Author: admin

— Hanford nuclear worker brought to tears over leaking waste — “I was ready to sell everything and move to the woods” (VIDEO)

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From 2013
Posted on ENE News

Title: Hanford worker’s struggle to ‘do the right thing’ link has been removed
Source: KING 5
Author: SUSANNAH FRAME
Date: April 25, 2013

The private company that manages the radioactive waste tank farms at the Hanford Site ignored or missed numerous red flags over a 10-month period that showed a double-shell tank holding some of the worst waste was leaking.

Over much of that time, one Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) employee — Mike Geffre — continued to urge his superiors to take some sort of action. […]

“It bugged me to the point I was ready to sell everything and move to the woods, go to the mountains where I didn’t have to hear about it, read about it. I didn’t want to hear about Hanford. I didn’t want to deal with it anymore,” said Geffre.

Through tears, Geffre struggled to express how distraught he’d become. […]

“I kept the faith that they would do the right thing. I believed in my company that they would do what was right. That’s why the stress came into play. I kept trusting them, and when nothing happened I really struggled,” said Geffre. […]

Watch the broadcast here — link has been removed

http://enenews.com/u-s-nuclear-worker-brought-to-tears-over-leaking-waste-i-was-ready-to-sell-everything-and-move-to-the-woods-video

Leak worsens in massive Hanford tank holding nuclear waste

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From  King5 TV

VIDEO on website

Susannah Frame, KING
April 18, 2016

A leak in a massive nuclear waste storage tank at the Hanford Site has expanded significantly, KING 5 learned this weekend.

After leak detector alarms sounded early Sunday morning, crews at Hanford lowered a camera into the two-foot-wide space between the tank’s inner and outer walls. They discovered 8.4 inches of radioactive and chemically toxic waste has seeped into the annulus.

The U.S. Department of Energy released a statement Monday calling the leak an “anticipated” outcome of an ongoing effort to empty the tank in question. The Washington state Department of Ecology said, “There is no indication of waste leaking into the environment or risk to the public at this time.”

But one former tank farm worker said the leak should be considered a major problem.

“This is catastrophic. This is probably the biggest event to ever happen in tank farm history. The double shell tanks were supposed to be the saviors of all saviors (to hold waste safely from people and the environment),” said former Hanford worker Mike Geffre.

Geffre is the worker who first discovered that the tank, known as AY-102, was failing in 2011. In a 2013 series, “Hanford’s Dirty Secrets,” the KING 5 Investigators exposed that the government contractor in charge of the tanks, Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), ignored Geffre’s findings for nearly a year. The company finally admitted the problem in 2012.

Until now, the leak found by Geffre was very slow. The liquid would almost immediately dry up, leaving a salt-like substance on the floor of the two-foot space between the tank’s walls, called the annulus.

Approximately three weeks ago, work began to pump out the contents of AY-102, which has the capacity to hold one million gallons of the deadly waste. The state of Washington has been pressuring the federal government, which owns Hanford, to pump out AY-102 for three-and-a-half years because of the cracking and slow leaking discovered by Geffre in 2011. Sources told KING the disturbance caused by the pumping must have exacerbated the leak: essentially blowing a hole in the aging tank allowing the material to leak more quickly into the outer shell.

Tank AY-102 is one of 28 double-shell tanks at Hanford (there are 177 underground tanks total) holding nuclear byproducts from nearly four decades of plutonium production on the Hanford Nuclear Site, located near Richland. Initially the plutonium was used to fuel the bombed dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in World War II.

Plutonium production continued throughout the Cold War. Since 1989 the work at Hanford has focused solely on cleanup – the most difficult being getting rid of the liquid waste left behind that threatens the health of people, wildlife and the environment, including the nearby Columbia River.

The new leak poses problems on several fronts. The outer shell of AY-102 does not have the exhaust or filtration system needed to keep the dangerous gases created by the waste in check. Workers have been ordered to wear full respiratory safety gear in the area, but the risk remains.

“The hazards to workers just went up by a factor of 10,” said Geffre.

In addition, the breakdown calls into question the viability of three other double-shell tanks at Hanford that have the exact design of AY-102.

“The primary tanks weren’t designed to stage waste like this for so many years,” said a current worker. “There’s always the question, ‘Are the outer shells compromised’”?

The accumulation of waste in the outer shell also means the deadliest substance on earth is that much closer to the ground surrounding the tank. And currently there is no viable plan in place to take care of it.

“It makes me sad that they didn’t believe me that there was a problem in 2011,” said Geffre. “I wish they would have listened to me and reacted faster. Maybe none of this would be happening now. It’s an example of a culture at Hanford of ‘We don’t have problems here. We’re doing just fine.’ Which is a total lie,” said Geffre.

Full statement from Dept. of Energy:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) are evaluating recently identified, anticipated changes in the amount of waste between the inner and outer shells (the annulus) of Hanford double-shell tank AY-102.

Since March 3, DOE and WRPS have been retrieving waste from Tank AY-102, and to date approximately 95 percent of the material has been retrieved.  Early on the morning of April 17, crews identified an increase in the waste level in the tank’s annulus. Early on the morning of April 18, a slight decrease in the height of the waste in the annulus was detected. Out of an abundance of caution, DOE and WRPS are in the process of evaluating the tank’s condition.

DOE and WRPS are committed to ensuring the safety of the Hanford workforce, the public and the environment.

WA Dept. of Ecology statement:

RICHLAND – An alarm was activated on Sunday, April 17, at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation while crews working for the U.S. Department of Energy were pumping waste out of the double-shell tank AY-102.
There is no indication of waste leaking into the environment or risk to the public at this time.
The Department of Energy notified the Washington Department of Ecology that the leak detector alarm went off.
The alarm indicates an increase in waste seeping from the primary tank into the space between the primary and secondary tank, known as the annulus.
Crews have been actively removing waste from AY-102 since March because mixed radioactive and chemical waste had previously leaked into the secondary containment area. Approximately 20,000 gallons of waste remains from the original 800,000 gallons in the tank.
According to the Department of Energy, the removal work is currently on hold while engineers evaluate the situation and prepare a plan to recover the material that leaked between the two walls of the tank.
This morning, an Ecology Nuclear Waste Program engineer assessed the situation with the Department of Energy waste retrieval engineers to assure that contingency response plans are being followed.
Additional leaking into the annulus was a known possibility during pumping and is addressed in the Department of Energy’s contingency plan that was submitted to Ecology as part of a Settlement Agreement. That plan delineates actions for Energy to take.
Ecology continues to monitor the situation as spelled out in the settlement agreement that directs waste retrieval.
There are 28 double-shell tanks at the Hanford site.

Copyright 2016 KING

Posted under Fair Use Rules

http://www.king5.com/news/local/investigations/catastrophic-event-at-hanford-prompts-emergency-response/140990679

Petition: Don’t send Olympic athletes to Fukushima (or Japan)

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Add the message to relocate the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics entirely and stop them from going forward in Japan. This is an international disgrace that further compounds this tragedy. International officials are cowards.

From

Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network

Petitioning Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon (Secretary-General of the United Nations) and 9 others

No Olympics or Paralympics in Radioactive Fukushima!
Children are our most beloved and cherished gift and they are also the most vulnerable to the generational damage of man-made radiation in air, food, soil and water.  Around the world children who are currently adolescent and possibly younger are in training to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Japan.  Their parents most likely have no idea that some of the venues are near the most devastating and ongoing nuclear and industrial disaster in world history, Fukushima Daiichi.

Source:http://globalnews.ca/news/2571822/japan-olympics-minister-backs-fukushima-as-host-venue-for-2020/

http://in.reuters.com/news/picture/inside-fukushimas-j-village?articleId=INRTR2TVZW

On March 11, 2016, the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima triple nuclear meltdowns, the Japanese Olympic minister Toshiaki Endo stated to the Associated Press that preliminary softball and baseball could be moved from the host city of Tokyo to Fukushima Prefecture.  But it gets worse, now soccer has been added too. This isn’t mere speculation, in fact organizers are developing J Village, only a few miles from Fukushima Daiichi, into a training facility for Japan’s soccer team and possibly more.  J Village was used as a disaster staging and support facility during the early days of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

Source:http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2016/01/30/soccer/j-village-to-serve-as-2020-olympic-soccer-training-center/#.VwWPM32AOko

SO HOW DID WE GO FROM THE WORLD’S WORST NUCLEAR AND INDUSTRIAL DISASTER TO ONE OF THE VENUES FOR THE 2020 GAMES?  In a stunning development in 2013, Japan’s Olympic bid was won by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he promised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that “it (Fukushima Daiichi) has never done, and will never do, any damage in Tokyo”.  Consequently, the IOC and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) are now left to engage in a dangerous game of bait and switch by using venues not only in Tokyo as originally agreed upon, but also in Fukushima Prefecture, not far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster site.

Source: http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1015905/how-tokyo-2020-won-its-olympics-and-paralympic-bid-despite-fukushima

Holding Olympic games in Fukushima Prefecture will endanger young athletes. To date there is no solution in sight to the ongoing radiation releases leaking into air, soil, food and water not only from Fukushima Daiichi but also from areas around the country that have been used for the open storage and incineration of toxic and radioactive tsunami rubble and garbage.

For the rest of the petition, and to sign:

https://www.change.org/p/ambassador-caroline-kennedy-no-olympics-or-paralympics-in-radioactive-fukushima

Scientific organization requests assistance for initiatives, including nuclear waste decontamination

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A short history of this excellent organization is below.

From The Planetary Association for Clean Energy Inc./ La Société planétaire pour l’assainissement de l’énergie, inc – PACE

Urgent PACE request for timely support:

We are involved in a number of initiatives internationally that are for the improvement of planetary affairs on a number of fronts and which do require support other than just volunteerism and sheer willpower..

Developments:

  • on-going negotiations in several nations for the clean-up of nuclear wastes, contaminated zones involving several techniques, as well as advanced logistics / assessment modalities. These negotiations are very demanding on our limited resources in preparing responses.
  • documentation preparations including on-site evidence gathering for a class action suit concerning existing and emerging electromagnetic field emissions when they are injurious to society and to at least 30% of population in developed areas. This case could have worldwide repercussions.

We are also involved, since more than a year, in advanced stages, prototyping stand-alone electrical energy supply for sustainable communities.

IF YOU WISH TO HAVE DETAILS ABOUT THESE HUMANITARIAN AND SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS, PLEASE ADVISE.

Therefore we are hereby requesting your support for such initiatives, which can be made out:

by PayPal, http://zapnuclearwaste.com/zap-nuclear-waste/donate-to-pace/.

by VISA/MasterCard (888) 639-7730 (toll-free in North America)

or by cheques / money order to:

PACE, Inc.
100 Bronson Avenue, Suite 1001
Ottawa K1R 6G8
Canada

We thank you for your interest and continued support!

Andrew Michrowski
President
paceincnet (at) gmail.com

http://pacenet.homestead.com

About PACE:

The Planetary Association for Clean Energy, Incorporated was founded in June 1975 in Ottawa, Canada, under the guidance of the Hon. Senator Chesley W. Carter, then Chair-person of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Health, Welfare and Science as well as member of the Senate Special Committee on Science Policy. With the Hon. Carter, a number of scientists undertook to make use of this Association to develop an international interdisciplinary network of advanced scientific thinking individuals and organizations. Together, these were to promote and steward “clean energy systems” for eventual implementation on a planetary-wide scale. 

Clean energy systems are defined as those which draw on natural supply, which are universal in application, which are inexpensive and which do not cause polluting residue.  

Already by 1976 such systems were being examined and promoted by the founders of the Association. This initial nucleus of scientists grew. In 1979, the Association became incorporated as a Canadian non-profit corporation. Its Federal Charter foresaw the role of facilitation of the discovery, research, development, demonstration and evaluation of clean energy systems. Another role cited is stewarding the planning, co-ordination and implementation of clean energy systems on planetary, continental, regional, local and individual scales. Experience has enjoined the network to act responsibly by serving as a monitor and an alert system for emerging “unclean” systems not considered by other groups.  

In 1980, the Association became a Learned Society and hosted its first sessions as such at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Its network currently comprises about 3,500 individuals and institutions in over 60 nations. Its official publication is the Newsletter. Since 1981, books, proceedings, monographs and electronic publications have been released to both general and specialist audiences.  

In 1986, the Learned Society initiated sustained efforts towards international technological transfer through a Symposium/exhibition in Hull (Gatineau), Québec, followed by a 1989 presentation at the United Nations, where it is recognized as an Associate NGO, since 2004 in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), since 2006 with the United Nations Human Rights Council.  

In 1990, the University of Ottawa‘s Institute for Research on Environment and Economy has conferred an associative status to the Society.

Breaking: Belgian nuclear power plants evacuated following airport and train station terrorist attacks

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From ENE News
March 22, 2016
BREAKING: Belgian nuclear power plants evacuated” after terror attacks — Multiple reactor sites cleared “amid heightened fears of another attack” — Military and armed police on scene — Capitol on lockdown after dozens killed — “Dismembered bodies everywhere… It’s like the apocalypse” (VIDEO)

Xinhua, Mar 22, 2016 (emphasis added): Urgent: Nuclear power plant in southeast Belgium evacuated — Employees of the Tihange nuclear power plant [have] been evacuated, according to reports from Flemish media outlet VTM. The causes for the evacuation were not immediately made known. The threat level in Belgium has been raised to the highest level 4 from the previous level 3 following explosions at Brussels airport and on a city subway train…

Reuters, Mar 22, 2016: Belgium’s Tihange nuclear power plant evacuated-VTM — Belgium’s Tihange nuclear power plant has been evacuated, public broadcaster VTM said without giving further details. Tihange could not immediately be reached for comment. “The police have evacuated the Tihange nuclear station,” VTM said, citing police sources.

Reuters, Mar 22, 2016: Belgian nuclear plants Doel and Tihange partly evacuated — Staff not essential for the running of nuclear plants in Doel and Tihange in Belgium have been evacuated… the evacuation was part of a set of safety measures related to the high security alert in the country… Belgian broadcaster VTM said earlier Tihange had been evacuated following the attacks.

The Mirror, Mar 22, 2016: Brussels attacks: Tihange nuclear power plant evacuated after dozens killed in terror attack… A major nuclear power plant in Belgium has been partially evacuated following this morning’s terror attacks. Workers at the Tihange nuclear power plant are now leaving the building… Two explosive devices ripped through Brussels airport in the departure hall, then a third blast hit a metro station in the city centre… officials have declared the Belgium capital city is on “lockdown”. One witness described seeing ‘dismembered bodies everywhere’ after the ceiling collapsed in the airport building… Samir Derrouich said: “The two explosions were almost simultaneous. They were both at check in desk. One was close to the Starbucks. It was awful. There was just blood. It was like the apocalypse.”

The Express, Mar 22, 2016: BREAKING: Belgian nuclear power plants evacuated after Brussels terror attack; TWO nuclear power plants in Belgium have been evacuated… The Tihange power plant… and the Doel power plant in Antwerp have been cleared amid heightened fears of another attack. Security has been stepped up at both Doel, which houses four reactors, and Tihange, which houses three. Armed police and the Belgian military have been on site since the weekend… Energy company Engie said all non-essential staff had been evacuated at the request of Belgian authorities… Belgian authorities are braced for a follow-up attack… French Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared Europe was “at war”…

Politco, Mar 22, 2016: Energy utility Electrabel has stepped up security at Belgium’s two nuclear power plants, following the attacks in Brussels Tuesday. The two plants — Doel, made up of four reactors, and Tihange, with three — have been closed, with “systematic control” of all vehicles coming and going, Anne-Sophie Hugé, a company spokeswoman told POLITICO…

BNO, Mar 22, 2016: [A]uthorities have confirmed at least 34 dead and 187 injured… Belgium has been put on its highest terror alert level… Brussels has been brought to a virtual standstill… Tihange nuclear power plant in Huy in the Belgian province of Liege has been evacuated, according to local police, but there is no word on the cause. Nuclear watchdog FANC says nuclear power plants are operating at minimum capacity until further notice.

Zee Media (India), Mar 22, 2016: Belgium’s Tihange nuclear plant evacuated, reports Belgian media… A pro-Islamic State group Twitter handle… threatened more attacks: “Expect more bombs, more death! in future also.” Pro-Islamic State group praises Brussels bombings, warns of more attacks… Belgian authorities urge media blackout on ‘ongoing investigations’ after attacks…

Watch video of the attacks here

http://enenews.com/breaking-belgian-nuclear-power-plants-evacuated-after-terror-attacks-multiple-reactor-sites-cleared-amid-heightened-fears-another-attack-military-armed-police-scene-capital-city-lockdown-afte

Monterey Bay: Seals starving, dying; 100% death rate of baby seals at pupping beach in Pacific Grove

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This beach is located in Pacific Grove near Lovers’ Point, at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station. It is next to the route of the Big Sur Half Marathon.

There is no mention by local marine biologists of Fukushima radiation.

From ENE News
3 -22-16

100% death rate of baby seals on California coast — “None have survived” — “Many are starving, suffering from shortage of food in Pacific Ocean” — “Extremely thin… all sorts of illnesses, infections” — “Milkless moms immediately abandoning pups” — TV: “The problem is getting worse” (VIDEOS)

KION, Mar 17, 2016 (emphasis added): Sea lion moms and pups struggling to survive…  Bay Net, a volunteer group of naturalists, are keeping a watchful eye on them at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove. They say the start of the season has been rough. “Some of them have been way too thin to have a healthy birth and have enough milk to feed it,” said Bay Net volunteer Thom Akeman. So far this season 13 pups have been born but none of them have survived. Many seals are underweight and starving, suffering from a shortage of food in the Pacific Ocean… “When they get extremely thin they’re open to all sorts of illnesses and infections,” said [volunteer Marg] Brigadier … The group Harbor Seals of Pacific Grove has been documenting the unusually high rate of dying pups on Facebook.

Chronological updates from Facebook page ‘Harbor Seals of Pacific Grove’

  • Jan 25: The first live birth hit Hopkins beach… [The mom] was not nursing it… The pup is very premature and does not appear fully developed…
  • Jan 26: The premature pup from last night was gone. It had been washed away but there was a second premature birth… [The mom] clearly did not have any milk… what concerns us is the overall look of the seals. So many of the seals appear thin…
  • Jan 30: I am sorry to report that our 3rd premature pup was born… This was by far the smallest pup I have ever observed. It did not last longer then [sic] about 5 minutes.
  • Jan 31: [W]e had our 4th premature pup born at Hopkins Beach… [it] died very quickly…
  • Feb 3: We continue to see very thin adult seals…
  • Feb 19: Our 5th premature pup was on the Hopkins beach tonight [and] will not survive…
  • Feb 23: Two more premature pups were born… I will spare you the photos… no moms were able to care for them… Saturday, a very young emaciated sea lion pup was discovered at Lovers Point. Washed ashore on the beach were a lot of red crab… if this trend continues in our oceans, many, many more animals will perish…
  • Mar 4: [P]remature pup #8 was born… and yesterday morning premature pup #9 was born… Neither of these pups survived and in both cases the moms abandoned them right away… Many of the harbor seals continue to look thin and it becoming painfully clear that we may have lost a portion of our adult seals as they have not returned to the rookery for the past 1 to 2 years… and have been constant fixtures on Hopkins beach… the warming of the oceans and lack of food are taking their toll on the harbor seals as well as, the seal lions and the waterfowl.
  • Mar 8: #10 was born… Once again, this pup was abandoned and is very premature. It will go the way of the 9 pups preceding it… It has already been abandoned…
  • Mar 10: After 10 live births this year where milkless moms immediately abandoned the pups, this mom stayed on Hopkins beach with the 11th live birth of the season… We watched the pup until after 6pm with no successful nursing…
  • Mar 15: I do not think our two pups (#11 with the mom and #12 the abandoned pup) will be with us… I did not see them… Yesterday, pup #12 was in the center of the beach looking very lethargic and pup #11 just never seemed to thrive or put any weight on…

KION transcript, Mar 16, 2016: The problem is getting worse. “Last year was unprecedented for us, we had 359. This year we’re already at 160, and it’s only the middle of March.”

Watch KION’s broadcasts: One | Two

http://enenews.com/100-mortality-baby-seals-california-coast-survived-underweight-starving-suffering-shortage-food-extremely-thin-all-sorts-illnesses-infections-milkless-moms-immediately-abandoning-pups-vide

Global rally for zero nuclear weapons, April 1, Washington DC

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Posted on Beyond Nuclear

Rally for Zero

Nuclear weapons do not equal security

On March 31 & April 1, world leaders are convening right here in DC to talk nuclear security. Not on the agenda: nuclear weapons.

That has to change. There are 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world today, thousands ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Nuclear weapons jeopardize global security – not strengthen it.

Join us as we rally to show world leaders that 15,000 nuclear weapons ≠ security. It’s time they take action for zero.

Who: Global Zero, the international movement to eliminate nuclear weapons, and you!

What: A rally featuring a life-size inflated nuclear missile and Global Zero movement leaders

When: Friday, April 1st, 12:00pm

Where: McPherson Square

RSVP at: http://www.globalzero.org/protest

Email ldaigle@globalzero.org for more information.

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/nuclear-weapons/2016/4/1/global-zero-rally-for-zero-april-1st-washington-dc.html

Update: Upcoming U.S. hearings: what would it take for YOU to CONSENT to Nuclear Waste? DOE wants to “know”

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DOE should be met with torches and pitchforks, and run out of town.

UPDATE: DOE is requesting/requiring registration. Each of these meetings can be viewed on the web as they happen.

From the Department of Energy
http://www.energy.gov/ne/consent-based-siting

UPCOMING EVENTS

Our next public meeting will be held in Sacramento, California on April 26th at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza.

The remaining five public meetings will be in:

  • Denver, Colorado on May 24, 2016 at the Embassy Suites Denver – Stapleton.
  • Boston, Massachusetts on June 2, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Boston.
  • Tempe, AZ n June 23, 2016 at the Marriott Phoenix Tempe at the Buttes.
  • Boise, ID on July 14, 2016 at Boise Centre.
  • Minneapolis, MN on July 21, 2016 at the Hilton Minneapolis.

We look forward to your participation!

Posted on Beyond Nuclear

March 17, 2016

Our friends and colleagues at NIRS put out the following action alert on March 10, 2016:

The US Dept. of Energy (DOE) is holding 8 Public Meetings and taking written comments on

“CONSENTING” to TAKE NUCLEAR WASTE

After decades of trying to force-feed the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear dump down the throats of Nevadans and the Western Shoshone Nation, the DOE and nuclear proponents want to know what it will take to get people to “consent” or appear to consent to take nuclear waste.

DOE openly acknowledges this is “consent” to future nuclear waste production as part of the “integrated waste management system.” They say that the future of nuclear energy in this country depends on this.

Meetings will be held from noon or 1 PM to ~ 5PM

CHICAGO, IL           March 29, 2016           University of Chicago Conference Center

ATLANTA, GA          April 11, 2016             Georgia Institute of Technology Conference Center

[The following DATES were not included in NIRS’ action alert on March 10th; later that very same day, however, a DOE spokesman at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Regulatory Information Conference, during the “Spent Fuel – Perspectives on Interim Consolidated Storage” workshop session, confirmed the following dates, but still not the exact locations, other than the city and state.]

SACRAMENTO, CA   Late April, 2016           Exact location yet to be announced

DENVER, CO           Late May, 2016           Exact location yet to be announced

BOSTON, MA           Early June, 2016         Exact location yet to be announced

TEMPE, AZ              Late June, 2016          Exact location yet to be announced

BOISE, ID               Mid-July, 2016            Exact location yet to be announced

MINNEAPOLIS, MN       Late July, 2016       Exact location yet to be announced

DOE seeks our input on how to be FAIR, WHO to include, what RESOURCES it will take to induce participation.

They want to identify who adequately represents a community and will “consent” or claim to agree to take nuclear waste.

[Editor: This was done with Native American tribes. The U.S. government would find someone in the tribe willing to do what they wanted, and they would be appointed an “official” representative capable of making decisions for the whole tribe. Then the tribe would be sold out by the decisions made. This would also cause massive discord and enmity within the tribes, pitting member against member. Generally, these arrangements would concern natural resources and land.

Indigenous people typically regard land as held in common; dividing up land and portioning off land to individual families goes against their ways. By offering money to often desperately poor members, the U.S. government, and/or private companies could destroy the unity of the tribe and create so much internal tribal discord that opposition would be greatly diminished, and confiscate land and/or resources.]

They are not defining exactly what or how much nuclear waste we would be “consenting” or not consenting to accept.

They are not asking how a community can refuse or express permanent “non-consent,” although you can let them know that if you choose to.

Although they have reports, diagrams of storage containers and systems, ideas and plans for the tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste in this country, they claim to want to negotiate with communities who would “consent” to take it forever or supposedly temporarily.

NO CONSIDERATION OF THE RIGHTS OR CONSENT OF THOSE ALONG TRANSPORT ROUTES IS BEING MADE OR REQUESTED. Although one of the greatest dangers to the most people, environments and ecosystems is the movement of tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste on roads, rails and waterways, DOE stated at its Washington DC ‘kickoff’ meeting that there is complete federal preemption over transport of nuclear waste so that would not be part of the process.

There is NO Consideration of the rights of future generations who will inevitably be affected.

The nuclear industry is eager for volunteers or consenting communities to take the waste and for the US Department of Energy to take title to it.

Meetings will be in 8 US CITIES from MARCH TO JULY 2016.

Comment deadline is June 15, 2016; email to consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov.  Please include “Response to IPC” [which stands for “Invitation for Public Comment”] in the subject line.

DETAILS:

Federal Register Notice:

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/12/23/2015-32346/invitation-for-public-comment-to-inform-the-design-of-a-consent-based-siting-process-for-nuclear

DOE website for more of their information and to REGISTER for MEETINGS: http://www.energy.gov/ne/consent-based-siting

Info coming soon at www.nirs.org at Stop Fukushima Freeways

More info: dianed@nirs.org; after March 21  maryo@nirs.org; For Chicago meeting neis@neis.org

(See Beyond Nuclear’s web post from January 2016, immediately following DOE’s Washington, D.C. “Kick-Off” meeting for its “Consent-Based Siting” public comment proceeding (which, by the way, included NO oral public comment opportunity! Supposedly, future public meetings listed above WILL include an oral public comment opportunity — that is the whole point! But we will see. Another disconnect that still has to be resolved is, public comment meetings are scheduled for AFTER the deadline for public comment — so DOE must extend the public comment deadline until at least all scheduled meetings are finished and done!)

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/radioactive-waste-whatsnew/2016/3/17/nirs-what-would-it-take-for-you-to-consent-to-nuclear-waste.html

“The NRC Seven” push back against agency collusion with industry, expose dangerous flaw at all plants

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From Beyond Nuclear

March 10, 2016 newsletter

The Japanese Parliament, after an independent investigation, concluded that the root cause of the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe, which began five years ago, was collusion between regulator, industry, and government officials. To our great peril, the U.S. has similar collusion in spades. But in a rare move, several U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staffers have gone public with an unresolved safety dispute.

Dubbed “the NRC Seven” by David Lochbaum of Union of Concerned Scientists, who praises “their courage and service to the country” as comparable to the Project Mercury astronauts, these staffers have blown the whistle on a risk present at all 99 operating U.S. reactors, as well as five more under construction.

“Open phase” electrical faults — revealed by a Jan. 2012 incident at Exelon’s Byron nuclear plant in Illinois — have gone effectively unaddressed, for more than four long years. Systems vital to maintaining safety and cooling, such as the Emergency Core Cooling System, might not work when called upon. Having exhausted their efforts within the system, “the NRC Seven” have acted in their capacity as private citizens, and filed a “2.206” petition.

But this “emergency enforcement petition” bureaucratic procedure was designed to fail: only one in 200 previous such citizen petitions has resulted in meaningful NRC safety upgrades. Their hope seems to be that media coverage, and resultant public awareness and pressure, will force the moribund agency to do its job, to protect public health, safety, and the environment.

Website:

…Hopefully, the NRC Seven will not encounter a harsh environment in response to their efforts to protect millions of Americans from a longstanding nuclear safety problem.

Lochbaum’s blog then summarizes the key milestones leading to the NRC Seven submitting their petition, beginning with the revelation of the problem on January 30, 2012 with an “open phase event” at Exelon’s Byron nuclear power plant in Illinois.

An “open phase event,” in short, involves dysfunction in a nuclear power plant’s electrical systems, structures, and components essential for running vital safety and cooling systems, such as the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS). In certain circumstances, the ECCS is the last line of defense against reactor core meltdown, and catastrophic radioactivity release.

Reuters, Syracuse.com, EcoWatch, and Utility Dive have reported on this story.

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/safety/2016/3/4/ucss-lochbaum-the-nrc-seven-petitioning-the-nrc-over-safety.html

Got KI? Campaign to distribute potassium iodide (KI)

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From Beyond Nuclear

Protect you and your family during a nuclear emergency with potassium iodide (KI).

Beyond Nuclear is campaigning to have state and federal authorities adopt the recommendations of the American Thyroid Association’s “Nuclear Radiation and the Thyroid” calling for the pre-distribution and stockpiling of KI in and around Emergency Planning Zones at all U.S. nuclear power plants:

  • 0 to 50 miles            Pre-distribution by direct delivery of KI to all residents
  • 50 to 200 miles        Stockpile KI in schools, hospitals, police and fire stations
  • >200 miles               Make KI available through the HHS National stockpile

Read more on why KI needs to be incorporated more effectively into emergency planning around U.S. nuclear power plants.

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Monday
Oct 26 2015

Canada begins direct delivery of KI to residents around Darlington and Pickering

DateOctober 26, 2015

In September 2015, the Canadaian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) began delivering KI directly to the homes of every resident within 10 kilometers of nuclear power plants like Darlington nuclear generating station. Greenpeace Canada wants direct delivery to extend farther beyond this six mile radius. The American Thyroid Association is calling for direct delivery of KI to every resident within 50 miles of U.S. reactors.