Fukushima accident and the lessons for the US and the world

Source: www.fairewinds.com/updates

The Implications of the Fukushima Accident on the World's Operating Reactors from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.

Risk from spent nuclear fuel is greater in the US than in Japan, Study says

Todays NYT has an interesting article comparing the risk from spent nuclear fuel in the US vs. Japan. In the case of Fukushima, the explosion at Unit 3 was postulated to be a detonation of the nuclear fuel in the spent fuel pool (not a hydrogen explosion), leading to uncontained volatilized dust of plutonium and other radioactive materials to be sent far and wide. Traces of plutonium from Fukushima was detected here on the West Coast and as far as New England. (You can read more about this from nuclear engineer Gundersen's analysis at www.fairewinds.com/updates). However, the risk from spent nuclear fuel in the US is much greater than in Japan, according to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies. The amount of spent fuel in the single-reactor Vermont Yankee power plant alone, for example, exceeds the inventory in all four of the damaged Fukushima reactors combined.

Read the article excerpt below or click here for the full article.

Risk From Spent Nuclear Reactor Fuel Is Greater in U.S. Than in Japan, Study Says

NYTimes By MATTHEW L. WALD Published: May 24, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/business/energy-environment/25nuke.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

WASHINGTON — The threat of a catastrophic release of radioactive materials from a spent fuel pool at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant is dwarfed by the risk posed by such pools in the United States, which are typically filled with far more radioactive material, according to a study released on Tuesday by a nonprofit institute.

“The largest concentrations of radioactivity on the planet will remain in storage at U.S. reactor sites for the indefinite future,” the report’s author, Robert Alvarez, a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, wrote. “In protecting America from nuclear catastrophe, safely securing the spent fuel by eliminating highly radioactive, crowded pools should be a public safety priority of the highest degree.”

Adding to concern, President Obama canceled a plan for a repository at Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert last year, making it likely that the spent fuel will accumulate at the nation’s reactors for years to come....

Update on Fukushima - nuclear meltdown is now officially admitted

Below is an excerpt from Telegraph:

Nuclear meltdown at Fukushima plant

One of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant did suffer a nuclear meltdown, Japanese officials admitted for the first time today, describing a pool of molten fuel at the bottom of the reactor's containment vessel.

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo 2:01PM BST 12 May 2011

Engineers from the Tokyo Electric Power company (Tepco) entered the No.1 reactor at the end of last week for the first time and saw the top five feet or so of the core's 13ft-long fuel rods had been exposed to the air and melted down.

Previously, Tepco believed that the core of the reactor was submerged in enough water to keep it stable and that only 55 per cent of the core had been damaged.

Now the company is worried that the molten pool of radioactive fuel may have burned a hole through the bottom of the containment vessel, causing water to leak.

"We will have to revise our plans," said Junichi Matsumoto, a spokesman for Tepco. "We cannot deny the possibility that a hole in the pressure vessel caused water to leak".

Tepco has not clarified what other barriers there are to stop radioactive fuel leaking if the steel containment vessel has been breached. Greenpeace said the situation could escalate rapidly if "the lava melts through the vessel".

....

Greenpeace said significant amounts of radioactive material had been released into the sea and that samples of seaweed taken from as far as 40 miles of the Fukushima plant had been found to contain radiation well above legal limits. Of the 22 samples tested, ten were contaminated with five times the legal limit of iodine 131 and 20 times of caesium 137.

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To read the full article, please go to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8509502/Nuclear-meltdown-at-Fukushima-plant.html

Could San Juan County Achieve Energy Independence?

Below is an interesting post that I found on Energy San Juan blog by Vince Dauciunas. I have been dreaming about the idea of energy independence or at least moving towards energy self-sufficiency. And here is an island of comparable size to us, also in Salish Sea, that has taken a step to take a stock of their energy needs and resources and found that they could do potentially do it! Read on:

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The Institute for Environmental Research and Education tested the idea on Vashon-Maury Island, in the middle of Puget Sound, and here are the results.

First, they surveyed energy use on the island and estimated the renewable energy available on island.

They wrote a how-to manual for other communities to do the same assessment.

They found that there was more than enough energy available to power the entire island, most of it (to their surprise) was solar power. Even in this cloudy, rainy Pacific Northwest community, there was plenty of energy to support their mostly-middle-class lifestyle. They found that there was already all the technology they needed to be a net-zero community (generating more energy than they used) but the biggest barrier was lack of political will.

Vashon is similar in size and population to San Juan Island! The report looks at energy consumption and many possible renewable sources. It is a fascinating read, and a possible model for us if we were to undertake a similar study.

Bringing local power to the people

Chris Greacen, Islands Energy Coalition

The islands are making impressive gains in food that is locally produced. Working together, we can do the same with electricity, building clean renewable energy generation that is distributed across islanders’ homes, business, and farmlands on the islands. By doing so, we take local, practical steps to increase our energy independence, alleviate global climate change, and lessen the need for nuclear power as well as demands on our region’s limited hydropower resources.

Since 1998, OPALCO members have opted in to the Green Power program, paying a little bit more each month on their power bills to support renewable energy development that mostly came from off-island – mostly windpower from the Columbia Gorge. OPALCO’s supplier, the Bonneville Power Administration no longer offers this off-island renewable energy. OPALCO is proud to unveil a new generation of green power: Member Owned Renewable Energy, or MORE. The MORE Program collects member donations for green power, as before, but now 100% of all donations will go toward supporting local members who are generating renewable energy and are interconnected to OPALCO’s system.

Here’s how it works: if you’ve got a sunny roof, a windy field or a mountain stream, you can invest in solar, wind, or a micro-hydropower generator on your property. At the end of each year you will receive a check from OPALCO reflecting a premium payment for every kilowatt hour of electricity you produced that year.

All of the funds for this program come from OPALCO customers who opt to make a voluntary monetary contribution on their monthly power bill to support local energy production by MORE generators. If you chose to participate, your MORE contributions help those who invest in local renewable energy to leverage state and federal incentives that make investing in renewable energy cost-effective. The program is set up so that your MORE contributions are guaranteed to have an impact: the MORE program distributes funds when electricity is actually generated, incentivizing efficient, effective renewable energy installations.

OPALCO board member Winnie Adams said of the MORE program, “We have the culmination of a great policy from a really thoughtful committee that did a very sound community process, and is a bold continuation of OPALCO’s long-running support of local renewable energy generators. “

How can I join? If you’re already part of OPALCO’s Green Power program, you don’t need to do anything. You will be rolled into the program automatically, unless you opt out by July 31^st. If you’re not part of Green Power program and would like to be, please contact OPALCO to sign up. MORE “Superheroes” can opt into full participation by signing up for a four-cent premium per kilowatt hour for all energy

consumed on their monthly bills. Or you may sign up for 1, 2, 4, 8 or 10 participation blocks per month ($4/block). The more people that sign up, the more local generation we can support. 100% of MORE local power contributions collected by OPALCO are passed to the MORE program.

“My wife and I have been 100% Green Power subscribers for the past 5 years -- and I've been happy to pay the additional amount since I'd like to see this program be stronger,” said Bruce Crebs, a Lopez island woodworker, “but I really think really everyone should pay more for green power because clean energy benefits everybody. The cheapest power for today is not the cheapest power 10-20 years from now. The utilities are looking out for the long-term interest of the public, and with that in mind I think they – and all of us -- should be strong supporters of clean energy.”

For those interested in generating renewable electricity on the San Juans, this is perhaps the best time in history to do so. OPALCO makes it easy to interconnect and ‘spin your meter backwards’ by using renewable energy produced at your home or business to offset electricity consumption. In addition, the MORE program and a separate Washington State solar Production incentive provide payments for every unit of electricity you generate until at least 2020. An investment tax credit can lower your federal income tax by 30% of the cost of a solar electric system. And purchases of renewable energy equipment in Washington enjoy sales taxes exemption. All told, a solar installation in a sunny location can earn a return better than a money market fund – not counting the effect of higher home resale value with solar.

According to Adams, “'Since this is a new program, the MORE committee will welcome any OPALCO members who would like spread the word to introduce this program to other members of the coop.” These members will form “green teams” on each of the islands to help spread the word. If you are interested, please get in touch with the author (Chris -- 468-3189).

Whether you choose to be a MORE local power supporter or a producer or both, we all can help move our energy system towards self-sufficiency. Let’s bring local power to the people!

Below: Timelapse video of 33.8 kW solar PV installation at Common Ground, Lopez Island. Video by Eric Youngren

Radiation chart

This is a useful radiation chart -- putting widely divergent radiation doses in perspective. (Stay away from CT scans, y'all). Click on image for large screen version.
http://xkcd.com/radiation/