Japan:
¶ Areva will fit all 23 Japanese pressurized water reactors with hydrogen recombiners to help prevent hydrogen gas building up in emergency situations. [World Nuclear News]
World:
¶ The government of Saudi Arabia plans to go to 100% renewable energy sources. [Treehugger]
US:
¶ Some details have come out on a censored NRC report that has been in the news because of whistle blowers. The US has thirty-four nuclear reactors that could face flooding hazards greater than they were designed to withstand if an upstream dam fails. An example of the report’s contents is that the Oconee plant could melt down within three days of a failure of an upstream dam; this was discovered in 1996, but no action was taken. [Union of Concerned Scientists]
¶ Vermont Yankee has finished testing wells for tritium. [Ct Post]
¶ The NRC is not allowed to issue licenses until the nuclear waste situation is updated. The solution, which will be implemented by September, 2014, is to update the rules, rather than deal with the waste. [Bloomberg] (This seems to refer to a document with access number ML12264A451 at ADAMS. I am unable to download from ADAMS at this time.)
¶ One of Mitt Romney’s top donors is majority owner of a company that seeks to profit from storing uranium-based waste from nuclear and weapons plants. [Shreveport Times]
¶ The schools in Hemet, California, will save $300,000 per year from the installation of 4.4 MW of solar power. The panels also shade parking lots. [EON: Enhanced Online News]
¶ A former Maine state economist says cheap coal and the federal government’s unwillingness to enact a carbon pollution tax are the primary reasons Maine residents pay more for power than most other Americans. [Bangor Daily News]
¶ The Killington ski resort will power its lifts with manure from local farms. [ESPN]
geoharvey 