Construction of Lufeng 5 gets under way world-nuclear-news.org

Palisades owner seeks federal grant to restart Michigan nuclear plant detroitnews.com

After U.N. conference, nuclear disarmament advocates look to new strategies angelusnews.com

Slovakia’s Mochovce 3 fuel loading begins world-nuclear-news.org

Ambient office = 81 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 92 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 99 nanosieverts per hour

Tomato from Central Market = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 103 nanosieverts per hour

Part 1 of 3 Parts
     Vakisasai Ramany is a senior vice-president of Electricité de France (EDF), a major French electric utility company. In April of 2021, he traveled to India to deliver a technical and commercial offer for nuclear reactors in person. During his visit, Ramany met with officials of the Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). NPCIL is the state-owned company that operates most of India’s commercial nuclear power plants. He submitted a long-delayed techno-commercial offer to supply engineering studies and equipment for the construction of six European Pressurized Reactors (EPRs) at the Jaitapur site in Maharashtra, India. The project was claimed to be the ”most powerful in the world”. It consisted of a nuclear power plant with a total installed capacity of nine and a half gigawatts of electricity. EPRs have had a significantly troubling record of cost and time overruns. The proposed Jaitapur project has faced strong protests from local residents and environmental activists. The cost of these reactors is likely to be in the tens of billions of dollars. So, the stakes are high for the French nuclear company to conclude its deal with India.
     In 2008, France and India signed a bilateral agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation on the development of nuclear energy. India had been placed under U.S. sanctions for conducting nuclear weapons tests in 1974 and 1998. India could not conduct trade in nuclear technology with other countries under the sanctions. India signed an agreement with the U.S. that allowed India to trade in nuclear technology which was followed by the agreement between France and India.
     India’s first nuclear test in 1974 provided the impetus for the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The NSG is a trade consortium established by countries involved in exporting nuclear energy technologies. The group established requirements that nuclear technologies and materials should be exported only to countries that had signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT entered into force in 1970. By 1974, India was not a signatory of the NPT and has never joined the treaty. Because of this, it was not allowed to purchase nuclear reactors or uranium from any member of the NSG. In 2008, India’s Prime Minister and the U.S. president formed an agreement. The U.S. government used its political power to force many of the more reluctant members of the NSG to sign a special waiver for India. Many countries, especially France and Russia, supported the waiver. They were drawn by the opportunities represented by India’s rapidly expanding energy market.
     Following the creation of the India-France bilateral agreement, India’s NPCIL and the French nuclear-maker Areva signed an agreement in 2009 for the supply of two to six EPRs. Soon after Areva fell into major financial trouble, it was taken over by EDF in 2016.
     EPRs are a type of pressurized water reactor built by a French and German collaboration. The reactors are advertised to have better safety features than some earlier designs. These features include a double barrier to ensure containment of radioactive materials in case of accidents. They are also claimed to be able to resist extreme hazards like earthquakes, flooding and extreme temperatures.
Please read Part 2 next

Fighting rages near Russian-held nuclear plant in Ukraine Aljazeera.com

Agreement signed for nuclear-powered mineral resource center in Yakutia neimagazine.com

Why do Israelis care less about the Iran nuclear threat? Jpost.com

Iran using nuclear deal to push oil sales on Europe foxnews.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ambient office = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 99 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 89 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 90 nanosieverts per hour

Montana nuclear power advisory council plan changed at ’11th hour’ heleair.com

Mar-a-Lago a magnet for spies, officials warn after nuclear file reportedly found theguardian.com

North Korea makes nuclear weapons policy ‘irreversible’ with new law – KCNA reuters.com

A nuclear power comeback in Germany? Dw.com

 

Ambient outside = 141 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 146 nanosieverts per hour

English cucumber from Central Market = 102 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 158 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 137 nanosieverts per hour

Pope: International law has been violated, nuclear risks worsened with war cahtolicnews.com

Trump wanted nuclear energy tested on the moon audacy.com

The world’s first nuclear-powered sub reopens to public navytimes.com

Benchmarking study sees uptick in US emissions world-nuclear-news.org

 

 

Ambient office = 94 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 149 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 139 nanosieverts per hour

Corn from Central Market = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 156 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 122 nanosieverts per hour

Dover Sole from Central = 89 nanosieverts per hour

Part 4 of 4 Parts (Please read Parts 1,2 and 3 first)  
     The Washington state Department of Ecology helps oversee the Hanford cleanup. Its staff meet with the Yakama Nation at least once a month. They describe their relationship with the tribal Nation as a bit of “push and pull”.
     Laura Watson is the director of the Washington state Department of Ecology. She said, “We are the regulators, and sometimes Yakama Nation would like us to push a little harder than they perceive us doing. And so there’s a little bit of that push and pull. And that’s fine, that’s actually important as a regulator to have folks pushing.”
     A fully rehabilitated Hanford site likely will not happen within the lifetime of Yakama Nation’s elders, or even the generation that follows. However, they are working diligently to bring younger tribal members to the effort.
     Samantha Redheart coordinates Stem programs for ER/WM. In recent years, she has held coloring contests, a mass mailing of postcards and visited local schools. The ER/WM has offered college scholarships for students studying such subjects as engineering and sciences. The STEM outreach program hopes that those who receive scholarships may one day bring that knowledge back to the community. Redheart said, “We always share that Hanford is a multi-generational cleanup site. Yakama Nation leaders and management are always looking into not just the cleanup today, but for our future generations and of our children that are not yet born.”
      Twenty-two high school students were allowed to visit Hanford in 2016. This was a rare opportunity, according to Redheart, because those under sixteen are usually not allowed on most of the site. She said that they took the students to series of culturally significant sites, pointing out the traditional cultural artifacts and salmon spawning grounds. The experience was thoroughly regimented. It involved DoE staff, hasmat guides and strict timelines.
     If Sohappy got her wish, sharing her knowledge of Hanford before it was a nuclear site with the next generation would involve something like a trip back in time. She would take them on wagons and horses to each of the important sites. She would make sure to point out where the strawberry fields and old town once stood. It is difficult to know whether that will ever be a reality. Personally, she has not been to the Hanford site for over a decade. She said, “It angers me that I can’t go where my dad used to wander around. There’s nothing there that’s pleasurable. Not anymore anyway. It’s all torn up.”
(Editor’s note: I had just started my consulting business in the early 1980s when I got a call from a friend of mine. He had been consulting with the Yakama Nation on economic development. Russell Jim was just getting his new program going. The tribe needed a nuclear laboratory that they could contract to monitor the Hanford cleanup but finding one was not easy. I contacted Jim and told him that I would be glad to help. After a lot of research, I was able to find an RFP from the Washington state Department of Ecology for nuclear laboratories. I used it as a guide to craft a new RFP for the Yakama Nation which was accepted and used by the tribe to find their own nuclear consultant.)