On 13 February 1998, shutdown cooling of the reactor vessel was lost for several hours when suction isolation valves for the residual heat removal (RHR) system automatically closed. These valves closed due to the loss of the primary power supply to Division 2 of the Nuclear Safety Protection System, while the alternate power supply was unavailable because of maintenance. The unit had been shut down since 5 September 1996, and decay heat loads were relatively low. During the period the shutdown cooling system was unavailable, water in the reactor vessel began to heat up at a rate of approximately 0.6 deg. F per hour. The licensee declared an ALERT Emergency Classification at the discretion of the control room supervisor, who desired to bring additional personnel onsite to assist in restoring the RHR system. The RHR system was restarted approximately six hours after the initial event. Justification: This event is rated at level 0/below scale in accordance with Part III-3.1.1 of the INES User's Manual as a minor change in coolant temperature due to some degradation of cooling with a comparable large time available for corrective actions.
The Netherlands has agreed to allow Urenco to be used for the British military nuclear program. This clears the way for uranium enriched by Urenco to be used in nuclear weapons. With his decision, Foreign Minister Berendsen (CDA Christen Democrats) is departing from the principle that civilian and military nuclear applications must remain strictly separate. […]
Behnam Raeesian is an internationally recognized visual artist and poster designer from Iran, known for bold political and cultural works. Through exhibitions, workshops, jury roles, and collaborations with cultural institutions worldwide, he has built a strong voice in contemporary political graphic design. His projects confront complex issues such as nuclear risk and technological impact, transforming […]
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 […]
