that the situation was getting worse.
Last Friday, there were explosions at the Zaporizhzhia plant spurring fears of a nuclear disaster. Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the shelling of the plant which was seized by Russian forces early in March. Ukraine president Zelensky called the attacks a “brazen crime” and an “act of terror”. He added that “Today, the occupiers created another extremely risky situation for everyone in Europe.
The Russian Ministry of Defense denied the Ukraine claim. They said that Ukraine had carried out three artillery strikes on the plant. The Ministry also said that the generating capacity of one reactor at the plant had been reduced and the power being supplied to another reactor had been cut off.
The Ukrainian state-run nuclear power operator, Energoatom, accused Russian forces of hitting the Zaporizhzhia plant and using the nuclear plant as a staging ground for attacking nearby targets which include many in the occupied city of Enerhodar and the nearby city of Nikopol.
When fierce fighting first broke out near the nuclear power plant in the early days of the Ukrainian war, it triggered fears of a nuclear disaster and prompted condemnations from the international community.
Russian troops forced the managers of the plant to work at gun point. A week after the Russian occupation, Kremlin sent officials and technicians from Russia’s state nuclear agency to assist with repairs and manage the facility. Ukrainian and Russian staff have been working with each other ever since. Communication with the outside world have been intermittent.
Energoatom said last Friday that the Russian shelling had hit in and around the nuclear plant and had damaged a water intake which cut off power and water to much of the city of Enerhodar. The Ukrainian agency said, “Three hits were recorded directly at the site of the station,” one of which was “near one of the power units where the nuclear reactor is located.”
International media companies were unable to verify damage claims at the plant which covers a large site. Much of the recent Russian artillery fire in that area has originated from near the plant. It is unclear if parts of the nuclear plant were hit accidentally. Energoatom said on Saturday that the plant was operational. They also said that the Ukrainian staff at the plant continued to work to ensure radiation safety. Ukrainian prosecutors have started an investigation into the incident. It has been claimed that the explosions happened within seconds of Russian artillery being fired.
The exact danger posed by the explosions in and around the Zaporizhzhia plant are unclear. Rafael Grossi is the head of the IAEA. He said in an interview last Tuesday, that the situation at the plant was “completely out of control”. He added that “Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated. What is at stake is extremely serious and extremely grave and dangerous.”
Please read Part 2 next
Ambient office = 90 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 96 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Watermelon from Central Market = 59 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 79 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient office = 149 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 93 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 93 nanosieverts per hour
Tomato from Central Market = 119 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 101 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 82 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient office = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 96 nanosieverts per hour
Red onion from Central Market = 93 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 91 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 76 nanosieverts per hour
Dover Sole from Central = 107 nanosieverts per hour
Last week, I posted about a dispute over a contract award for operation of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Now a second company has disputed the award of the three-billion-dollar contract to Bechtel subsidiary Tularosa Basin Range Services. Westinghouse subsidiary Carlsbad Operations Alliance filled a protest with the Government Accounting Office (GOA) on August 1st. The GAO has until November 9th to issue a ruling before work on the new contract can proceed. In the meantime, the current WIPP operator, Nuclear Waste Partnership, will continue to manage WIPP.
The WIPP was put into operation in 1999 to permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive materials and waste in an old salt mine two thousand feet below the surface near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The winning contractor will be charged with overseeing transportation of waste to the WIPP from Department of Energy sites around the U.S. The contactor must also provide constant maintenance of the WIPP and execute capital projects such as a continuing rebuild of the WIPP’s ventilation system expected to be completed in 2026 at a cost of almost five hundred million dollars.
The capital project is called the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS). It is meant to increase the airflow that was restricted in the salt mine because of an accidental radiological release in 2014. This release was caused by a mispackaged drum of waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory which is under the oversight of Los Alamos National Security of which Becthel was a partial owner. Los Alamos National Security was the primary contractor at the lab until 2018 when it was denied an extension due to the WIPP accident in 2014. The local community surrounding the WIPP hopes that the contract process will produce a company that focuses on safety.
John Heaton is the co-chair of the Carlsbad Mayor’s Nuclear Task Force. He said, “Number one, we want a company that is competent at the site. A company that values safety and respects the workers and the projects that are going on.” He went on to say that he did not expect significant job losses among the WIPP workers. However, there could be turnover at the top executive level. He added “They’ll bring in some executives that have presumably been well-vetted by the DOE. 99.9 percent of employees will stay the same. It will just be a new leadership group. We hope they continue to serve the country, bring safety to the facility and continue to provide good jobs to our community.”
In a press release announcing the initial award to Tularosa Basin Range Services, Bechtel touted its “44 years of experience managing DOE sites in New Mexico, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina.”
Dena Volovar is the Bechtel National executive vice president. “The mission to safely dispose of defense-related nuclear waste is vitally important for protecting people and the planet. We’re honored to be entrusted with this mission and look forward to joining the WIPP team and the Carlsbad community.”
The WIPP has suffered a number of problems and accidents over the years. Hopefully a change of contractors can improve its safety record.
