LLAW’s All Things Nuclear #734, Monday, (08/26/2024)
“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
A massive generator runs at Diablo Canyon, the only operational nuclear plant in California
LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Monday, (08/26/2024)
Well, here we are again, reporting another round of negativity about the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California at Avila Beach just over 10 miles southwest of San Luis Obispo. The plant is owned by PG&E, which, given the company’s seemingly eternal accident-prone and error-filled existence, definitely adds to why the plant should have been beginning preparing for its permanent shutdown and dismantling beginning in 2025 rather than a new lease on life through 2030 proffered up by billions of taxpayer dollars from California and the United States governments.
The plant, as the Los Angeles Times article below states, is risky, not the least of which are potential major radiation leaks from old age as well as the risk of a severe earthquake that could demolish the plant causing widespread damage similar to Japan’s Fukushima accident created by “acts of god” including an earthquake that created a tsunami in 2011. That plant is, of course, totally inoperable forever, but the parent company is being allowed to dump millions of tons of ‘safety-treated’ nuclear waste into the nearby Pacific Ocean, which of course has the fishing industry in a well-justified uproar.
And there are other risks, which are always prevalent during the operation of all nuclear power plants everywhere, including fires, terrorism or war, control of nuclear waste, which is already a growing problem for California at the 2013 shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente.
All nuclear power plants, as well as other nuclear facilities and products, like nuclear bombs, are also 'risky business’, but we don’t seem to care enough to “bite the bullet” and rid ourselves of the most dangerous product ever known on planet Earth. Instead, we lie to ourselves, hide our heads in the sand, and continue on playing against the odds on the very future of life on planet Earth. That is the ‘real’ risk . . . ~llaw
California’s last nuclear plant is a risky, costly business
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
By Ryan Fonseca Staff Writer
Aug. 26, 2024 6:30 AM PT
Why Diablo Canyon is a risky business
When you watch TV, run your AC or charge your phone overnight, a portion of the energy you’re using may have come from the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
The PG&E-run facility — perched on the edge of the Central California coast — runs around the clock, generating electricity thanks to massive copper coils spun rapidly by steam generated by nuclear fission.
The plant is central in an ongoing debate over California’s energy future, Noah Haggerty, a mass media fellow at The Times, explained this week. Key arguments center on the skyrocketing cost of nuclear energy and the risks of an earthquake leading to nuclear disaster.
“As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration looks to the aging reactor to help ease the state’s transition to renewable energy, Diablo Canyon is drawing renewed criticism from those who say the facility is too expensive and too dangerous to continue operating,” he wrote.
Nuclear energy has become a costly power source.
It used to be that wind and solar power cost orders of magnitude more than producing electricity at a nuclear plant.
But the high demand for renewable energy spurred technological advances that have drastically reduced those costs. The state has been ramping up its power storage capacity, which cuts against one argument for nuclear power — that it’s needed to keep the lights on when there’s no sun or wind.
Nuclear energy now costs about double what those other sources do, Noah reported.
In recent years, nuclear plants have racked up costs because of more outages and equipment being replaced. MIT researchers in one study also pointed to higher costs from research and development. They also cited decreased worker productivity, possibly due to low morale.
Another reason for rising costs are safety requirements, many of which were put in place after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, when a powerful earthquake and tsunami led to a nuclear meltdown.
Earthquakes remain the key risk for the plant.
They make up about 65% of the assessed risk for the worst possible meltdown, Noah noted, because of nearby fault lines.
If an earthquake were to occur and critically damage the plant before operators could shut down the nuclear fission happening inside, the unchecked reaction would create a meltdown.
If that were to happen, the clean energy source could essentially become a giant dirty bomb, spewing radioactive material into the atmosphere faster than nearby communities could evacuate.
If you’re one for probabilities, here are a couple for you:
“Every year, nearby residents have roughly the same chance of seeing a nuclear meltdown as dying in a car crash,” Noah wrote. “Also, in any given year, they’re about 50 times more likely to face a mass-casualty radioactive catastrophe than get struck by lightning.”
Officials at the PG&E plant point to their many earthquake precautions, including reinforced infrastructure designed to prevent collapses, plus immersive simulations to train operators for the worst-case scenario.
Critics have voiced concerns that regulators have overlooked and lowballed some of the seismic safety risks.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Diablo Canyon was slated to start closing this year. Then Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped in.
Back in 2016, PG&E agreed to close its plant when the operating licenses expire in November 2024 and August 2025.
But in some last-minute legislative maneuvering, Newsom struck a deal to keep the plant running until 2030, which federal regulators later approved.
Newsom argues that keeping Diablo Canyon running is vital to protect against blackouts in the state and “provide an onramp for more clean energy projects to come online.”
In recent years, Californians’ attitudes on nuclear power have shifted.
A 2022 poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found that 44% of state voters supported building more nuclear reactors in California, while 37% of those polled were opposed. Another 19% were undecided.
You can read Noah’s full story here.
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
All Things Nuclear
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power Emergencies
Nuclear War
Nuclear War Threats
Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in this evening’s Post.)
IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Monday, (08/26/2024)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says - KSMU Radio
KSMU Radio
... about the dangers of what is being called the new nuclear age ... All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:30 PM All Songs Considered. 0:00. 0:00.
The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says
Siouxland Public Media KWIT-KOJI
... about the dangers of what is being called the new nuclear age ... All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM World Cafe. 0:00. 0:00. All Things ...
The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says - WMUK
WMUK
All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM The Daily. 0:00. 0:00. All Things ... And when we say deterrence, we shouldn't just think about nuclear ...
Nuclear Power
NEWS
IAEA Director General Statement on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant
International Atomic Energy Agency
Given the serious situation, I am personally leading the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in ...
California's Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is a risky, costly business - Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Two domes rise into the sky at a nuclear power plant. Twin containment domes, shrouded in fog, house the nuclear reactors at Diablo Canyon nuclear ...
Russia attacks near Ukraine nuclear plant - YouTube
YouTube
Russia's attack Monday morning hit areas near Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant.
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Although the world is competing to secure nuclear power, Korea is in an emergency as four ...
mk.co.kr
Nuclear power plants are essential for reducing carbon emissions and providing stable power to high-tech industries, including artificial intelligence ...
With the world competing to secure nuclear power, Korea is in an emergency as four existing nuclear
mk.co.kr
Nuclear power plants are essential for reducing carbon emissions and supplying stable power to high-tech industries, including artificial intelligence ...
Outages introduced as preventive measures, due to damage to power equipment – adviser to PM
interfax.com.ua
Emergency power outages are associated ... "There were nuances related to the limitation of power output, including from nuclear power plants.
Nuclear War
NEWS
The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says | WHQR
WHQR
We had an arms race during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Each side built tens of thousands of nuclear weapons at the ...
IACS, UNM host groundbreaking forum on nuclear weapons
UNM Newsroom - The University of New Mexico
... nuclear war. The discussion, “Forum on Nuclear Strategy: Disarmament & Deterrence in a Dangerous World,” will be held from 1:45 to 5 p.m. (MDT) on ...
IACS, UNM hosts groundbreaking forum on nuclear weapons
UNM Newsroom - The University of New Mexico
A groundbreaking discussion in September at The University of New Mexico will feature high-ranking public policy experts, influential spiritual ...
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Andreas Kluth: Why is the US fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors? - Manhattan Mercury
Manhattan Mercury
Andreas Kluth: Why is the US fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors ... Joe Biden also used to speak regularly and urgently about the dangers of ...
The Battle of Kursk probably won't result in nuclear weapons use against Ukraine. But ...
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
It can be predicted with reasonable confidence that Russia will not threaten, much less use, nuclear weapons against Ukraine ... nuclear war was at its ...
North Korea conducts 'suicide drones' test, Kim Jong un calls for war preparedness
Times of India
Animosity between North and South Korea is escalating as Kim Jong Un continues to fortify his nuclear-armed military and issue threats aimed at ...