“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
JUL 13, 2024
Three Mile Island pictured on June 3, 2024 – (Jeremy Long, WITF)
LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Saturday, (07/13/2024)
What can I say? Except this is just more insanity coming from an industry that simply should not exist, and never should have been allowed to exist. Why can’t we understand that instead of adding to the approaching “nuclear armageddon”, when we should be eliminating ‘all things nuclear’ of every kind on planet Earth. There was a reason the 3-Mile Island nuclear power plant was shut down, and it, among others, like Chernobyl, Fukushima, and dozens of other serious nuclear accidents, ought to be proof enough that nuclear reactors are ungodly dangerous to humanity. And the more of them we continue to operate and build the more “accidents” we will have until, unless nuclear war exterminates us first, there soon comes a time when we all die from radiation poisoning.
The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had just two reactors. But on March 28, 1979, an accidental malfunction caused the Reactor 2 core to begin to melt, releasing radiation to the surrounding area, but fortunately the core melting was stopped before a complete meltdown occurred. However, the necessary cleanup of the nuclear damage will still not be completed until 2037 (according to the following article)
Why would we want to revive that horrible memory for so many of us again — ever? As for me, it was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’, and I shortly thereafter, in the spring of 1980, left the nuclear business after a long career of blindly misjudging the entire nuclear industry. ~llaw
Three Mile Island considers nuclear restart as Pa. lawmakers look to new tech to meet demand
The plant’s owner is considering reopening as the demand for power rises along with new technology.
- By
- Rachel McDevitt, StateImpact Pennsylvania
- July 12, 2024
This story originally appeared on StateImpact Pa
The company that owns one reactor at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg is floating the idea of reopening the shuttered nuclear plant.
TMI’s Unit 1 reactor closed in 2019 because owner Exelon said it wasn’t competitive against cheaper methane gas and renewable sources amid flat demand for power.
But demand is growing now with the rise of data centers and new technology, making the plant’s owner question if it could be worth it to reopen. TMI-1 is now owned by Constellation, a company formed in 2022 when Exelon split its power generation and transmission businesses into two companies.
Constellation spokesman Dave Snyder said the effort to reopen a closed plant in Michigan sparked the discussion about TMI.
He said the company is always looking for ways to add more clean energy and that extending licenses at current plants is the most immediate way to do that. Restarting closed plants is another opportunity.
“Though we have determined it would be technically feasible to restart the unit, we have not made any decision on a restart as there are many economic, commercial, operational and regulatory considerations remaining,” Snyder said.
TMI’s Unit 2 reactor partially melted down in 1979 and never came back online. The accident was the worst at a commercial nuclear site in the country, causing the evacuation of an estimated 80,000 people from central Pennsylvania. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said radioactive releases during the accident were low enough that they would not be expected to negatively impact health, though some people in the area have contested that. The incident effectively stopped nuclear power’s growth in the U.S. for decades.
In 2020 Energy Solutions took over the license for TMI-2 and began decommissioning. It plans to finish the cleanup by 2037.
Unit 1 was not affected by the accident, and had been licensed to operate until 2034.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office did not say whether the state is involved in Constellation’s plans.
Shapiro’s spokesperson Manuel Bonder emphasized Shapiro’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy and said the administration “recognizes the role Pennsylvania’s nuclear generation fleet plays in providing safe, reliable, carbon-free electricity that helps reduce emissions and makes Pennsylvania’s energy economy more competitive.
“The Governor supports efforts to ensure the reliability of Pennsylvania’s energy grid while protecting and creating energy jobs,” Bonder said.
There is no playbook for restarting a retired nuclear plant, said Patrick White, research director of the nonpartisan think tank Nuclear Innovation Alliance, which promotes advanced nuclear energy.
Subscribe
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
There are 6 categories, including a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives, as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links in each category about the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
- All Things Nuclear
- Nuclear Power
- Nuclear Power Emergencies
- Nuclear War
- Nuclear War Threats
- Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available in this evening’s Post.)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Saturday, (07/13/2024)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
US and South Korea sign joint nuclear deterrence guidelines in face of North Korean threats
ABC27
… things to know ahead of Pocono Raceway weekend. 18 hours ago. Video … The U.S. has long promised to use all its capabilities, including nuclear …
Announcing DOOMSDAY MACHINES | Restricted Data – The Nuclear Secrecy Blog
The Nuclear Secrecy Blog
The “Welcome to Doomsday Machines” post that I put up today lays out what it is going to be all about. It is a very different sort of endeavor …
Three Mile Island considers nuclear restart – WHYY
WHYY
… all clean energy sources, including nuclear, when we think about what is it going to take to hit our climate goals,” White said. Talks of TMI …
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Three Mile Island considers nuclear restart – WHYY
WHYY
The company that owns one reactor at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg is floating the idea of reopening the shuttered nuclear plant. TMI’s Unit 1 …
NRC taking the next step toward a possible restart of Palisades nuclear plant – Toledo Blade
Toledo Blade
The historic effort to restart the Palisades nuclear plant in southwest Michigan took another step forward on Thursday night when the U.S. Nuclear …
Nuclear Energy Gets a Much-Needed Boost – Articles – Advisor Perspectives
Advisor Perspectives
President Joe Biden, as you’ve no doubt heard, has had a rough few weeks. Yet on Tuesday, he signed a bill into law that could well prove …
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
No emergency after sirens sound at North Carolina nuclear plant, officials say – MSN
MSN
“Emergency Management is working with Duke Energy to determine the cause,” they said in their announcement.
Nuclear War
NEWS
UN demands Russia immediately return Europe’s biggest nuclear plant to Ukraine
ABC News – The Walt Disney Company
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that Russia urgently withdraw its military and personnel from Europe’s largest nuclear …
N. Korea threatens to boost nuke capability over US-S. Korea deterrence guidelines
ABC News – The Walt Disney Company
North Korea has threatened to boost its nuclear fighting capability and make the U.S. and South Korea pay “an unimaginably harsh price” as it …
President Has Sole Ability to Launch Nuclear Weapons, Pentagon Report Says – Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
The “nuclear football” was dangerously close to Jan. 6 rioters. The Defense Department’s watchdog was then tasked with reviewing what would happen …
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Putin Ally Warns NATO Underestimates Russia’s Nuclear Threats – Newsweek
Newsweek
… nuclear threats. Amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, prominent Russian officials such as Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security …
N. Korea threatens to boost nuke capability over US-S. Korea deterrence guidelines
ABC News – The Walt Disney Company
… nuclear war against” North Korea. The statement said its enemies’ escalating nuclear threats urgently require North Korea to further improve its ..
US and South Korea sign joint nuclear deterrence guidelines in face of North Korean threats
The Washington Post
The consultative body was established as North Korea has sharply accelerated its missile testing activities and openly threatened to use nuclear ..
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
Heartbreaking final moments of 23-year-old whose body dissolved in hot springs – JOE
JOE
… Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Sitting atop an active volcanic caldera, Yellowstone, America’s first National Park, is home to more …