“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
Aug 04, 2024
The Holtec International Mothballed Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan
LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Saturday, (08/03/2024)
This is where politics and reality don’t mix, but rather cast a shadow over human life versus capitalism and insane carelessness. There is an old saying that applies here — something like “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. But you should, if you are thoughtful and considerate, just accept the fact that the dog is old and leave him be.
We are naively treating the concept of more nuclear energy like it’s an old friend, which it never has been, and never will be. And it will be the death of us , if nuclear war doesn’t accomplish it first, or add nuclear power to the war process, along with a little boost from CO2, the triad can end it all soon, or we can choose our poison, and it will happen by one or the other sooner or later. It seems there is no way out; but we don’t have to hasten the process. ~llaw
US nuclear plant unfit for quick resurrection, former lead engineer says
August 2, 202410:49 AM PDT Updated a day ago
WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) – The first U.S. nuclear plant to ever try reopening after undergoing preparations for permanent closure is not fit to restart anytime soon because it sidestepped important safety work for years before retirement, a former official at the reactor said.
Power company Entergy (ETR.N), opens new tab closed the Palisades reactor in Michigan in 2022, after the plant generated electricity for more than 50 years. Privately-held Holtec International bought Palisades shortly after and has since secured a $1.52 billion conditional U.S. loan guarantee to restart. Holtec seeks to open the plant in about a year.
The fate of Palisades is closely watched by the nuclear industry as at least two other shuttered plants, including a unit at Constellation Energy’s (CEG.O), opens new tab Three Mile Island, consider reopening.
The administration of President Joe Biden sees nuclear power as a critical tool in the fight against climate change and supports efforts to restart closed plants, delay retirements of existing ones, and speed permitting for new projects.
“I’m pro-nuclear, but they selected the wrong horse to ride to town on,” said Alan Blind, who was engineering director at the Palisades plant from 2006 to 2013 under Entergy.
Blind said the plant got exemptions from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the nuclear safety regulator, allowing it to fall short of safety design standards that more modern plants must adhere to because it was nearing retirement.
Those safety standards include prevention of cooling systems being clogged by the breakdown of insulation on pipes, defense against earthquakes, and reduction of risks to fires, Blind said, adding he had been monitoring the plants’ exemption requests since his retirement.
“I’m worried that the NRC will not insist that the generic safety issues be the fixed before they allow Palisades to restart,” Blind told Reuters.
Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesperson, said the safety review of Holtec’s applications “will include examining how Holtec plans to follow through on technical issues, such as what Mr. Blind describes, that were unresolved when the plant shut down in 2022.”
“Those plans will be public to the greatest extent possible,” and the NRC will allow a restart only if Holtec meets safety and environmental requirements. Burnell added NRC will soon offer an opportunity to offer legal challenges to Holtec’s requests to restart, a standard procedure.
Holtec believes Palisades can restart in about a year within the NRC’s existing regulatory framework, said spokesperson Pat O’Brien. “As part of the repowering, Palisades will undergo extensive inspections, testing, maintenance, system and equipment upgrades and modifications to ensure the continuation of safe and reliable operation throughout the plant’s extended operational life,” O’Brien said.
Entergy supports the effort to re-open Palisades, said spokesperson Mark Sullivan. He did comment on Blind’s concerns about safety standards at the plant.
Entergy shut Palisades in May 2022, two weeks ahead of schedule over a glitch with a control rod, despite a $6 billion federal program to save nuclear plants suffering from rising costs and competition from natural gas and renewable energy.
The Biden administration’s Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy issued Holtec a conditional $1.52 billion loan guarantee in March to restart Palisades.
The LPO referred questions to the NRC.
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Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Editing by Nick Zieminski
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Thomson Reuters
Timothy reports on energy and environment policy and is based in Washington, D.C. His coverage ranges from the latest in nuclear power, to environment regulations, to U.S. sanctions and geopolitics. He has been a member of three teams in the past two years that have won Reuters best journalism of the year awards. As a cyclist he is happiest outside.Subscribe
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
There are 7 categories, with the latest (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is 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. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning 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 no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in this evening’s Post.)
- IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)
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, (08/03/2024)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Nuclear war threat again? | CNN Politics
CNN
Nuclear war threat again? 05:43 ; ‘I’ve lost everything‘: Woman speaks after losing son, grandchild in landslide. 01:56 ; Is this dolphin spotted in …
Here’s how Point Beach Nuclear Plant fared in its latest safety inspections
AOL.com
“And when all of a sudden we talk about using nuclear weapons in the Taiwan Strait, we are very clearly blurring the commitments we have made.
TVA’s biggest nuclear plant turns 50 | Chattanooga Times Free Press
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Browns Ferry generates up to 3,954 megawatts of electricity, or about 20% of all of TVA’s power, and supplies enough power for more than 2 million …
Nuclear Power
NEWS
see how the new technology could change the future of nuclear power – Yahoo
Yahoo
Other notable nuclear energy projects include a nuclear power plant being built in Wyoming on the site of a retired coal plant, which drastically …
Nuclear Energy would get slight boost in ’25 Senate appropriations bill; waste account whole
ExchangeMonitor
… Reactor Concepts RD&D, Advanced Fuels and Front End Fuel Cycle: areas that broadly focus on future technology for new nuclear power plants. The …
US nuclear plant unfit for quick resurrection, former lead engineer says – Reuters
Reuters
The first U.S. nuclear plant to ever try reopening after undergoing preparations for permanent closure is not fit to restart anytime soon because …
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Florida flooding emergency declared as tropical threat draws near – WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV
Florida flooding emergency declared as tropical threat draws near … Do you support or oppose the development of more nuclear power plants in the US?
Nuclear War
NEWS
Nuclear war threat again? | CNN Politics
CNN
“nuclear war is as dangerous to civilization…. as the incoming asteroid was to the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago – a civilization-ending event,” …
Russian CEO Reveals New ‘Doomsday Drone’ to Use in Nuclear War – Newsweek
Newsweek
Amid escalating nuclear threats, Russia has developed a “doomsday drone” in preparation for potential nuclear attack scenarios, a top executive of …
Banning Sadako Won’t Keep Kids Safe from Nuclear War – LA Progressive
LA Progressive
The story of Sadako Sasaki tells the true story of a 12-year-old girl who survived the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima as a toddler. Why ban it?
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Russian CEO Reveals New ‘Doomsday Drone’ to Use in Nuclear War – Newsweek
Newsweek
Amid escalating nuclear threats, Russia has developed a “doomsday drone” in preparation for potential nuclear attack scenarios, a top executive of …
What is Russia’s ‘nuclear doctrine’? – VOA News
VOA News
On the first day of the war, Putin said “whoever tries to impede us, let alone create threats for our country and its people, must know that the …
Army Intel Report Cites New Long-Range Chinese Missile Threats to US Homeland
Warrior Maven
… threats likely being watched closely by the Pentagon. Certainly … attack is never mistaken for a nuclear strike. It is possible the PRC