Thursday, March 7, 2013

Onkalo: Underground Storage of Nuclear Waste

Wiki: The Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository is a deep geological repository for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel, the first such repository in the world. It is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto plant by the company Posiva, owned by the nuclear power plant operators Fortum and TVO.

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The documentary "Underground Storage of Nuclear Waste" exposes the deadly problem of nuclear waste storage. This film deals with the complexities of storing nuclear waste for 100,000 years.

The truth is, nuclear waste must be stored forever.



Hundreds of thousands of tons of radioactive nuclear material have been dumped and discharged into the oceans by France, Great Britain, Japan, Russia, Switzerland and the United States of America.

Great Britain is responsible for 80 per cent of the radioactive nuclear waste dumped and discharged into the oceans.



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Wiki: The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant (Finnish: Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitos) is on Olkiluoto Island, which is on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia in the municipality of Eurajoki in western Finland.

It is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit VVER Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is operated by Teollisuuden Voima, a subsidiary of Pohjolan Voima.

The Olkiluoto plant consists of two Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) with 860 MWe each. Unit 3, the first EPR (European Pressurized water Reactor) is under construction, but various problems with workmanship and supervision have created costly delays which have been the subject of an inquiry by the Finnish nuclear regulator Säteilyturvakeskus (STUK).

In December 2012, Areva estimated that the full cost of building the reactor will be about €8.5 billion, or almost three times the delivery price of €3 billion.

A license for a fourth reactor to be built at the site was granted by the Finnish parliament in July 2010.

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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Windscale: Britain's Biggest Nuclear Disaster

On the night of October 10, 1957 a fire broke out in Pile Number One at Windscale. The reactor had been loaded beyond its original design limit in order to provide materials for Britain's nuclear weapons programme.

Nuclear fuel cartridges caught fire, releasing contaminants into the atmosphere via the reactors air cooling system. As fire ripped through the pile, the staff at Windscale struggled to find a way to extinguish it and avert disaster, a situation no-one had ever faced before.





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Japanese to build £700m UK nuclear power plants: Hitachi deal will provide energy for 14m homes for 60 years
09:17 GMT, 30 October 2012 | Updated: 22:51 GMT, 30 October 2012
By James Chapman

Up to six new nuclear power reactors will power 14million homes for 60 years following a massive deal announced yesterday.

In the most significant boost yet for Government plans for a new network of atomic power stations, Japanese engineering giant Hitachi took on a project to construct plants in Wales and Gloucestershire.

The £700million deal will create 12,000 jobs for construction workers, engineers and other skilled employees, and spark a broader multi-billion-pound investment in the nuclear industry.

Read the full article here.

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Japan Sells Fukushima Beef to USA

First Fukushima beef in 30 months shipped to the USA
News On Japan via NHKReloaded -- October 16, 2012

Cattle farmers in Fukushima Prefecture have resumed beef exports to the United States for the first time in 2 and a half years.

Farmers celebrated the shipment of 3 cattle with a ceremony on Sunday. The leader of a local agricultural cooperative said the resumption is a tailwind for Fukushima farmers who have been suffering from the effects of the nuclear accident.

The 3 cattle will be processed in Japan and the meat will be sold to upscale restaurants in the United States.

Read the full article here.





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