Newsletter XVIII 2021

April 20-24

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35 years ago: Chernobyl disaster and at the same time an incident in the THTR Hamm!

Bike tour from Hamm main station to THTR Hamm-Uentrop

Departure:
Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 14 p.m. from Willy-Brandt-Platz

Arrivals:
15.30 p.m. at the THTR

Of course, the corona rules apply: keep your distance and wear a mask. The event is registered and has been approved subject to conditions and is currently confirmed again.

In 1986, not only did the devastating meltdown in Ukraine take place in Chernobyl, but at the same time an accident occurred in the thorium high-temperature reactor (THTR) in Hamm, which was just put into operation. The THTR operators tried to cover up the incident and denied that the radioactivity measured in Hamm came from the Hammer reactor. Problems and breakdowns occurred again and again during the lengthy construction phase and the commissioning attempts. The accident in 1986 was due to the fact that radioactive spherical fuel elements had jammed in the pipe system of the reactor. In the attempt to blow them free, they were destroyed and partly transported out as dust, which led to increased radiation exposure in the area.

In the following years there were many mass demonstrations, actions of civil disobedience and blockades at the THTR, which together with further incidents, commissioning problems and enormous cost increases led to the shutdown in 1989.

The THTR as an important component of Generation IV reactors is still touted as particularly safe by the nuclear industry worldwide, despite the bad experience in Hamm. The imminent commissioning of the HTR in China has been announced for many years, but problems with the construction also lead to considerable delays here. At the THTR in Hamm, it is currently not known whether and when a decade-long dismantling will take place. The THTR's 600.000 radioactive fuel elements are still stored in a warehouse in Ahaus, and there is no final repository in sight. The chapter “Consequences of nuclear power” is far from over in Hamm.

That is why it is important for us, even after 35 years, to draw attention to this date in Hamm with a bike tour to the THTR. Planned route from Hamm Hbf (Willy-Brandt-Platz): Gustav-Heinemann-Straße, Westenwall, Nordenwall, Antonistraße, Widumstraße, Ostenallee, Alter Uentroper Weg, Mühlenstraße, Graevinghoffstraße, Siegenbeckstraße, THTR.

Nuclear power plant opponents will also come to the THTR from Beckum and Ahlen.

The actual Chernobyl anniversary is of course Monday, April 26th. In Hamm, the bike tour takes place the day before on Sunday, April 25th, in order to enable as many people as possible to take part.

Organizer: Citizens' Initiative for Environmental Protection Hamm, Hamm against Atom in the Hamm Climate Alliance

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EU taxonomy

April 24, 2021 - Criteria for sustainable investments still insufficient

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April 24, 2021 - The Fast Breeder and the History of Resistance

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April 23, 2021 - 35 years after Chernobyl: German environmental aid warns of the resurgence of nuclear power in Europe

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April 23, 2021 - Nuclear power is no good in the fight against the climate crisis

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Chernobyl - radiation damage may only be visible in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation ...

April 23, 2021 - Is radiation damage inherited?

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April 23, 2021 - Camp Century - City Under the Ice

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April 23, 2021 - Groundwater: A fifth of wells could dry up

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April 23, 2021 - Canada presents mammoth program for climate protection

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MIC gets nervous and the pressure rises ...

April 22, 2021 - Biden urged to preserve US nuclear fleet

Translate with https://www.deepL.com/translator (free version)

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Dismantling of nuclear power plants

April 22, 2021 - Radiance, debris and strife

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April 22, 2021 - Israel - Syrian surface-to-air missile strikes near nuclear reactor

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April 21, 2021 - 35 years after Chernobyl - and the story is not over!

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Crisis between Prague and Moscow

April 20, 2021 - The Czech Republic does not want a Russian nuclear reactor

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April 20, 2021 - The federal government must reduce follow-up funding for old wind turbines

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April 20, 2021 - Solar thermal - Switching to renewable heat is funded

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Current news+	Background knowledge

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Current news+

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Explosive forecast

April 20, 2021 - Expert predicts another nuclear disaster like in Fukushima

The man who predicted the worst nuclear catastrophe since Chernobyl sees the danger of another Fukushima. One country in particular is at risk.

Toshio Kimura is the nuclear engineer who predicted Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster six years before it happened. It is there, in Japan, that the expert fears further incidents of catastrophic proportions. "There is a very strong possibility that there will be another nuclear disaster in Japan," Kimura told The Daily Beast.

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Current news+	Background knowledge

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Background knowledge

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reaktorpleite.de

Map of the nuclear world:

Who pays for the next disaster? 

The German version of this world map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1fCmKdqlqSCNPo3We1TWZexPjgNDQOaLD

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The search in the reaktorpleite.de with the search term 

brought the following results, among others:

April 25, 2017 - Accident in a nuclear power plant near the border Nobody is liable for the super meltdown

Jürgen Döschner / tagesschau.de

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When people talk about nuclear accidents, they mostly talk about Fukushima 2011 and Chernobyl 1986. Even the 1979 Harrisburg accident is somehow not really remembered, although the radioactivity release in Harrisburg was more than twice as high as in Fukushima. Then there is Majak and Windscale / Sellafield, both in 1957, etc. ...

NAMS - Nuclear Accident Magnitude Scale

assesses the severity of a nuclear accident based on the release of radioactivity (sorted by Release TBq), the costs in millions of US dollars relate to the dollar rate of 2013 ...

The dirtiest dozen:

Download the entire list: 

Nams + Ines - Nuclear Power Accidents (PDF)

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Wikipedia

Super Gau - beyond design basis accidents

Over-design-basis accidents are accidents in which higher loads occur than in the design basis accident defined above. In the event of a release of radioactivity beyond the legally stipulated limit values, the scope of the design basis accident is by definition exceeded; it is an over design basis accident.

Strictly speaking, an accident from INES level 5 meets this requirement. A beyond design basis accident with INES level 5 occurred, for example, in 1957 in the British nuclear complex Sellafield (formerly Windscale, see Windscale brand) and also in the American nuclear power plant Three Mile Island (1979). However, it is customary in politics and the press to describe serious and catastrophic accidents as “super-GAU” (INES 6 and INES 7). The best-known examples of a worst-case scenario are the disasters in Fukushima (2011) and Chernobyl (1986). In some cases, the site and its surroundings became uninhabitable for a long time, for example the city of Prypiat, four kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Measures for the case of beyond design basis accidents are specified in the emergency manual of the respective power plant. Possible beyond design basis accidents are also included in the disaster control plans of the authorities. Stress tests can also be used to determine the safety reserves that are still available in the event of cross-design incidents in order to reduce any impact on the environment.

As a rule, the investment in the affected nuclear facility is completely lost as a result of an beyond-design-basis incident. Costs for emergency measures, for the elimination of accidental damage (as far as possible) and economic costs (for example due to additional cancer diseases) can exceed the operating profits generated up to that point many times over. No insurance company insures these risks; the largest part is borne by the states, i.e. their taxpayers.

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AtomkraftwerkePlag

Other nuclear accidents and incidents

"History teaches all the time, but it does not find students."
(Ingeborg Bachman)

In addition to the disasters in Fukushima and Chernobyl, there were other nuclear accidents that led to major radioactive contamination, such as in Mayak or Tomsk, or incidents that did not end in a meltdown just because of fortunate circumstances. These events alone should be enough to demonstrate the dangers of using "peaceful" atomic energy.

According to a 2012 estimate, the accidents, along with the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters, cost $ 471 billion ...

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Further to: Newspaper article 2021

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Current news+	Background knowledge

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Donation appeal

- The THTR circular is published by the 'BI Environmental Protection Hamm' and is financed by donations.

- The THTR circular has meanwhile become a much-noticed information medium. However, there are ongoing costs due to the expansion of the website and the printing of additional information sheets.

- The THTR circular researches and reports in detail. In order for us to be able to do that, we depend on donations. We are happy about every donation!

Donations account:

BI Umweltschutz Hamm
Purpose: THTR circular
IBAN: DE31 4105 0095 0000 0394 79
BIC: WELADED1HAM

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