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Geiger Readings for Sep 28, 2022
Ambient office = 127 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 124 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 128 nanosieverts per hour
Red bell pepper from Central Market = 93 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 74 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 66 nanosieverts per hour
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Nuclear Reactors 1068 – Director General Of The IAEA Delivers Opening Speech For Annual Conference – Part 1 of 2 Parts
Part 1 of 2 Parts
Rafael Mariano Grossi is the Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He delivered an opening speech to the sixty sixth IAEA general conference held recently in Vienna, Austria. He announced that this is the second successive year that the IAEA has revised its annual projection. Last year’s upward revision was the first since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. This year’s figure shows that “we are at a defining moment in the world’s transition to a more secure, stable and affordable energy future,” Grossi said. He also said that he hopes to continue detailed talks with Ukraine and Russia about a safety and security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Here are some excerpts from his speech.
Future Nuclear Capacity
“Today the 430 nuclear power reactors operating in 32 countries provide approximately 386 gigawatts of installed capacity, supplying some 10% of the world’s electricity and around a quarter of all low-carbon electricity. There are 57 reactors under construction in 18 countries; these are expected to provide about 59 gigawatts of additional capacity. Taking into account the increased interest in nuclear power across the world, the IAEA has revised upwards by 10% its high-case projection for the capacity growth in nuclear power generation up to the year 2050. This projection sees capacity more than doubling to 873 gigawatts. A number of challenges would need to be addressed to achieve this increase, including regulatory and industrial harmonization and progress in high-level waste disposal.”
Zaporizhzhia Safety Zone
“I have called for the urgent establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone to stop shelling damaging the plant and its crucial offsite power supply. Last week I held high-level meetings in New York where this proposal received strong international support. I have begun detailed talks with Ukraine and the Russian Federation aimed at agreeing and implementing the zone as soon as possible. We know what needs to be done. It is possible. I am ready to continue consultations in both countries this week so that we can protect this plant.”
Covid Pandemic
“Since early 2020, the IAEA has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. Its emergency response to the pandemic has been the biggest in the Agency’s history. We have sent equipment and materials to 306 laboratories in 130 countries. As we hope this pandemic nears its end, we must be ready for the next one. Member States have embraced and are actively participating in the IAEA Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action, established to integrate nuclear and related techniques into efforts to monitor and respond to outbreaks of zoonotic disease, and to enhance global preparedness for future pandemics.”
Healthcare
“The global gap in cancer care continues to grow. Half of Africa’s countries lack even a single life-saving radiotherapy machine; 70% of the African population do not have access to radiotherapy. In Latin America, where I come from, and in some parts of Asia, people die of preventable and curable forms of cancer. That is why, this year in Addis Ababa we launched Rays of Hope, stepping up our commitment and galvanizing the international community to address this silent killer … Rays of Hope is raising hopes. More than 20 Member States have already requested assistance through the initiative, which will help countries provide access to life-saving radiotherapy treatment, strengthen radiation safety legislation and infrastructure, and provide quality control, guidance, training and equipment.”
Please read Part 2 next -
Nuclear News Roundup Sep 27, 2022
RoPower to repower coal plant with small reactors world-nuclear-news.org
KBR to Deliver Innovative Solutions in Support of UK Nuclear Infrastructure prnewswire.com
Nigeria remains committed to nuclear non-proliferation – Buhari vanguardngr.com
Rolls-Royce Submarines opens academy to train nuclear engineers energylivenews.com
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Geiger Readings for Sep 27, 2022
Ambient office = 136 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 133 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 136 nanosieverts per hour
English cucumber from Central Market = 80 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 105 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 91 nanosieverts per hour
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Nuclear Reactors 1067 – U.S. Air Force Issues A Request for Proposals for a Microreactor
The U.S. Department of the Air Force collaborated with the Defense Logistics Agency Energy (DLAE) to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for a microreactor to be constructed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. The RFP is available at the Sam.gov website. DLAE “enables mission readiness by providing globally resilient energy solutions to the Warriors and the Whole of Government.”
According to documents that accompanied the RFP, the U.S. Government intends to award a firm-fixed price contact for the construction, provision, testing, operation, management, maintenance, and eventual removal of a “nuclear microreactor energy production facility” (EPF) to deliver electricity and steam to the base. The contract will be funded using annual appropriations. The contract term may not exceed thirty years. This term consists of periods for construction, testing, energy production and delivery, and EPF removal.
The EFP will be owned and operated by the contactor. The U.S. Government will purchase its energy output via a long-term contact under a firm-fixed price. The EFP must be able to produce electricity and steam and to meet a baseload electricity demand of five megawatts.
The Assistant Secretary of Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment (SAF/IE) is a civilian office in the U.S. Department of the Air Force. “The office has overall responsibility for installations strategy and strategic basing processes; built and natural infrastructure; facility, process and operational energy; environment, safety and occupational health; and to ensure the sustainability and operational readiness of the Department of the Air Force.”
The SAF/IE said that the RFP was an important first step towards developing the “the next-generation energy technology needed for energy resilience at Eielson Air Force Base and to inform future initiatives to power national security infrastructure”.
Nancy Balkus is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety and Infrastructure. She said that “This program is extremely important to mission assurance and sustainment in the face of climate change and continued national defense threats and demonstrates the department’s commitment to ensuring our installations have a safe, reliable supply of energy, no matter their location.”
SAF/IE’s provisional timeline for the project anticipates that vendor selection will take place in 2023. Permitting and licensing will begin in the same year. Construction would start in 2025 with commercial operation commencing in 2027. The reactor will be licensed by the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The EPF has to be able to operate independently from the commercial grid in the area. The ability of the EFP to reduce greenhouse gas emissions make microreactors a promising energy source for remote domestic military installations critical to national security infrastructure, SAE/IE said.
Project Pele is a separate project of U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO). “The SCO is an organization within the Office of the Secretary of Defense which seeks to identify, analyze, and prototype disruptive applications of new systems; unconventional uses of existing systems; and implementing emerging technologies to create operational strategic effects.”
Project Pele is dedicated to building a TRISO-fueled prototype mobile microreactor at the Idaho National Laboratory. The SCO in June awarded BWXT a contract to complete and delivery the Pele reactor in 2024. -
Nuclear News Roundup Sep 26, 2022
Russia’s Nuclear Threats Are All Putin Has Left theatlantic.com
How US is using strategic ambiguity to counter Putin’s nuclear threats thehill.com
U.S. warns of ‘horrific’ consequences if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine dnbc.com
EDF to examine extensions for Hartlepool and Heysham 1 world-nuclear-news.org
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Geiger Readings for Sep 26, 2022
Ambient office = 96 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 72 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 69 nanosieverts per hour
Blueberry from Central Market = 105 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 66 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 59 nanosieverts per hour
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Geiger Readings for Sep 25, 2022
Ambient office = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 61 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 65 nanosieverts per hour
Avocado from Central Market = 112 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 122 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 115 nanosieverts per hour
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Nuclear News Roundup Sep 25, 2022
Maryland couple pleads guilty to selling nuclear-related secrets abcnews.go.com
Constellation Joins State and Federal Officials to Celebrate Progress on Nation’s First Nuclear-Powered Clean Hydrogen Facility businesswire.com
Truth or bluff? Why Putin’s nuclear warnings have the West worried reuters.com
Nuclear attack in Ukraine should spark ‘devastating’ Nato response, says Poland theguardian.com