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Sounding The Alarm On The Country’s Vulnerability To An EMP
Sounding The Alarm On The Country’s Vulnerability To An EMP
In the past here at Peak Prosperity, we’ve written extensively on the threat posed by a sustained loss of electrical grid power. More specifically, we’ve warned that the most damaging threat to our grid would come from either a manmade or natural electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
A good friend of mine, Jen Bawden, is currently sitting on a committee of notable political, security and defense experts — which includes past and present members of Congress, ambassadors, CIA directors, and others — who are equally concerned about this same threat and have recently sent a letter to Obama pleading for action to protect the US grid.
Before we get to that letter, here’s a snippet from what we wrote on the matter roughly a year ago:
We talk a lot about Peak Cheap Oil as the Achilles’ heel of the exponential monetary model, but the real threat to the quality of our daily lives, if not our lives themselves, would be a sustained loss of electrical power. Anything over a week without power for any modern nation would be a serious problem. A month would lead to chaos and many deaths.
When the power goes out, everything just stops. For residential users, even a few hours begins to intrude heavily as melting freezers, dying cell phones, and the awkward realization that we don’t remember how to play board games nudge us out of our comfort zone.
However, those are just small inconveniences.
For industrial and other heavy users, the impact of even a relatively short outage can be expensive or even ghastly. Hospitals and people on life-assisting machinery are especially vulnerable. Without power, aluminum smelters face the prospect of the molten ore solidifying in the channels from which it must be laboriously removed before operations can be restarted.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
“The Chief Of The Fukushima Nuclear Power Station Has Admitted That The Technology Needed To Decommission Three Melted-Down Reactors Does Not Exist, And He Has No Idea How It Will Be Developed”
“The Chief Of The Fukushima Nuclear Power Station Has Admitted That The Technology Needed To Decommission Three Melted-Down Reactors Does Not Exist, And He Has No Idea How It Will Be Developed”
Containing Fukushima Is Beyond Current Technology
We reported in 2012 that top nuclear experts say that the technology doesn’t yet even exist to clean up Fukushima.
Now, the head of the Fukushima nuclear plant and the head of decommissioning at Fukushima both say that the technology doesn’t exist to clean up Fukushima, and it may not exist for hundreds of years … if ever.
The Times of London reported last month:
The chief of the Fukushima nuclear power station has admitted that the technology needed to decommission three melted-down reactors does not exist, and he has no idea how it will be developed.
In a stark reminder of the challenge facing the Japanese authorities, Akira Ono conceded that the stated goal of decommissioning the plant by 2051 may be impossible without a giant technological leap. “There are so many uncertainties involved. We need to develop many, many technologies,” Mr. Ono said.
EneNews notes:
NHK ‘Nuclear Watch’ transcript, Mar 31, 2015 (emphasis added):
- NHK: The people trying to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have been hit by setback after setback… and faced accusations of misconduct. It’s lost them a lot of public trust… [Naohiro Masuda, president of Tepco’s decommissioning company] revealed he’s not sure if he can comply with the government set plan [for] removing the fuel…
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
As US Seeks To “Contain” Iran Nuclear Plans, Russia & China Expand Theirs
As US Seeks To “Contain” Iran Nuclear Plans, Russia & China Expand Theirs
As The United States continues to ‘deal’ with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Sputnik News reports that “the expansion of cooperation between the Russian Federation and China in the nuclear sphere is being actively discussed.” The source went on note that talks on the construction of the seventh and eighth units of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Station in China are in the final stage following the signing of a major memorandum of understanding between Russian and Chinese officials in March 2014, that laid the groundwork for future energy cooperation between the two countries.
Russia and China are discussing further broadening of bilateral cooperation in the sphere of nuclear development, an anonymous source told journalists on Monday.“The expansion of cooperation between the Russian Federation and China in the nuclear sphere is being actively discussed,” the source said, adding that talks on the construction of the seventh and eighth units of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Station in China are in the final stage.
The Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant, located on the Chinese coast and considered to be the safest in the world by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was constructed using Russian nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly Atomstroyexport. It began operation in 2007.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Its A Damn Good Deal That Will Change History—–Unless The GOP War Party Sabotages It
Its A Damn Good Deal That Will Change History—–Unless The GOP War Party Sabotages It
The announcement of a “framework” for an agreement with Iran to limit its nuclear research and development had all the drama of a thriller – theextended negotiations, dragging out over several days and deadlines, the anticipation, the furor surrounding the process, and of course the naysayers carping from the sidelines, all focused the attention of the world like a laser.
President Obama did a masterful job in presenting the basic parameters of the deal in his speech: unlike his critics, he sounded like a true statesman, one who is looking to history, and not the next election or the next day’s headlines.
He stated clearly what are the alternatives to the peaceful resolution of this brewing conflict: war, or walking away from the negotiations – imposing heavier sanctions, blinding ourselves to what is going on in Iran, and following a course that eventually leads us back down the road to war. And he made a very important point, one that is not often brought up these days: we have been here before.
During the cold war we faced the Soviet Union, a far more dangerous adversary. Instead of launching World War III, we negotiated with them – an enemy that had vowed to destroy us, and, unlike Iran, actually had the means to do so – and thus avoided a global conflagration. Citing John F. Kennedy – “We must never negotiate out of fear, but we must never fear to negotiate” – the President conjured cold war ghosts that are today largely forgotten: but those of us who lived through the Cuban missile crisis will never forget.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Beyond Iran And Pakistan: 7 Nuclear Wannabes
Beyond Iran And Pakistan: 7 Nuclear Wannabes
The meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in 2011 following the Japanese tsunami forced a major rethink of nuclear power as a safe form of electricity generation. As radiation from the plant spewed into the ocean and nearby communities following an immediate evacuation, the world reaction was swift and dramatic. Within days the spot price of uranium collapsed. Japan ordered the shutdown and maintenance of all its existing reactors. Germany, a major consumer of nuclear power, permanently closed 8 of its 17 nuclear reactors; other European countries shelved their nuclear plans.
While fear still lingers of a nuclear catastrophe on a similar scale as Fukushima, or earlier accidents such as Three Mile Island or Chernobyl, that hasn’t stopped a slew of countries from moving forward on plans to develop nuclear plants as an adjunct to existing power sources like hydro, coal, natural gas and good ol’ oil.
Especially in developing countries that lack access to fossil fuels, nuclear is seen as a viable and cost-effective form of baseload power.
Related: No Country For King Coal – The Changing U.S. Energy Mix
Of course, these plans immediately arouse suspicions that nuclear power is being used as a ruse for developing nuclear weapons. The most obvious example is Iran, which already operates a large nuclear reactor – Bushehr 1 – but continues to engage in uranium enrichment despite a requirement by the United Nations Security Council to suspend such activities. Iran’s nuclear ambitions have resulted in U.S.-led sanctions and raised the opprobrium of Israel, which in turn has found itself at odds with the United States, particularly the Obama Administration, which seeks an accommodation with Iran.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Fukushima’s Nuclear Reactor Fuel Is “Missing”
Fukushima’s Nuclear Reactor Fuel Is “Missing”
In the same week as Japan unveils its Pacific-Rim-esque anti-tsunami wall public works project, andJapanese government auditors say the operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has wasted more than a third of the 190 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in taxpayer money allocated for cleaning up the plant after it was destroyed by a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami; Science Journal reports,Fukushima won’t be truly safe until engineers can remove the reactors’ nuclear fuel. But first, they have to find it… And so, in February of this year two muon detectors were installed outside the Fukushima Daiichi unit-1 ruins at reactor vessel height for the purpose of finding that ‘missing’ reactor fuel.
First, as AP reports, Japanese government auditors say the operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has wasted more than a third of the 190 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in taxpayer money allocated for cleaning up the plant after it was destroyed by a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
A Board of Audit report describes various expensive machines and untested measures that ended in failure. It also says the cleanup work has been dominated by one group of Japanese utility, construction and electronics giants despite repeated calls for more transparency and greater access for international bidders.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Teruaki Kobayashi said all of the equipment contributed to stabilizing the plant, even though some operated only briefly.
Some of the failures cited in the report:
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Fukushima disaster: Radiation levels posing cancer risks on fourth anniversary of earthquake
Fukushima disaster: Radiation levels posing cancer risks on fourth anniversary of earthquake
Four years ago today Japan was hit with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami that caused widespread destruction, leaving almost 22,000 people dead or missing and triggering a crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The triple nuclear meltdown was the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
About 120,000 people still cannot return their homes because of high radiation levels, but the issue of long-term health implications like cancer are causing the greatest concern and controversy in Japan.
Before the disaster, there was just one to two cases of thyroid cancers in a million Japanese children but now Fukushima has more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases, having tested about 300,000 children.
Megumi Muto’s daughter Nana has undergone scans to determine if the lumps in her thyroid glands have grown. In a small number of cases, these lumps can develop into cancer.
Ms Muto is convinced the growths were caused by exposure to high radiation levels after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in March 2011.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
France’s Areva Lost $5.6 Billion In 2014 – Is This The End?
France’s Areva Lost $5.6 Billion In 2014 – Is This The End?
Could France, a heavyweight in nuclear power, begin to see its position crumble?
Areva, France’s iconic nuclear power builder, reported a massive financial loss for 2014. The state-owned company revealed that it lost 4.9 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in 2014, an enormous decline from the 500 million euro loss it posted the previous year.
Weighing on the company is its much-heralded rector in Finland. The Olkiluoto 3 unit under construction in Finland was supposed to be completed in 2009, but it has since turned into a nightmare. Billed as the first Generation III+ pressurized water reactor – dubbed the Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) by Areva – the project was intended to demonstrate nuclear technology that had advanced well beyond the designs seen in today’s operational power plants, which were built in the 1970’s. Now expected to be completed in 2018, the decade of delay coulddouble the reactor’s eventual total cost.
Also, Areva is building another reactor in Normandy that has suffered a similar fate. The Flamanville 3 is several years behind schedule – it may not come into operation until 2016 or 2017 after an original start date of 2012. That reactor, which will be operated by fellow state-owned nuclear operator EDF, has also seen its costs skyrocket because of the delays.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Fukushima: Playing With Nuclear Fire
Fukushima: Playing With Nuclear Fire
Three years after the Tohoku earthquake in Japan, citizens and the international community are left wondering if Japan really does have the situation in Fukushima under control…“TEPCO’s own engineers are clueless… nobody knows how much [radiation] is washing into the ocean.”
…click on the above link to view the video…
Shape Shifting Robot To Inspect Damaged Fukushima Reactor
Shape Shifting Robot To Inspect Damaged Fukushima Reactor
Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which suffered three reactor meltdowns from an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, can’t be decommissioned until its ruined reactors are inspected. But because of deadly radiation, no human can get close to the facility to survey the damage.
So the Japanese electronics giant Hitachi and an affiliate, Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, have designed a snaky-looking, remotely controlled robot to do the job, perhaps as soon as April, to gather information about the state of the No. 1 reactor building to prepare for the removal of its radioactive rubble.
The utility that operates the power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), intends to repair and seal off all damaged chambers in the facility, then fill them with water as a step toward eventually removing the melted remains. That is expected to take place in about 10 years.
Hitachi and Hitachi-GE demonstrated the shape-shifting robot on Feb. 5 at a plant owned by Hitachi-GE. It showed that the slinky, 2-foot-long robot can morph a bit depending on the space it needs to occupy and the work it needs to do.
In the demonstration, the robot, equipped with a camera and a lamp on its “nose,” snaked its way through a pipe with a diameter of only 4 inches. When it emerged from the other end of the pipe, it expanded to a U shape, then crawled around, taking live images of the immediate area and capturing temperature and radiation levels.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Iran Drops Dollar As Congress Threatens More Sanctions
Iran Drops Dollar As Congress Threatens More Sanctions
The clock is ticking on the Iranian nuclear deal, but it may all be for naught. A meddling Congress aside, Iran appears to lack faith in US President Barack Obama’s ability to ease long-standing sanctions and is cutting what ties it can.According to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, Iran no longer uses the US dollar in trade with foreign countries. Instead, Iran employs other currencies like the Chinese yuan, euro, Turkish lira, and Russian ruble, explained Deputy Head of the Central Bank of Iran Gholamali Kamyab.
In November, Iran and six world powers – the United States, Great Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia – agreed on a six-month preemptive deal to restrict Iran’s nuclear program. Per the terms of the arrangement – which entered into effect on January 20th – Iran will limit its uranium enrichment to peaceful levels and reduce its stockpile of already enriched uranium. Of course, a long-term agreement has yet to be made, though Obama has pledged a peaceful solution – and more sanctions if Iran fails to cooperate.
For its part, the United States Congress does not plan to extend Iran the benefit of the doubt and prefers the threat of those sanctions now. The bipartisan duo of Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Robert Menendez have authored a bill that would impose several escalating rounds of sanctions on Iran’s economy if they fail to agree to a long-term plan or break the stipulations of the current six-month deal. The bill is likely to hit the Senate floor in late February or early March, but may prove unnecessary if the talks stall sooner – and stall sooner they likely will.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Ukrainian PM reports accident at nuclear power plant | Reuters
Ukrainian PM reports accident at nuclear power plant | Reuters.
(Reuters) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Wednesday an accident had occurred at the Zaporizhye nuclear power plant (NPP) in south-east Ukraine and called on the energy minister to hold a news conference.
“I know that an accident has occurred at the Zaporizhye NPP,” Yatseniuk said, asking new energy minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn to make clear when the problem would be resolved and what steps would be taken to restore normal power supply across Ukraine.
News agency Interfax Ukraine said the problem had occurred at bloc No 3 – a 1,000-megawatt reactor – and the resulting lack of output had worsened the power crisis in the country. Interfax added that the bloc was expected to come back on stream on Dec. 5.
Energy round-up: nuclear future? | New Economics Foundation
Energy round-up: nuclear future? | New Economics Foundation.
- Article: Hinkley Point nuclear plant ‘threatened by Areva financial crisis – Reactor-maker Areva’s stake in new UK nuclear plant called into question amid financial difficulties.
- Chart: Renewables catching nuclear:
- Article: Oil price slump to trigger new US debt default crisis as Opec waits – Falling oil prices and US shale drillers drowning in a sea of debt could be the spark for a new credit crunch.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
China’s Nuclear Power Gamble Is Mind-Boggling
China’s Nuclear Power Gamble Is Mind-Boggling.
The numbers that define China’s progress over the last 50 years are staggering. Over 300 million people lifted out of poverty. Over 160 cities with more than 1 million inhabitants. Over 630 million Internet users.. And now, following the recent climate change deal with U.S., China has a massive price tag of $2 trillion to implement climate policy changes. In order to cap carbon emissions and generate 20% of the country’s electricity from renewables by 2030, Bloomberg estimates this would require 1,000 nuclear reactors, 500,000 wind turbines or 50,000 solar farms. “The pledge would require China to produce either 67 times more nuclear energy than the country is forecast to have at the end of 2014, 30 times more solar or nine times more wind power. That almost equals the non-fossil fuel energy of the entire U.S. generating capacity today,” wrote Bloomberg.
With China already being the global number one in wind and solar energy, financing more projects for these in 2013 than all of Europe combined, it would seem logical for it to turn to these two sources for that massive expansion. However, much chatter from Communist officials is putting the attention squarely on nuclear. In early November, Guo Chengzhan, the deputy director of the National Nuclear Safety Administration, stated that “nuclear power is China’s only scalable replacement energy and is a vital choice in China’s energy strategy”, while Tsinghua University expert Teng Fei told Reuters that without nuclear, China’s peak carbon target could “be delayed by as long as a decade.”
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Ontario, Don’t Dump Our Money Into Rebuilding an Outdated Power Station | Mike Schreiner
Ontario, Don’t Dump Our Money Into Rebuilding an Outdated Power Station | Mike Schreiner.
The Ontario government has a decision to make: Raise your electricity bill to rebuild the Darlington Nuclear Station or lower your bill with water power from Quebec.
The historic Memorandum of Understanding signed at a joint Quebec-Ontario cabinet meeting on Friday opens the door to for electricity imports that will save you money.
The average household can save between $52 and $192 per year if Ontario cancels the Darlington Nuclear Rebuild and instead signs a power deal for existing Quebec water power. The province could save between $700 million and $2.6 billion per year — a whopping $52 billion over 20 years.
Quebec Premier Phillippe Couillard has made it clear that his province has surplus electricity, and Quebec is eager to sell it to Ontario, especially since U.S. demand for Quebec power is declining.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
