US licenses 1st nuke reactors since 1978

Southern Company/ The bottom of the containment vessel for a new reactor at the Vogtle plant in Georgia is seen under construction on Jan. 30. The Southern Company on Thursday got its license for the reactor and a second one going in at the existing nuclear site.

By Miguel Llanos, msnbc.com

Updated at 1:25 p.m. ET: It's been 34 years -- and several nuclear accidents later -- but a divided federal panel on Thursday licensed a utility to build nuclear reactors in the U.S. for the first time since 1978.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's chairman, Gregory Jaczko, opposed licensing the two reactors at this time even though he had earlier praised their design.

"There is still more work" to be done to ensure that lessons learned from Japan's Fukushima disaster last year are engrained in the reactor design, he told his colleagues. "I cannot support this licensing as if Fukushima never happened. I believe it requires some type of binding commitment that the Fukushima enhancements that are currently projected and currently planned to be made would be made before the operation of the facility." More >>

Back to normal Bruce Nuclear Station

Media Centre | Bruce Power

TIVERTON, ON – January 24, 2012 – Traffic was temporarily diverted at Bruce Power yesterday, but was back to normal as of last evening, after some roads were closed temporarily as a precautionary measure.

During a routine transfer, a truck travelling from the Bruce B generating station to Bruce A activated a radiation monitor in the receiving area at Bruce A. As part of its investigation, the company diverted traffic temporarily to allow for monitoring of the route taken by the truck. As expected, the route was clear.

Initial examination of the shipment confirmed a protective device performed its function and there was no release of radiation above regulatory limits.

While this event is not reportable, Bruce Power is issuing this statement to address the media attention it has attracted.

Iran says has detected Duqu computer virus

TEHRAN — Iran said on Sunday it had detected the Duqu computer virus that experts say is based on Stuxnet, the so-called "cyber-weapon" discovered last year and believed to be aimed at sabotaging the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites.

The head of Iran's civil defense organization told the official IRNA news agency that computers at all main sites at risk were being checked and that Iran had developed software to combat the virus.

"We are in the initial phase of fighting the Duqu virus," Gholamreza Jalali, was quoted as saying. "The final report which says which organizations the virus has spread to and what its impacts are has not been completed yet.

"All the organizations and centers that could be susceptible to being contaminated are being controlled," he said.

News of Duqu surfaced in October when security software maker Symantec Corp said it had found a mysterious virus that contained code similar to Stuxnet.

While Stuxnet was aimed at crippling industrial control systems and may have destroyed some of the centrifuges Iran uses to enrich uranium, experts say Duqu appeared designed to gather data to make it easier to launch future cyber attacks.More >

What's new on the fusion front?

By Alan Boyle

The standard joke about nuclear fusion is that it's the energy technology of the future, and always will be. Well, fusion is still an energy option for the future rather than the present, but small steps forward are being reported on several fronts. That even includes the long-ridiculed campaign for "cold fusion."

Efforts by the Italian-based Leonardo Corp. to harness low-energy nuclear reactions (the technology formerly known as cold fusion) have reawakened the dream of somehow producing surplus heat through unorthodox chemistry. Today, Pure Energy Systems News reported that Leonardo's Andrea Rossi signed an agreement with Texas-based National Instruments to build instrumentation for E-Cat cold-fusion reactors.

Will this venture actually pan out? The E-Cat reactors are so shrouded in secrecy and murky claims that it's hard to do a reality check, but most outside experts say that the concept just won't work.

Some observers are similarly pessimistic about the other avenues for fusion research. The basic physics of the reaction is well-accepted, of course. You can see the power generated when hydrogen atoms fuse into helium when you look at that big ball of gas in the sky, 93 million miles away, or when you watch footage of an H-bomb blast.

But no one has been able to achieve a self-sustaining, energy-producing fusion reaction in a controlled setting on Earth, even after more than a half-century of trying.

 

More>

Researchers warn of new Stuxnet worm

BBC News

Researchers have found evidence that the Stuxnet worm, which alarmed governments around the world, could be about to regenerate.

Stuxnet was a highly complex piece of malware created to spy on and disrupt Iran's nuclear programme.

No-one has identified the worm authors but the finger of suspicion fell on the Israeli and US governments.

The new threat, Duqu, is, according to those who discovered it, "a precursor to a future Stuxnet-like attack".

Its discovery was made public by security firm Symantec, which in turn was alerted to the threat by one of its customers.

The worm was named Duqu because it creates files with the prefix DQ.

Symantec looked at samples of the threat gathered from computer systems located in Europe.

Initial analysis of the worm found that parts of Duqu are nearly identical to Stuxnet and suggested that it was written by either the same authors or those with access to the Stuxnet source code.

"Unlike Stuxnet, Duqu does not contain any code related to industrial control systems and does not self-replicate," Symantec said in its blog.

"The threat was highly targeted towards a limited number of organisations for their specific assets."

In other words, Duqu is not designed to attack industrial systems, such as Iran's nuclear production facilities, as was the case with Stuxnet, but rather to gather intelligence for a future attack.

The code has, according to Symantec, been found in a "limited number of organisations, including those involved in the manufacturing of industrial control systems".

Symantec's chief technology officer Greg Day told the BBC that the code was highly sophisticated.

"This isn't some hobbyist, it is using bleeding-edge techniques and that generally means it has been created by someone with a specific purpose in mind," he said.

Whether that is state-sponsored and politically motivated is not clear at this stage though.

"If it is the Stuxnet author it could be that they have the same goal as before. But if code has been given to someone else they may have a different motive," Mr Day said.

He added that there was "more than one variant" of Duqu.

"It looks as if they are tweaking and fine-tuning it along the way," he said.

The worm also removes itself from infected computers after 36 days, suggesting that it is designed to remain more hidden than its predecessor.

The code used a "jigsaw" of components including a stolen Symantec digital certificate, said Mr Day.

"We provide digital certificates to validate identity and this certificate was stolen from a customer in Taiwan and reused," said Mr Day.

The certificate in question has since been revoked by Symantec.

Cyber warfare

The discovery of the Stuxnet worm was a game-changer in the world of malware and forced governments around the world to beef up the security behind critical systems such as power and water.

Cyber warfare

The discovery of the Stuxnet worm was a game-changer in the world of malware and forced governments around the world to beef up the security behind critical systems such as power and water.

 

Iran admitted that Stuxnet had damaged some of its nuclear centrifuges.

 

It brought the issues of cyber warfare, government-to-government espionage and cyber terrorism firmly to the top of the agenda.

Experts who have studied the Stuxnet worm say that it was configured to damage motors used in uranium-enrichment centrifuges by sending them spinning out of control.

Iran later admitted that some of its centrifuges had been sabotaged although it downplayed the significance of Stuxnet in that.

Stuxnet is not the only example of malware designed to cause government-level disruption.

In 2009 China was accused of spying on Google and in the summer US defence firm Lockheed Martin was victim of a "significant cyber-attack" although it said that none of its programmes had been compromised.

This week the US Department for Homeland Security warned that politically-motivated hackers such as the Anonymous co-operative could begin to target industrial control systems.

Key European Nuclear Firms Attacked By Variation On Stuxnet Virus

Image: Flickr Swobodin

Adam Taylor

Several European firms that create software that controls industrial facilities, including nuclear reactors, have been hit by a virus that extracts information from their systems, The New York Times reports. The virus, known as Duqu, appears to have been made by the same people who made the Stuxnet virus, an infamous cyber weapon that attacked the Iran nuclear program last summer.
Internet security organization Symantec describe Duqu on their website:

Duqu is essentially the precursor to a future Stuxnet-like attack. The threat was written by the same authors (or those that have access to the Stuxnet source code) and appears to have been created since the last Stuxnet file was recovered. Duqu's purpose is to gather intelligence data and assets from entities, such as industrial control system manufacturers, in order to more easily conduct a future attack against another third party. The attackers are looking for information such as design documents that could help them mount a future attack on an industrial control facility.

One key point outlined by Systemac is that whoever created the file has access to the source code of Stuxnet, and is likely the creator of the previous virus.
But who created Stuxnet? While initial reports suggested Israel, other reports suggested China or even the United States. Could any of them have an interest in European nuclear security?
Vikram Thakur of Symantec told the Times, “This is extremely sophisticated, this is cutting edge.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/duqu-stuxnet-nuclear-europe-2011-10?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Business%20Insider%20Select&utm_campaign=BI%20Select%20Recurring%202011-10-19#ixzz1bGi6XpiK

Israel bars nuclear whistle-blower from emigrating

by Staff Writers

Israel's supreme court on Thursday barred nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu from emigrating on the grounds he still poses a threat to state security, Israeli media reported.
Vanunu, under orders to stay in Tel Aviv and not to speak to journalists, "has proved several times he can not be trusted and does not respect the letter of the law," supreme court judges said in turning down his appeal.
The prosecution charged he posed "a real danger to the security of Israel," while the judges stressed the 56-year-old former nuclear technician had contacts with unspecified "foreign elements."
Vanunu served 18 years behind bars for disclosing the inner workings of Israel's Dimona nuclear plant to Britain's Sunday Times newspaper in 1986.
He was released in 2004 but banned from travel or contact with foreigners without prior permission. He has since been sanctioned more than 20 times for breaking the rules.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, with between 100 and 300 warheads, but it has a policy of neither confirming nor denying that.
The Jewish state has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or to allow international surveillance of its Dimona plant in the Negev desert of southern Israel.

#Chernobyl in the #US?

Though it has been 25 years since the Chernobyl disaster, has much changed in terms of safety when it comes to nuclear plants? The facilities at Fukushima were said to be an improvement from Chernobyl, so as the US turns toward building new plants in Texas, how weary should Americans be? Investigative journalist Greg Palast says the alternative to nuclear power are safer and cheaper and that Americans shouldn't be quick to think that a disaster won't happen on their own turf.

Otro virus informático ataca el plan nuclear iraní

Expertos iraníes detectaron un nuevo ataque a los sistemas de su cuestionada central atómica. El año pasado el virus Stuxnet dio el primer gran golpe a la seguridad del régimen 

 "Afortunadamente, nuestros jóvenes científicos alcanzaron a descubrirlo y ahora el virus fue puesto bajo examen en laboratorio", precisó el jefe de una unidad militar responsable de combatir el sabotaje, Gholam Reza Jalali.

"Stars" es el segundo gusano espía que ataca a Irán en los últimos ocho meses. A finales del año pasado, un poderoso virus conocido como "Stuxnet" agredió las instalaciones nucleares del país y otros sitios industriales.

Continuar leyendo  AQUI

Georgia nuclear reactor shuts down

A nuclear reactor at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Georgia, shut down earlier this week, the Southern Co. says.

Atlanta (CNN) -- A failed breaker caused the automatic shutdown of a nuclear reactor at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Georgia this week, the plant's owner said Friday.
"This is a maintenance issue, not a safety issue," said Carrie Phillips, public affairs manager of Southern Nuclear, a division of Southern Company.
"Southern Nuclear has replaced the breaker that failed, and as a conservative measure we have replaced all the components that could have caused the breaker to fail," she said.

FULL STORY

Lord Julian Hunt on alternative sources of power

We have to remove the vice like grip of the nuclear and oil industry lobbyists. Under their influence we will continue to fumble around in an apathetic, uninterested and half hearted manner. We have some of the highest tidal waters in the world. Plenty of power here - no political/commercial will to use it. No real investment will be forthcoming due to vested interests in maintaining the present 'set up' financially, economically, corporately, geo-politically and militarily.

Michael Levi: Nuclear policy economist

As Japan's nuclear crisis unfolds, an expert from the Council on Foreign Relations examines the future of the controversial energy source.

#Nuclear Power's Future

by carnegiecouncil 

Due to the high demand of energy, competitive costs, and environmental concerns, nuclear power seemed like a reasonable option. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan have since raised serious concerns about its safety. Is nuclear power worth the risk?

China’s nuclear policy: 'Build, baby, build!'

By Kari Huus

Watching Japan’s nuclear drama unfold across the East China Sea, China is glued to the edge of its front-row seat.

There is a good reason for the rapt attention: In addition to fears that radiation from Japan could somehow reach its shores, China has more ongoing and planned nuclear construction than any other country — about half of the world’s total.
While it has joined governments in Europe and the United States in announcing a safety review of its nuclear power sector, the pressure to complete its nuclear projects – both those under way and on the drawing board — is intense.
And its record in keeping corruption and mismanagement at bay in construction projects is checkered, to say the least.

More Here...

Germany to Shut down Pre-1980 Nuclear Plants

 Germany to Shut down Pre-1980 Nuclear Plants

Canadian nuclear watchdog requests review

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is asking for a review of all Canadian nuclear plants in light of the disaster in Japan.
The in-depth review would also include Atomic Energy Canada Ltd.'s Chalk River Laboratories facility, located northwest of Ottawa.
Ramzi Jammal, the chief regulatory officer at the commission, requested the review of nuclear safety and control regulations on Thursday in a memo sent to Hydro-Quebec, NB Power, Ontario Power General, Bruce Power and AECL.

More  Here

Five Potential Nuclear Disasters Just Waiting to Happen

 A general view of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant

By Joseph Hammond    

The troubles surrounding Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in the wake of the recent earthquake and tsunami there have set off a debate on the safety of nuclear power in general. Part of the problem at Fukushima appears to be the plant’s outdated design and the engineers’ lack of foresight to plan for both an earthquake and a tsunami. But after Three Mile Island, Chornobyl, and now Fukushima, the question remains whether nuclear power can ever be truly safe.

In light of the disaster, RFE/RL takes a look at five other reactor complexes where safety has been an issue and which prompt concern for the future.

Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, Armenia

Cooling towers of the Metsamor Nuclear Power PlantMetsamor was originally brought online in 1980 in what was then Soviet Armenia. In 1988, the area suffered a devastating 6.9-magnitude earthquake, the epicenter of which was just 75 kilometers away from the plant.

Officials reacted by deactivating Metsamor, but they were forced to switch the plant back on seven years later after the country lost access to energy sources in Turkey and Azerbaijan following the 1988-94 conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Because of its location and age, Metsamor is frequently cited as the most dangerous reactor in the former Soviet Union. The plant is now slated for decommissioning in 2017, but it continues to supply 40 percent of Armenia’s energy, and officials are said to be contemplating building another power plant there to replace it.

A dramatic improvement in Armenia's political and economic relationship with its energy-rich neighbors could reduce the need for a new nuclear plant at Metsamor.

More Here

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear situation in Texas?

The intensifying nuclear crisis in Japan is raising anxieties on both sides of the Pacific over the potential impacts of radiation exposure, and a relative lack of official information on radiation has many worried. The nuclear radiation threat continues to spread in Japan after numerous explosions.Meanwhile, the Obama Administration wants to offer new projects to Tokyo Electric who engineered the collapsing nuclear plants in Japan.

Water leak reported at Ontario nuclear plant

By Reuters

Ontario Hydro's Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. (QMI Agency file photo)

TORONTO - Canada’s nuclear regulator said Wednesday there was a demineralized water leak at a nuclear power plant near Toronto late Monday after a pump seal failed.
With world attention riveted on the nuclear crisis in Japan, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission said that the risk of radiation from the 73,000 liters of water released at the Pickering A generator was negligible.
Pickering A has two operating Candu reactors. The nuclear plant, along with its sister plant Pickering B, produce enough energy to fuel a city of 1.5 million people.
The complex is located in Pickering, Ontario, about 40 kilometers east of Toronto.
Canada’s Candu reactors use radioactive water, which is heated to produce steam, to drive the turbine. The reactors also contain non-radioactive water.
The nuclear regulator said it is monitoring the situation as are Canada’s environmental regulators.

Trump Scorches Obama for Golfing During Nuclear Catastrophe

Donald Trump spoke with Neil Cavuto today about a variety of subjects including his stance on nuclear energy, his thoughts about the president's response to the devastation in Japan, as well as Opec's increase of oil prices. "I'm very strongly in favor of nuclear energy... someone was explaining if a plane goes down people keep flying, if you get into an auto crash people keep driving, there are problems in life, not everything is so perfect. You have to look very carefully though at really taking care, have the best, the best people in terms of safeguards for nuclear energy." Talking about natural gas and OPEC prices, Trump called the United States "Saudi Arabia times 100, but we don't use it!" while saying that the OPEC countries were "salivating" at our slowness of domestic drilling.

When asked about the President's image recently, Donald said "For him to be playing golf the day of and the day after... I think is very inappropriate... The image of him on a golf course while Japan is in the kind of trouble, this is catastrophic trouble, I think is totally inappropriate, and I say that as a person who owns some of the greatest golf courses in the world!"