Newsletter XXXIX 2022 |
01. to 08. October
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Nuclear Power Accidents
This PDF file contains a list of known incidents from the various areas of the civil and military nuclear industry. Some of this information only came to the public in a roundabout way...
Excerpt for this month:
1 October 1981 (INES 3 NAMS 1,3) nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
3 October 1986 (Broken Arrow) nuclear submarine K-219, USSR
3 October 1952 (1st British atomic bomb test) Trimouille Island, GBR
5 October 1966 (INES 4) Enrico Fermi 1, USA
7 October 1957 (INES 5 NAMS 4,6) nuclear factory Windscale/Sellafield, GBR
9 October 2006 (1st North Korean atomic bomb test) Punggye-ri, PRK
12 October 1969 (INES 4) nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
15 October 1958 (INES 4) Boris Kidrič Institute, Vinca, YU
17 October 1969 (INES 4) Saint-Laurent, FRA
18 October 2011 (INES 1) Karachi, PAH
19 October 1989 (INES 1) Vandellos-1, ESP
30 October 1961 (Tsar Bomb AN602) Novaya Zemlya, USSR
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We are looking for current information. If you can help, please send a message to: nuclear-world@reaktorpleite.de
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08. October
Europe imports uranium | Sanctions Russia
Despite nuclear threats: Europe continues to import uranium from Russia
European countries import hundreds of millions of euros worth of uranium from Russia every year. There are no sanctions against it. Which countries block them?
"Russian nuclear terror requires a stronger response from the international community, including sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry and its nuclear fuel." With these words, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted his anger at the world in August after the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was shelled.
His request went unfulfilled...
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gas crisis | MidCat | fossil energy
Macron: "We don't need new gas connections"
Gas crisis: Germany and Spain put pressure on France to make Paris give up its opposition to the MidCat pipeline in the Pyrenees. However, Macron considers them unnecessary, instead he calls for more power lines.
After a nine-year break, the time had come last Wednesday. Bilateral German-Spanish intergovernmental consultations took place for the first time. They were held in Galicia, northwest Spain. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had taken half the cabinet on a school trip to A Coruña on the Atlantic coast.
[...]
Macron recently said unequivocally before a meeting with Chancellor Scholz: "We don't need any new gas connections." And you can't dispute a fact that France's President has laid on the table. Not even the two small pipelines via Larrau in the mountains or via Biriatu on the Atlantic coast are working to capacity...
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Climate protection | heating costs | Coal exit | AKW runtime
The climate deal
Everyone is talking about energy security, not about climate protection. The topic of the century is all the more urgent. Minister Habeck resuscitated climate policy this week. It remains to be seen whether she really revives.
What about climate protection? The theme of the century. Does anyone care at all at the moment? In the worsening energy crisis, the topic seems to have disappeared from the public debate. Relief package, double boom, nuclear power plant terms - these are the keywords that dominate the political discussion.
And the priorities of many citizens have also shifted. Understandably. If you don't know whether you can pay the heating costs for your apartment this winter, you don't think too much about whether there will be extreme heat waves again next summer...
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Off Topic ? | CO2 | Climate and environmental protection
Man is a repression artist
meat is my veg? We should quickly get used to the idea that we can no longer continue as before. Especially with our eating habits. The clock is ticking.
The truth is, there are more reasons for not eating meat than against. Out of respect for life itself. To avoid animal suffering during rearing, keeping and slaughtering. As a contribution to climate and environmental protection, because industrial factory farming requires an enormous amount of resources. According to Greenpeace, the equivalent of 13,3 kilograms of CO2 are released per kilogram of beef. The same amount of mixed bread causes 0,75 kilos of CO2, apples 0,5 kilos and tomatoes 0,2 kilos of CO2. So the more meat we “produce”, the faster global warming will progress. Health reasons can also play a role. We should not and must not close our eyes to this.
But man is a repression artist. And we succeed admirably well in ignoring all arguments...
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climate activists | Indictment | Consequences
Climate activists "Last Generation":
From the climate demo to jail?
They stick to the streets and annoy numerous drivers or they turn off oil pipelines: the "last generation". Because of their protests, the climate activists also face harsh penalties. A family man from Dresden was even threatened with imprisonment – and yet he wants to continue demonstrating.
The members of the climate action group "Uprising of the Last Generation" are practicing in Dresden for a road blockade. The young climate activists are guided by Christian Bläul. In addition to his job as a software developer, the 40-year-old from Dresden has dedicated himself entirely to the fight against climate change - and has taken part in over 2019 road blockades since 50. But what motivates the family man despite the threat of imprisonment and possible financial ruin as well as quarrels in the family? ...
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07. October
"Not sustainable, not green"
Austria sues against nuclear power rule in EU
In the future, the EU wants to focus more and more on green and sustainable energy - but this also includes nuclear power and gas. Austria does not want to take part and is filing a lawsuit with the European Court of Justice.
Austria is taking legal action before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg because of the EU Commission's plans to classify nuclear energy as sustainable. "Nuclear power and gas are neither green nor sustainable. That's why, as announced, we have filed a lawsuit against the EU Commission's taxonomy regulation," said Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) in Vienna...
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Switzerland | Beznau | switched off automatically
Reactor scram at Beznau 2 nuclear power plant
In the nuclear power plant (NPP) Beznau 2, an automatic reactor scramble occurred this morning due to a technical fault in the turbine area. There was no danger to people or the environment. The fault has since been analyzed and rectified by the factory. ENSI checked the information provided by the Beznau 2 nuclear power plant on the cause of the fault and how it was rectified. The plant can resume productive operation.
The reactor of the Beznau 2 nuclear power plant was automatically shut down at 09:06 today. The system responded as designed. The measures to rectify the fault were initiated by the factory. The protection of people and the environment was guaranteed at all times. The system is in a safe condition. There is therefore no danger to people or the environment ...
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wind farm research | increase in efficiency
DLR successfully tests high-tech rotor blades for research wind farm
Cologne - The wind industry is faced with challenges due to the limited testing possibilities due to the ever larger and more powerful turbines. A new research wind farm in Lower Saxony is intended to contribute to the further technological development of wind turbines. High-tech rotor blades with extensive measuring sensors are used ...
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Radioactive | Radiation protection
Nuclear power, no thank you!
Radioactive radiation is harmful even in small doses
Radioactive radiation occurs along the entire nuclear production chain. Even low doses make you sick. This should be taken into account in the nuclear debate and the German phase-out should be maintained. France expands nuclear against all reason.
Workers are exposed to nuclear radiation from uranium mining and operation to decommissioning and disposal of nuclear power plants. Studies indicate that even low doses of radioactive radiation significantly increase the risk of certain diseases. In a paper, the Atomic and Radiation Commission of the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) discusses the invisible victims of the use of nuclear power and calls for better radiation protection for employees and the general public...
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07 October 1957 (INES 5 | NAMS 4,6) Windscale Nuclear factory, GBR
A fire ignited plutonium and generated a very large amount of radioactive dust (1786 TBq), which, among other things, forced the surrounding dairy farms to give up.
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This accident is the last and only one Accident in Sellafield before 2005, not yet from the German Wikipedia has disappeared (see Sellafield Incidents).
Approximately 1940 radioactive release incidents have been reported since the late 20's and Windscale/Sellafield's inception. Up until the mid-1980s, large quantities of the nuclear waste generated in day-to-day operations were discharged in liquid form via a pipeline into the Irish Sea.
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Wikipedia
On October 10, 1957, a fire broke out in a British nuclear reactor at Windscale (now Sellafield, England). This released a cloud of significant amounts of radioactive material that spread across Britain and mainland Europe...
On October 7, 1957, the technicians began the bakeout process, which was to be completed in three days. The shut down reactor of Pile 1 was started up at 19:25 with the fans off and stabilized at 250 °C. The Wigner energy released should raise the temperature to the intended maximum of 350 °C...
The accident is later blamed for dozens of cancer deaths.
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AtomkraftwerkePlag
Sellafield (formerly_Windscale), UK 1957
Windscale began operations in the 1940s. The site was initially responsible for the inspection and packaging of small arms ammunition and later, aided by its isolated location, for plutonium production for the British nuclear weapons program...
On October 7, 1957, Pile 1 was heated for the ninth time, and initially there were no complications. However, when the temperature did not rise to the required level the following day, the crew decided to heat it up again, causing the reactor to spiral out of control. There was a sudden increase in temperature, which continued over the next few days without being able to be stopped. On October 10, the reactor caught fire and radioactivity was released. All attempts to delete it failed. On October 11, 1957, a maximum temperature of 1.300 °C was reached and a large radioactive cloud containing iodine, cesium, strontium and plutonium spread over the Irish Sea. The reactor was finally cooled with large quantities of water and the fire was extinguished the following day.
Nobody was evacuated. The full extent of the accident and the mistakes in organization and technology were kept secret for 30 years...
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06. October
Energy transition | Solar plant | Bureaucracy
Electricity from solar panels
Over the roofs to the energy transition?
In Germany, more energy is to be generated with the help of solar systems - the potential of solar power is still underused. But for that, bureaucratic hurdles would have to be dismantled and staff gaps filled.
From April to October, Tobias Bücklein does not need any external electricity for his house in Konstanz. Den produces his solar system on the roof. There is also battery storage for at night or when the sun doesn't shine for a few days.
When Bücklein decided in favor of the solar system in 2017, the most difficult thing was the bureaucracy. "I found it to be such an enormous effort that you actually didn't feel like doing it anymore," says the homeowner. A building permit is usually not required, but the building law is different in all 16 federal states. There are also tax issues, registration with the Federal Network Agency and the network operator. He buys the excess electricity that is fed into the grid by the solar system ...
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nuclear power | France | China | Renewables
Study on nuclear power: nuclear era is gradually coming to an end
The share of nuclear energy worldwide continues to decrease. While Germans worry about ailing nuclear power plants in France, China is focusing more on renewables.
BERLIN taz | A highly symbolic development: For the first time in around 40 years, the share of nuclear power in global electricity generation will be in the single digits again in 2021. Only 9,8 percent of the electricity was generated by nuclear fission; the historic high was 1996 percent in 17,5.
The figures come from the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2022 (WNISR) presented in Berlin on Wednesday afternoon. The publisher is the renowned nuclear energy consultant Mycle Schneider, who compiles the report annually with an international team.
It shows once again the loss of importance of nuclear power. This results from two trends: on the one hand, nuclear generation is stagnating, on the other hand, total global electricity generation is increasing. At 2.653 billion kilowatt hours (terawatt hours, TWh), absolute generation in 2021 was still just below the historic high of 2006. The expansion of reactors in China is offsetting the decline in nuclear power generation in the rest of the world. Nuclear power is still dominated by five countries, which generate 71 percent of all nuclear power. They are - in that order - the USA, China, France, Russia and South Korea...
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dept | Energy price | Extension | Renewables
200 billion new debts due to weak expansion of renewables
A new mountain of government debt of 200 billion euros is the result of the weak expansion of renewable energies.
Recently, the German federal government decided to pay 200 billion euros from a debt-financed special fund to consumers and companies to compensate for the increased energy prices.
However, this will by far not be able to compensate for the energy price increases for fossil and nuclear energies since last summer. The price increases for energy customers of natural gas, oil, coal and uranium are much higher than the allowances that energy customers of fossil energy supplies should now receive as compensation.
The high energy prices are the result of a policy under Chancellor Merkel, which began in 2007 to drastically restrict the expansion of renewable energies. If we had 100% renewable energies in Germany today - which would have been possible in the electricity sector with the exponential growth rates of green electricity by 2012 - the global price increases for fossil and nuclear energy would hardly have had any impact on the wallets of energy customers in Germany ...
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Doel 2 nuclear reactor shutdown: automatic stop after short circuit
The Doel 2 nuclear reactor was automatically shut down on Thursday morning. The trigger was a short circuit in the control rod operating system. One of the sticks had fallen into the reactor. According to the operator Engie, there is no security risk. It is not yet known how long Doel 2 will be out of service.
At around 9.45 a.m., the control system of the control rods shorted out, causing one of the rods to become detached and fall, operator Engie-Elektrabel said in a statement to VRT NWS. "This was followed by an automatic shutdown." It is an incident in the nuclear part of the nuclear reactor, but there was never a safety risk, Engie emphasized: "An automatic shutdown only means that the safety systems are working properly," said Engie spokeswoman Hellen Smeets ...
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Lower Saxony | Nuclear waste | Emsland Lingen
Nuclear waste: more consensus than noise
Storage of radioactive waste is hardly a topic of conflict in Lower Saxony's grand coalition
Beyond the current discussion about extending the operating life of the three German nuclear power plants in operation, the decades-long major conflict over the "peaceful" use of nuclear energy seems to have been resolved to some extent. There is no other way to explain why the topic plays almost no role in the Lower Saxony state election campaign. Lower Saxony is the number one federal state for nuclear waste. For this reason, conflicts over the existing and planned plants are likely in the future.
[...]
Near Lingen, the Emsland nuclear power plant is one of the three nuclear power plants still in operation. In contrast to the nuclear waste storage facilities, where consensus prevails, at least between the major parties in Lower Saxony, there are differences here. While the CDU and the current opposition FDP demand that the lifespan of the reactor be extended beyond the legally fixed shutdown date at the end of the year, the SPD and the Greens in Lower Saxony are opposed. It remains to be seen whether they will maintain this position beyond election day. In the current »Lower Saxony Check«, 72 percent answered the question of whether the shutdown of the Emsland nuclear power plant should be reconsidered with a yes.
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Wind vane green | Runtime | nuclear law
Nuclear Power: Russian Roulette
The energy and climate newsreel part 2: the campaign calls for a permanent nine-euro ticket, the FDP wants longer nuclear power plant runtimes and the drought situation has eased.
[...]
When it comes to nuclear power (and peace policy anyway), green ministers have long since abandoned their party's principles and want to let the Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plants run longer.
For this, however, the Atomic Energy Act must be changed, which has so far provided for the end of 2022 for the reactors mentioned and another one. But there is still no agreement in the federal cabinet because the FDP has jumped on the campaign launched by the AfD and the Union to extend the term. A decision by the cabinet was postponed yesterday, Wednesday, as reported by Stern, among others.
At the Neckarwestheim 2 reactor, an increasing number of hairline cracks have been found in the pipe system of the external cooling circuit for several years, which is why the continued operation, if it comes about, will probably be a matter for the courts in December.
However, the FDP does not contest this any more than the breakdown reports from the Isar or the fact that the comprehensive safety inspection of the systems, which is planned every ten years, is more than four years overdue.
Instead of letting the systems continue to run in reserve until April, as planned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, she wants a service life extension "beyond 2023". Of course only in concern about the power supply and not with the prospect of huge additional profits that the operators of this Russian roulette can make with the old, written-off systems in view of the current electricity prices.
By the way: In 2010, the FDP, in a coalition with the Union, lifted the old runtime restrictions, only to reintroduce them in a very similar form six months later after the multiple reactor accidents in Fukushima, Japan. So now she wants to get her old exit decision from 2011 back, but the condition and age of many Western European nuclear power plants suggests that we may not have to wait too long for a renewed change of heart...
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Media | Journalism | Democracy
"The Fourth Estate": Are our media a threat to democracy?
Pamphlet Richard David Precht and Harald Welzer have written a sharp-tongued media criticism and the world pounces on it. Right? What's so wrong with your criticism? The award-winning journalist Malte Herwig read the book for us
[...]
Precht and Welzer allege that political journalism is more interested in politicians than in politics. Instead of information and analysis of political content, the press delivers personally pointed who-against-whom reporting, mixes facts with opinions and, in competition with "direct media" such as Twitter, Tiktok and Telegram, escalates into a spiral of outrage: Even in serious media are moralistic hyperventilation and the defamation of those who think differently are now the order of the day: the whole “culture of assholery” as it is cultivated in social media. "The public, indispensable for social cohesion, has degenerated and is degenerating to a large extent into a stage for permanent outrage." ...
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05. October
Climate change | drought | Dryness
Drought every 20 years instead of every 400 years
A study shows that climate change has made summer droughts in the northern hemisphere at least 20 times more likely. The research group makes it clear: As long as the world does not phase out coal, oil and gas, the situation will get worse.
Dry fields, forest fires, rivers with low water: Last summer was unusually dry - not only in Europe, but in almost the entire northern hemisphere.
An international research team has now determined that man-made climate change has increased the likelihood of droughts here by at least 20 times. This threatens food production and puts pressure on food prices...
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future nuclear power | World Nuclear Industry Status Report
Nuclear power: bleak future prospects and dangers
Down. That's the direction of development, according to a report on trends in nuclear energy released on Wednesday.
The World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNIST) has been published annually since 2007 and shows how the nuclear industry is developing. Quality, economic key figures, construction progress - in all these areas the report, which was published on Wednesday in the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin, points in one direction above all: downwards.
The report, which shows recent developments, reveals that the share of electricity from nuclear power plants is below 40 percent (9,8%) for the first time in 1996 years - more than two thirds less than in XNUMX, when electricity production in nuclear power plants (NPP) peaked...
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EDF confirms cracks in at least one reactor block in Cattenom
Three of the four Cattenom reactors are currently idle. They are checked for cracks in pipes - these were confirmed in one case. The Luxembourg nuclear expert Roger Spautz does not assess the countermeasures as long-term.
At the end of August, the energy supplier EDF (Électricité de France) announced that it would shut down twelve of its 56 nuclear reactors in France - including three at the Cattenom nuclear power plant - because of repeated fine cracks in the lines of the emergency cooling systems. Cracks have been confirmed in at least one reactor block...
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Climate catastrophe | Coal exit | BlackRock
Habeck: declaration of war on the climate protection movement
The energy and climate newsreel part 1: From ministerial calculation tricks, devastating climate catastrophes and green gifts for Black Rock
... If you believe the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, the phase-out of coal was brought forward by eight years to 2030. In fact, however, the coal phase-out law provides for the end of coal use for 2036, plus a possible extension to 2038. And secondly, the agreement reached with RWE only affects three lignite power plant blocks with a total output of around three gigawatts (Niederaußem K and Neurath F and G). According to the current status, these would have been the only RWE lignite-fired power plants that should have been operated beyond 2030.
On the other hand, there was no mention at all of the other eight lignite-fired power plants that the Czech EPH (Leag and Mibrag) in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg - in some cases together with Uniper - will still be able to run after 2030, such as a list of the Ministry of Economy shows. These systems have a total output of around 5,6 gigawatts ...
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Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation Germany | lifetime extension | dose limit
BUND study on health hazards for workers and residents of nuclear plants - No to extending service lives
In the debate about extending the service life of German nuclear power plants, the risks and dangers of continued operation of the nuclear power plants are currently largely ignored. The German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) criticizes this and shows in a new study that there are health hazards from radioactive releases even during normal operation of nuclear power plants.
"Anyone who talks about the continued operation of nuclear power plants must also consider the safety risks in the nuclear production chain," explains Olaf Bandt, BUND Chairman. “In uranium mining, countless people are exposed to life-threatening radiation, often unknowingly. In Germany, too, those affected often fight in vain for recognition and compensation. The same applies to people and descendants of those who worked in nuclear power plants. This is one of the reasons why we have to get out of nuclear power as quickly as possible. The study by members of the BUND Atomic and Radiation Commission takes a look at these repressed victims of the nuclear industry. Even when the last nuclear power plant is off the grid, demolition and disposal will continue to endanger workers. We call for the dose limits for workers and the general public to be lowered. We must not turn a blind eye to these victims of nuclear energy production, nor to the victims of fossil energy production.” ...
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renewable | Storage | compressed air
Compressed air as an energy store: Largest and most efficient CAES power plant put into operation
If more electricity is available than is required, intelligent storage solutions are required. In China, electricity is now being stored on a large scale using compressed air.
- The world's largest and most efficient compressed air energy storage power plant (CAES) has gone into operation in the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou.
- It stores up to 400 megawatt hours of energy.
- Expensive and rare lithium can be dispensed with as a storage medium.
The largest and most efficient power plant of its kind to date went into operation in Zhangjiakou this week. It can store 400 megawatt hours of energy...
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wind and solar energy
Study: Renewable energies significantly reduce electricity prices
If 50 gigawatts more solar and wind power had been connected to the grid, consumers in Germany would have had to pay around €19 billion less for electricity over the past twelve months.
Electricity prices have risen significantly in recent months. The reasons are varied, but the main ones are Russia's war in Ukraine and its effects on natural gas supplies, as well as the failures of French nuclear power plants. A megawatt hour (MWh) cost a good €465 on the day-ahead market in Germany in August 2022. For comparison: a year ago, in September 2021, the price was around €128...
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Energy transition | Climate protection | Renewables
Where the critics of the global energy transition are wrong
Robert Pollin says: Nuclear power and geo-engineering cannot make any significant contribution to climate protection. And what about space requirements, energy storage and social justice in the transition to 100 percent renewables?
Political scientist CJ Polychroniou conducts the interview with climate economist Robert Pollin. It is published in cooperation with the US news site truthout.
Robert Pollin is co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He is one of the world's leading progressive economists and climate economists.
CJ Polychroniou: The arguments for using negative emission technologies, such as Technologies such as direct air capture and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage are gaining ground today, despite their technological immaturity. The same goes for nuclear power plants and even geoengineering, although they come with risks. What role can such strategies play in efforts to completely phase out fossil fuel dependency?
Robert Pollin: Neither negative emission technologies nor nuclear power are likely to make a significant contribution to building an alternative global clean energy infrastructure. It is even more likely that they will cause even bigger problems.
Let's start with nuclear energy. It has the great advantage that it generates electricity without producing CO2 emissions. But nuclear power also creates major environmental and public safety concerns, looming after the meltdown at Japan's Fukushima power plant in March 2011, and even more so after Russia took control of the Chernobyl and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants in the early stages of the invasion of the United States strengthened Ukraine six months ago...
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05 October 1966 (INES 4) NPP Enrico Fermi 1, USA
Fermi-1, the prototype fast breeder reactor, suffered a partial fuel meltdown.
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AtomkraftwerkePlag
Partial meltdown at Enrico-Fermi-1
Fermi-1 (also: Enrico-Fermi-1) was an unsuccessful foray into fast breeder technology by the USA. The construction of the fast breeder near Monroe in the state of Michigan began in 1956 and the reactor went into operation in 1963. The Fermi-1 was owned by the Power Reactor Development Company (PRDC) and operated by the Detroit Edison Co. The manufacturer was the Power Reactor Development Company.
Construction costs had tripled from the original estimate to $135 million, and initial operating difficulties resulted in financial losses. In 1966, the year it went into operation, the reactor produced only $300.000 in electricity and tiny amounts of fuel. After an accident on October 5, 1966, it was repaired for four years, but even then it never reached its full capacity. "The owners completely lost interest in their tired breeder when the AEC stopped buying bred plutonium at guaranteed prices. Threatened hearings about the financial creditworthiness of the owners and some fundamental safety issues finally dealt the fatal blow to the failed reactor on September 29 [1972]. ...
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04. October
France | EDF | Flamanville
Ailing nuclear power plants plague power companies
Paris nationalizes electricity supplier EDF
France has ambitious plans and wants to be the first country in the world to leave the fossil age behind. To this end, the government in Paris is nationalizing the electricity company EDF. However, he has problems with his ailing nuclear power plants, which are currently not getting any smaller.
France has initiated the procedure for the complete nationalization of the electricity company EDF. This was announced by the financial market authority AMF in the afternoon, as reported by the broadcaster Europe 1. The state has submitted a simplified public takeover bid, which is a first step towards delisting EDF. So far, EDF is already 84 percent state-owned. The measure, estimated at 9,7 billion euros, aims to buy up the remaining 16 percent. This step is intended to ensure the planned expansion of nuclear power in France ...
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climate warming | CO2 | fossil energy
The federal government must stop funding climate killers
The federal government has promised to withdraw public investments that contradict climate protection. The SPD in particular should push this goal forward ambitiously.
The climate crisis as it is unfolding in this century, together with the biodiversity crisis, is the greatest threat to human civilization. It is clear that we need to drastically reduce our carbon emissions to mitigate the worst impacts. A three degree Celsius warming of the atmosphere by the end of this century, as predicted by current models, will result in the end of all life as we know it.
The dimensions of global warming are unimaginable and yet real. As early as the XNUMXs, the largest fossil fuel companies knew about the impact of their business on our planet and humanity. With massive campaigns and investments in lobbying, they have since contributed to increasing dependence on fossil fuels for fear of losing profits...
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Blackout | Power failure | energy market
That's what experts say: is there really a threat of blackout in winter?
The energy market is in crisis, and the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines are now also damaged. Many people are concerned that blackouts could occur in winter. But how real is this danger? The most important questions and answers on the topic.
Winter is approaching and the energy market is still in crisis. Is the power supply guaranteed in the coming months or are there more frequent power outages and blackouts? Two experts provide answers to the most important questions ...
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Hydrogen | renewable | Natural gas
Why hydrogen as a natural gas substitute is a fairy tale
Too expensive - The idea of generating hydrogen with electricity from renewable energies and using it as heating gas via converted natural gas pipelines only fascinates at first glance. What politicians have to pay attention to.
Replacing natural gas supplies from Russia via Nord Stream is proving to be an almost impossible task. Deliveries as liquid gas (LNG) suffer from the limited liquefaction capacities in the countries of origin, the limited ship capacity and from physical problems with regasification in Germany or the lack of networking in Europe ...
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renewable | Energy transition | gigawatt factory
Lusatia is to become a green power plant
Wind farms, PV, storage and hydrogen: This is how Leag wants to use post-mining areas for the energy transition by 2030.
The plan is huge: Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG (Leag) wants to set up wind farms and PV systems with an output of seven gigawatts by 2030. With this project, known as the "Gigawatt Factory", the mining and energy company wants to supply four million households with ecological electricity.
33.000 hectares of post-mining areas are available
The plants are to be built on post-mining areas of the Leag opencast mines totaling around 33.000 hectares ...
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How to demolish nuclear power plants
Simply shutting down a nuclear power plant is not enough. The restoration is immensely complex. Radioactivity sticks to surfaces, sits in cracks and crevices, and even in the material itself.
"Very carefully," says Jörg Meyer, when you demolish a nuclear power plant. Then the nuclear expert speaks of brute force, of hammering, sawing, chiselling, prying open, blasting, scrubbing and etching. Because shutting down a nuclear power plant alone is not enough. You have to dismantle it together with your inventory. And with the greatest possible occupational safety. At the beginning of 30, this balancing act between caution and acts of violence should succeed at 2023 nuclear power plants ...
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03. October
The Tihange 3 nuclear reactor shut down unexpectedly
The Tihange 3 reactor in the nuclear power plant of the same name near Huy near Liège shut itself down at 8:25 am on Monday morning. The plant was “brought into a safe condition.” This was confirmed by power plant operator Engie Electrabel
"The staff brought Tihange 3 into a safe condition this morning," said the power plant operator Engie Electrabel on Monday morning. What exactly led to this shutdown is still unclear.
The reactor, which has a capacity of 1.038 megawatts, unexpectedly failed after a problem on Monday morning and shut down. Engie Electrabel is analyzing what exactly happened...
Part 1 | Part 2
Chomsky: "There is a risk that the West could advance to Russia"
Noam Chomsky says: The West could use more advanced weapons in Ukraine and extend the war to Russia. Why the ongoing readjustment of the world order could end in catastrophe. (Part 2)
CJ Polychroniou: Seven months after Putin's criminal invasion of Ukraine, the war has reached a turning point. With Putin's call for "partial mobilization," he returned to Russia, and an annexation of parts of Ukraine is taking place. What does the increase in Russian forces in Ukraine mean for Russia and Ukraine? Are Putin's military call-up orders an admission that Russia is no longer conducting a "special military operation" in Ukraine?
Noam Chomsky: What is happening in Russia is unclear. There are reports of protests and forced conscription, as well as calls to defend "Mother Russia" against another Western invasion but, like previous attempts dating back to Napoleon, they are being crushed. Such appeals could be heard. Historical memories run deep. However, we can only guess how the mood in Russia will develop.
It was a criminal invasion from the start and never a "military special operation," but the Kremlin continues to try to convey that impression. The mobilization is unlikely to have a major impact on the war anytime soon. The long-term effects are unclear ...
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Photovoltaics | Repowering | feed
Active repowering and higher feed-in tariffs
The EU Commission has approved the higher feed-in tariffs for roof systems. In the revised Energy Security Act, the federal government has also cleared the way for the active repowering of solar parks.
There is two pieces of good news for operators of PV systems, both for the roof area segment and for the open space segment. The EU Commission has given the go-ahead to three regulations that are relevant under state aid law. This means that, among other things, the higher remuneration rates for small roof systems can now take effect. They are regulated in the EEG 2023, but now come into force retrospectively as of July 30, 2022 after the approval under state aid law...
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03 October 1986, nuclear submarine K-219, USSR
On October 03, 1986, a torpedo on the Soviet nuclear submarine exploded in its silo. The boat sank 3 days later and since then has been lying with 2 nuclear reactors and at least 30 nuclear warheads on board at a depth of about 5500 meters about 1000 kilometers east of Bermuda and 2000 kilometers off the coast of America ...
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Wikipedia
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-219
K-219 was a nuclear submarine of the Soviet Navy. It belonged to the Project 667A type, NATO designation: Yankee I class. As a missile submarine (SSBN), the mission of the K-1971, built in 219, was to carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) off the East Coast of the United States as part of the nuclear deterrent to ensure the shortest possible response time in the event of nuclear war.
On October 3, 1986, about 680 nautical miles northeast of the Bermuda Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, one of the missiles detonated in its silo, and the missile compartment filled with water. The K-219 then surfaced and floated on the surface for three days. On October 6, the submarine finally sank for reasons that are ultimately not clear. Four crew members died, the rest of the crew was rescued ...
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03 October 1952, atomic bomb tests on Trimouille Island, GBR
Britain's first atomic bomb test
Wikipedia
List of nuclear weapons tests#Britain
Great Britain used test sites in Australia (12 tests), on the Christmas Island (6 attempts) and on Malden Island (3 tries).
The Operation Hurricane was the first British atomic bomb test, on October 3, 1952 on Trimouille Island, one of the 174 small Montebello Islands carried out on the north west coast of Western Australia...
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Atomwaffen A - Z
Trimoulle Island - Montebello Islands
The Montebello Islands are located about 100 km northwest of the Australian coast. Britain secretly carried out three nuclear tests here between 1952 and 1956 with the approval of Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies. It is questionable whether Menzies included his cabinet in the decision. The Australian population initially knew nothing about it.
The first British atomic bomb was detonated as part of Operation Hurricane on October 3, 1952 at 8 a.m. local time. It was a 25 KT (kiloton) plutonium bomb and was detonated on a ship, HMS Plym. The ship was anchored in a lagoon near Trimouille Island. The plutonium used for the implosion bomb similar to the "Fat Man" bomb was produced in Windscale (later Sellafield) and shipped from Canada. The explosion was detonated below deck, 2,7 meters underwater. It created a crater on the sea floor that was 6 meters deep and more than 300 meters wide...
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02. October
Nord Stream | Greenhouse gas | Responsibility
Nord Stream Pipelines: No more gas is escaping
Researchers warn of significant ecological consequences of the explosion. The search for those responsible continues, and Western media have already identified a perpetrator.
In one respect, the situation on the damaged Nord Stream pipelines has calmed down: there are no more gas leaks.
[...]
The huge amounts of methane that were released are causing great concern among researchers.
Firstly, because methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. According to the Federal Environment Agency, it is about 25 times as strong. In contrast, researchers recently spoke of an approximately 82-fold climate impact. The scientists are not reassured that at 12,4 years it stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than CO₂.
Another reason: in addition to methane, natural gas also contains other trace gases such as benzene. They can cause considerable damage to the flora and fauna of the Baltic Sea, and people's health can also be affected ...
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Storage | Energy transition | Energy supply
Electricity storage: Storage capacity in Germany is increasing rapidly
Wind and solar energy require electricity storage that ensures a continuous energy supply. Private customers in particular are driving the expansion, but there are also first concrete plans for large storage systems.
The development of large capacities for storing electricity is considered the bottleneck of the energy transition. Although the sun and wind supply free energy, they unfortunately cannot be switched on and off as required. So, for example, storage systems have to provide the electricity produced by wind turbines and solar cells at noon in the evening hours and at night, or make use of surpluses produced in summer for the winter...
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Bernays | Propaganda | Public Relations
The PR is a continuation of the war by peaceful means
Edward Bernays, the "Father of Spin", turned propaganda into "public relations". That sounds like different usage in war and peace. But does this difference even exist?
He advised several American presidents. Goebbels, who had a book by him in his library, wanted his advice. But the person asked, Edward Bernays, would not. Not just because he was Jewish and Sigmund Freud's nephew. The Nazis, on the other hand, did not mind such a thing if necessary. Loosely based on Hermann Göring: "I decide who is a Jew."
Both genetic and intellectual reasons kept Edward Bernays away from the Nazis and drew him to psychoanalysis. In the USA, where his family had immigrated from Vienna in 1892 when he was not yet one year old, he tried to make the works of his uncle "Siggi" known and sellable ...
Part 1 | Part 2
Chomsky: "Will Putin just pack up and sneak away?"
Noam Chomsky says: Moscow hasn't yet done what the US does in wars: destroy infrastructure. If Putin is defeated, will he simply disappear? Why diplomacy is still possible. (Part 1)
[...]
CJ Polychroniou: President Zelenskyy called on the United Nations (UN) to punish Russia for invading Ukraine by removing its veto power in the Security Council. Just a few days ago, the EU President made similar demands. Technically, a country can be expelled from the UN for "consistent violation" of the principles of the charter, but isn't that a misguided proposal?
Noam Chomsky: It is easy to understand President Zelenskyy, but regardless of the technical aspects, just the fact that the proposal is being seriously considered is revealing. Did anyone consider punishing the US in this way when it invaded Iraq, to cite just one example of its "continued violation" of the Charter's core principle, which is the "threat or use of force" in international affairs forbidden (although exceptions do not play a role here)? These violations, which are not only persistent but extremely serious, are obvious even if they are practically taboo in mainstream America.
I think we should focus on what should be our focus: US politics. Do we want to accept the US official position of waging a war to seriously weaken Russia and rule out a diplomatic solution? Or does it make sense to urge the US government to join most of the world, including Germans and other Europeans, in finding a way to end the horrors before there are more tragedies not only in Ukraine, but also cause far beyond? ...
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01. October
Demo Lingen | Stretch operation | Business Russia
Demo in Lingen: No stretching, no business with Russia
In Lingen, around 200 people protested against the continued operation of the last German nuclear power plants on Saturday. Three reactors are still connected to the grid, they should be switched off at the end of the year.
However, because of the current energy crisis, the end of at least two nuclear power plants could be postponed. The federal government wants to decide by early December at the latest whether Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim in Baden-Württemberg in particular should continue to produce electricity in so-called stretch operation in the first quarter of 2023. There is a lot to be said for this at the moment, said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) recently. European electricity production is not sufficiently secured due to the failure of nuclear power plants in France...
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40 years of "Terra-X"
Science journalist Harald Lesch: "People have not understood how dramatic climate change is"
Harald Lesch has been leading the "Terra-X" series "Fascination Universe" on ZDF for 13 years. In the interview, he talks about the 40-year success of the series, but also loses clear words about climate change.
[...]
Hannah Schwewe: Climate change is becoming more and more evident right on our doorstep. Nevertheless, one has the impression that too little is being done to counteract this. Why is that?
Harald Lesch: People have not understood how dramatic climate change is. For a very long time we have not listened to the warnings of climate and planetary research, which have been saying the same thing for more than 50 years: “We cannot go on like this.” We are going on anyway. Of course, that has to do with the fact that our voters decide who governs them. If someone says today that we have to do without and lower our growth rates, they won't be elected. The old parties can't do anything with the topic of ecology. The FDP, CDU and even the SPD are in no way prepared for ecological issues. This society has long spared itself the perception that we are in a transformation and the fat years are over...
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Climate change | weather phenomenon | Pacific
Meteorologists announce 'extraordinary' La Niña event
The weather phenomenon La Niña occurs for the third year in a row. This could favor droughts and violent storms in some regions.
Kassel – Lots of rain and colorful leaves on the streets: autumn has now arrived in Germany. Temperatures have dropped significantly. Meteorologists are now daring to make forecasts for the coming months. A rare weather phenomenon was confirmed.
Experts point out that the weather event La Niña has occurred for the third year in a row ...
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arms export | Saudi Arabia | Yemen
western values
Berlin kills too
Scholz government approves arms exports to Saudi Arabia - despite Riyadh's war in Yemen. Nationwide day of action of the peace movement
The decision is said to have been made shortly before Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) traveled to the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the secret Federal Security Council: The two leading members of the war coalition against Yemen will receive armaments worth a total of 37,4 .36,1 million euros from Germany. For example, Riyadh is buying equipment and armament for the Eurofighter and Tornado fighter jets for 1,3 million. The Emirates get spare parts for XNUMX million from the German manufacturer Kappa Opto Electronics, which also supplies Saudi Arabia. Abu Dhabi needs them for its tankers, without which the war in Yemen could not continue...
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01 October 1981 (INES 3 | NAMS 1,3) Sellafield Nuclear factory, GBR
Reprocessing of fuel assemblies that had been cooled for only 27 days resulted in the release of 0,9 Tbq of radioactive iodine ...
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AtomkraftwerkePlag
Sellafield (formerly_Windscale), United Kingdom
In November 2001, a study on the possible toxic effects of the reprocessing plants in La Hague (France) and Sellafield was published by the European Parliament, written by WISE/Paris under the direction of Mycle Schneider. Their conclusion was that up to this point in time both sites had the highest human-caused release of radioactivity, comparable to a major nuclear accident every year. The release of radioactive substances was possibly twice that after the Chernobyl disaster. A significant increase in leukemia cases was observed in the vicinity of both sites; it is considered possible that the radioactive emissions from both plants contributed to this. Significant concentrations of radionuclides in food, sediment, flora and fauna have been detected at Sellafield. Carbon-14, caesium-137, cobalt-60, iodine-129, plutonium, strontium-90, technetium-99 were found, the latter with a half-life of 214.000 years...
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There are comparable nuclear factories all over the world:
Uranium enrichment and reprocessing - facilities and sites
During reprocessing, the inventory of spent fuel elements can be separated from one another in a complex chemical process (PUREX). Separated uranium and plutonium can then be reused...
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This accident, as well as several other releases of radioactivity originating from Sellafield, are no longer in the German Wikipedia a DAK Bungalow.
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| Current news+ | Background knowledge |
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News+ October 01
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Belgium | extend duration | Blackout France | Merit order
Belgium shows problems with extending the runtimes of nuclear power plants
The Greens confirm that the "operational reserve" of two nuclear power plants is about blackout prevention in France. Meanwhile, Belgium has proven that continued operation without safety checks is not possible. What follows for Germany.
A few years ago, we had to carry out a number of safety analyzes so that the reactors could remain connected to the grid, and now we are supposed to extend the term within ten days before the operating license expires?
The words of the Belgian Engie spokeswoman Anne-Sophie Hugé on the possible continued operation of Belgian nuclear power plants should be examined more closely in the context of the German debate about a so-called "operational reserve", "emergency reserve" or "extended operation".
The Belgian energy supplier Engie was reacting to demands from politicians to prevent the shutdown of well-known crack reactors Doel 3 and Tihange 2 after all. Both kilns are operated by Engie. Hugé was irritated that the Christian Democrat Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden wanted to ask the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (Fanc) to investigate whether the shutdown of Doel 3 could be suspended or even reversed
"In these uncertain times, we have to give priority to security of supply," Verlinden made it clear that she is willing to accept even a super meltdown. She, too, brought up a kind of "standby" for the reactors, another term for an emergency reserve or operational reserve.
The statements also caused irritation and astonishment among fans, especially since the request came just ten days before Doel 3 was scheduled to be shut down.
Engie spokeswoman Hugé like Verlinden's advance all around: A continued operation is very absurd and technically and not feasible for safety reasons. This applies to both Doel 3 and Tihange 2, which is scheduled to be shut down by February 1 of next year at the latest.
"There are no studies on what the impact would be if the reactors remained connected to the grid any longer," says Hugé. In fact, Doel 3 was finally shut down in Belgium last Saturday and the dismantling is now to begin.
It has long been known that Doel 3 and Tihange 2 are rift reactors or "crumb reactors". Telepolis has been reporting on the dangerous piles in the Belgian-German border area for years...
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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:
Akw Doel, north-west of Antwerp...
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The internal search:
brought the following results, among others:
January 18, 2022 - France closer to blackout
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January 17, 2017 - Atomic France tries to avert blackout
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June 06th, 2011 - When it's hot or cold, nothing works anymore
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YouTube
Keyword search: Blackout in France
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Blackout in Frankreich
Videos:
daily news - 05:28
Fridays for Future: Global climate protests
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ZDF frontal - 08:38
Expensive electricity and weak grids - can nuclear power save the day?
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German TV history - 01:06:28
Because we didn't know anything about it! This show is from 1958.
Atomic dust above us - dangers of radioactive radiation (documentation, 1958)
Playlist - radioactivity worldwide ...
This playlist contains over 150 videos on the topic
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Ecosia
This search engine is planting trees!
Keyword search: Blackout France
https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Blackout Frankreich
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Wikipedia
Power failure
A power outage (also: unplanned supply interruption) is a temporary network disruption in the power grid that unintentionally interrupts the electricity supply to electricity consumers. Planned supply interruptions are announced in advance and must also be reported to the Federal Network Agency. The longer-term intentional cessation of power supply is referred to as power blocking...
Power failure in nuclear power plants (“blackout”)
... On various occasions, however, NPPs have had to struggle with problems that affected the proper functioning of these emergency power generators and their connection devices. The best known of these are the Fukushima nuclear accidents and the 2006 accidents at Sweden's Forsmark nuclear power plant. Similar incidents occurred in 1975 at the Greifswald nuclear power plant, in 1982 at the Belgian nuclear power plant at Doel, in 1999 at the French nuclear power plant at Blayais, in 2000 at the New York nuclear power plant at Indian Point 2, in 2001 at the Taiwanese nuclear power plant in Maanshan, in 2004 at the nuclear power plant in Biblis, in 2007 at the French nuclear power plant in Dampierre and in Penly nuclear power plant Swiss nuclear power plant Beznau 1 and 2011 in the French nuclear power plant Tricastin.
On April 26, 1986, the operators of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant practiced handling a nuclear reactor (unit 4) in the event of a total power failure. Due to serious violations of the applicable safety regulations and because of the design-related properties of the nuclear reactor moderated with graphite, there was an uncontrolled increase in power, which led to the fire and explosion of the reactor (Chernobyl disaster) ...
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Back to:
Newsletter XXXVIII 2022 - September 24th to 30th
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