LLAW’s All Things Nuclear #880, Friday, (02/21/2025)
"End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY with the RISKS and CONSEQUENCES of TOMORROW
The following umpteenth update about the three year war on one Ukrainian frequently targeted power plant by Russia reported by the “International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)” continues to tell us the much ignored nuclear war tool referred to as Nuclear Power Plants.
Why can’t we the people, all of us everywhere, especially including those of us who reside in the USA, figure out that nuclear power plants are dangerously 2nd only to nuclear warheads and nuclear bombs in this contentious world of threatening nuclear war. The Russia/Ukraine war has proven over and over again that not only are nuclear power plants and their required facilities and utilities dangerous all by themselves but they are also rapidly becoming a huge part of even what we still, erroneously, call “conventional” war because we never stop hiding our collective heads in the sand, ignoring the reality of the problems that exist with every kind of use of 'all things nuclear beyond a few medical procedures.
Forgetting for a moment about their potentially increasingly foreboding uses in times of war, they are also subject to terrorist attacks, earthquakes, tsunamis, construction failures, operational and functional mistakes, human errors — and the list goes on. Not only are nuclear power plants extremely dangerous, but we have nuclear waste spread all around the world with half-lives almost forever that we have no idea what to do with that are subject to massive radiation leaks as well as contamination of the ground and water they are stockpiled in or on nearby that will never be used for any useful purpose in the future.
Yet we are head over heals in love with the concept of more and more and more of nuclear power plants of all kinds, sizes, and shapes, some of which will actually use military-grade uranium fuel, which can only add to all the dangerous situations mentioned above. All this is in the face of the facts that nuclear energy is not safe, not cheap, subject to geographical financial and production greed, and its merits are built on lies and misunderstandings mostly promulgated by the nuclear industry itself along with all kinds of politicized biases and questionable governmental support.
There is also a huge chance that uranium fuel (or low-grade substitutes like thorium), mined much like coal, does not sufficiently exist on planet Earth to sustain the existing nuclear power plants much less building hordes of new ones. We need to spend our hard earned money on renewable power resources, e.g. wind, solar, hydro, geothermal produced energy, which is plentiful, safe, and far less costly. ~llaw
Update 277 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine
20 Feb 2025
15/2025
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been relying on a single off-site power line for more than a week now after its only remaining back-up line was lost, once again highlighting an extremely fragile nuclear safety situation during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.
Nuclear power plants (NPPs) need a secure supply of external electricity to cool their reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions. However, this has been a major challenge over the past three years, with the ZNPP temporarily losing all off-site power eight times.
In the latest incident affecting the reliability of the supply of power from the grid, its sole 330 kilovolt (kV) back-up power line was disconnected on 11 February and has not yet been fully restored. This leaves Europe’s largest NPP entirely dependent on its only remaining 750 kV line. Before the conflict, it had a total of 10 power lines – six 750 kV and four 330 kV – available.
“The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant still needs reliable supplies of off-site power for cooling purposes, even though its six reactors have been shut down for more than two years now,” Director General Grossi said. “The vulnerability of the external power situation remains a deep source of concern for nuclear safety.”
The ZNPP said the 330 kV line was disconnected last week due to the activation of the electrical protection system. The Ukrainian regulatory body informed the IAEA that it was the result of unspecified military activity and that the power line had been damaged. The IAEA team at the ZNPP currently continues to gather further information regarding the status of the back-up power supply to the site.
Further underlining the constant risks to nuclear safety, the IAEA team based at the site heard an explosion close to the ZNPP on 12 February, coinciding with unconfirmed reports of a drone attack approximately 300 meters from the site. The team has over the past week continued to hear other daily explosions at varying distances from the ZNPP. No damage to the site has been reported.
The IAEA team continues to carry out walkdowns across the ZNPP as part of the work to monitor and assess nuclear safety and security.
The IAEA remains in contact with both sides regarding the next rotation of IAEA personnel at the ZNPP, after it was delayed last week due to intense military activity in the area.
At the Chornobyl NPP site, firefighters are continuing to put out small fires that keep smouldering and spreading on the roof of the New Safe Confinement (NSC), after it was struck on 14 February by a drone that pierced a hole in the large structure built to cover the reactor destroyed in the 1986 accident.
The IAEA team based at the site, which was granted unrestricted access to examine the impact of the explosion, conducts regular walkdowns and radiation measurements to independently monitor the situation. The team’s measurements continue to show normal gamma radiation dose rate values near the NSC compared to those recorded by the IAEA since it established a continuous presence at the site just over two years ago.
The IAEA teams based at Ukraine’s other NPPs - Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine – have continued to report frequent air raid alarms over the past week and were also informed of the presence of drones within the areas surrounding the respective sites.
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 Threats
Nuclear War
Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’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, Friday, (02/21/2025)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
The Pentagon announces huge budget cuts. But where will the savings come from? | KGOU
KGOU
All Things Considered. Next Up: 7:00 PM National Native News. 0:00. 0:00 ... So they want to focus on the ones you just noted - drones, submarines and ...
'The Atomic Kid' by Las Vegas author explores growing up in a nuclear landscape
Nevada Public Radio
All Things · Culture · Food and Drink · The Guide · All Things · Culture · Food and ... 'The Atomic Kid' by Las Vegas author explores growing up in a ...
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Delivers Remarks at CPAC
Department of Energy
Nuclear Security · Energy ... all the way up to less than 200 years ago. Today, it's 73 years. From 30 to 73. Two things catalyze that change.
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Ghostly Glow of Nuclear Power Station Detected in Water 150 Miles Away - ScienceAlert
ScienceAlert
This event was the first time that water had been used to detect a particle known as an antineutrino, which originated from a nuclear reactor more ...
Small modular reactors could help Indiana shift to 24/7 carbon-free electricity with economic ...
Purdue University
The study states that SMRs, which are smaller than existing nuclear power plants and could be faster and less expensive to build, are a viable option ...
Renewed interest in nuclear energy emerges among Maine lawmakers - YouTube
YouTube
A new bill sponsored by Republican state Rep. Reagan Paul would encourage informal bids to establish what are called small modular reactors.
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Japan gov't OKs emergency animal shooting bill amid bear attacks - Kyodo News
Kyodo News
The Japanese government has approved a bill to allow municipalities to authorize "emergency shootings" by hunters when dangerous animals enter ...
Guest Editorial: Concerns About Renewing V.C. Summer License
The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County
... Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) opposing the proposed license renewal for the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant. Bishop Redfern II. The NRC is ...
How would a restarted TMI alert its central Pa. neighbors to a nuclear emergency | News
Daily Courier
You know those jarring tones that blare from everyone's cell phones in the event of a weather emergency or public safety alert?
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Issue brief: A NATO strategy for countering Russia - Atlantic Council
Atlantic Council
... nuclear coercion will continue as a key element of Russia's strategy and should be expected to intensify. Threats of nuclear warfare are a key ...
Putin makes nuclear war threat as he 'reminds' Ukraine of soon-to-expire treaty - MSN
MSN
In a potentially thinly veiled nuclear war threat, Russian leader ... Required) · Ad. GOP Lawmakers Fear 'Death Threats' and 'Gestapo-Like' Behavior ...
US science labs face 'growing threat' of espionage -- with some Chinese researchers involved ...
New York Post
... threats to US leadership in science technology.” Dabbar also noted an “astounding” revelation about “joint nuclear weapons work” between US and ...
Nuclear War
NEWS
Issue brief: A NATO strategy for countering Russia - Atlantic Council
Atlantic Council
A robust conventional and nuclear posture that deters Russian military aggression is far less costly than an active war. Deterrence must also be more ...
Preparing for New War? Vladimir Putin's Troops Sent To North Korea | Spotlight - YouTube
YouTube
... Nuclear War | Russian Soldiers | Russian Military | Moscow | Pyongyang | North Korea Forces | North Korean Forces | Ukraine | Russia Ukraine War ...
South Korea plans two new large nuclear reactors, more renewables in energy mix | Reuters
Reuters
South Korea finalised on Friday a new energy mix plan that envisages the construction of two new large-scale nuclear ... Israel and Hamas at War · Japan ...
IAEA Weekly News
21 February 2025
Read the top news and updates published on IAEA.org this week.
21 February 2025
Director General in Japan Supporting Nuclear Safety and Remediation
The IAEA Director General has been in Japan this week, supporting local efforts to enhance nuclear safety and environmental remediation, as the country prepares to restart its nuclear power plants closed since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Read more →
20 February 2025
Update 277 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been relying on a single off-site power line for more than a week now after its only remaining back-up line was lost, once again highlighting an extremely fragile nuclear safety situation during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today. Read more →
19 February 2025
IAEA Director General Joins International Experts for Seawater Sampling Near Fukushima
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi joined scientists from the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and Switzerland, along with IAEA experts, as they collected seawater samples near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station today. Read more →
18 February 2025
IAEA to Host International Symposium on AI and Nuclear Energy in December
The IAEA will host the first ever International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Energy at its headquarters in Vienna from 3 to 4 December 2025. Read more →
17 February 2025
Recycling old Radium into Cancer Drugs
An IAEA expert mission was deployed to Suva, Fiji, to support the recovery and transportation of radium-226 to the USA, where the sources will be used as a feedstock to produce actinium-225, an alpha-emitting isotope which is increasingly used in targeted cancer treatments. IAEA supports countries in managing legacy radium-226 sources under the IAEA’s Global Radium Management Initiative. Read more →