In November 2024, a worker was exposed to radiation during the inspection of an X-ray device used for foreign object detection in manufactured products at a facility that produces and sells such devices. The worker was conducting performance improvement work on the device (80kV, 1.25mA) and, without turning off the power, inserted his hands into the machine to disassemble and reassemble the collimator, while X-rays were being continuously emitted. Since the device was still in the production phase, radiation warning lamp had not yet been properly installed. The worker continued the task without being aware that radiation was being emitted. Subsequently, localized radiation effects such as erythema and pain appeared on the worker's hand. According to the dose assessment, the equivalent dose to the skin on the worker’s hand was estimated to exceed 2,000 mSv, surpassing the annual dose limit.
Everywhere you look, the nuclear industry’s hype machine is in overdrive. Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and the UK government all tout small modular reactors as the silver bullet for climate change and energy security. Tech billionaires are hiring nuclear veterans. Wall Street is whispering about “round-the-clock power” for artificial intelligence data centers. For those old enough […]
Kernenergie en veiligheid: A wargame sought to test if a major radiological release that would prompt the evacuation of millions of civilians in South Korea could distract key US allies from assisting and rebuffing an all-out military invasion of Taiwan. The short answer was yes. The game originally presumed that China, wanting to keep the […]
Big batteries and EVs to the rescue again as faults with new nuclear plant cause chaos on Nordic grids The Finnish nuclear power plant Olkiluoto was finally connected to the grid last year, at an estimated cost of €11 billion compared to the original budget of €3 billion. That cost blowout forced its developer, the […]
A vast subsea nuclear graveyard planned to hold Britain’s burgeoning piles of radioactive waste is set to become the biggest, longest-lasting and most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in the UK. The project [UK's nuclear waste dump] is now predicted to take more than 150yrs to complete with lifetime costs of £66bn in today’s money...The […]
Last year, the Dutch Province of Limburg started an alliance in which, besides the local government, research institutes, small nuclear reactor (SMR) developers, utilities, industrial customers and funders cooperated. With this "Limburg SMR alliance" Limburg tried to lead the way towards an SMR in Limburg. The preferred site for a first SMR would be Chemelot, […]
