Talks with Iran shut down, as the nation refuses inspection of its Parchin facility and announces that it will open two new nuclear plants. How much risk is there that Iran is pursuing weapons-grade uranium enrichment?
Summer is here. Can San Onofre Nuclear Plants Produce Enough Power?
Nuclear Power Plants and Hydrogen – Energy for the Future
The use of hydrogen is significant today, but tomorrow the demand could increase for a future of domestic energy use. Currently, we use hydrogen to make nitrogen fertilizers, to convert low-grade crude oils into transport fuels, and to process other chemicals. But in the future, as oil becomes more expensive, hydrogen could become the fuel […]
The First U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Licensed in Three Decades
Does nuclear power within the United States have a future? Two new nuclear power reactors have been approved for the Vogtle facility in Georgia, so it appears the answer is yes, at least for the moment, but the question still remains whether new technology and faster licensing meets all the expectations and requirements of nuclear inspectors. […]
After an EMP Event, Can A Nuclear Plant Shutdown Safely?
How would an EMP affect our Nuclear Power Plants? An EMP, or electromagnetic pulse, can be a potential threat to the United States and the world, that we are not prepared for. It can occur when a high-altitude nuclear weapon is detonated, or through severe space weather such as a solar flare or Coronal Mass […]
Solar Flare Radiation Dangers: Are We Ready?
It is a violent environment out there for our Earth, and all that impacts the fragile Earth affects us. As long as the Earth has existed, solar flares have been sending doses of radiation to the planet’s surface. “A worst-case scenario of an extreme event,” says Michael Hesse, chief of NASA’s Space Weather Laboratory at […]
Is Nuclear Power in Your Future?
Proposed as the energy market’s silver bullet, nuclear power would meet all the worlds needs for increased energy demands with little pollution or fear of accidents, right? Actually, we know that this isn’t true. Light water reactors, which provide the bulk of our nuclear capacity, are notoriously inefficient. Couple this with concerns about waste and […]
Fossil Fuel vs. Nuclear for Safe and Clean Power
We need energy to provide electrical power to our homes and support our infrastructure, to name a few. So, the question is not: How do we live without power? The real question is: How do we pick the safest power-generation industry to supply electricity for our needs? Most of the power generation in the United […]
Latest Radioactive Leak from Fukushima
On December 5, 2011, new contaminated-water leaks from the earthquake and tsunami-damaged Fukushima Nuclear Site were reported by its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The water leaks occurred in a recently constructed facility designed to purify contaminated water being used to cool the nuclear fuel in the site’s damaged reactors. Fukushima Purification System On June […]
Fracking at Marcellus Shale Site: Hydraulic Fracturing Increases Radionuclides
It’s a controversial subject at best, but there may be solid reasons to regulate hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in areas like the Marcellus Shale site. In addition to the numerous other environmental concerns, such as the unknown chemicals seeping into groundwater supplies, the concentration of radionuclides in the water, pipes, and equipment of a fracking […]