Published: January 30th, 2012 at 10:01 pm ET
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Emphasis Added
Title: Unusual Event at Northern Illinois Nuclear Plant
Source: State Of Wisconsin Division of Emergency Management
Date: January 30, 2012
State of Wisconsin monitoring situation
(MADISON) – An incident occurred this morning at the Byron Nuclear Generating Station and was declared an “Unusual Event”. The State of Wisconsin is monitoring the loss of power to the northern Illinois nuclear power plant and officials report there is no danger to plant employees or nearby residents.
The two-unit plant is located at Byron, Illinois, about 17 miles southwest of Rockford. Wisconsin Emergency Management assists with nuclear offsite emergency plans for the Byron plant for Walworth, Rock, Lafayette and Green Counties.
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the plant automatically shut down in response to the loss of offsite power. Officials say smoke was seen from an onsite station transformer but no evidence of fire was found. Steam is currently being released from the non-nuclear side of the plant to aid in the cooling process and there is no threat to the public.
The Unusual Event is the lowest of four levels of the NRC’s emergency classification system.
The Byron plant is operated by Exelon Corporation.
Read the report here
Title: Wisconsin Monitors Incident At Northern Ill. Nuclear Plant
Source: Channel 3000
Date: 6:33 pm CST January 30, 2012
Wisconsin Emergency Management and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are monitoring conditions at a northern Illinois nuclear plant after the plant lost power and went offline Monday morning. [...]
Wisconsin Emergency Management assists with nuclear offsite emergency plans for the Byron plant for Walworth, Rock, Lafayette and Green counties. [...]
Read the report here
Title: Fire crews called to Byron nuclear plant for rare, unusual event
Source: WREX
Date: Jan 30, 2012
Wisconsin Emergency Management issued a statement saying it assists with nuclear offsite emergency plans for the Byron plant for Walworth, Rock, Lafayette and Green Counties.
Read the report here
Published: January 30th, 2012 at 10:01 pm ET
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sending...
Call me Ishmael as I feel I’m on an endless journey with a mad captain who is looking for the White Whale. And the White Whale finally gets him anyway.
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Very well said dharmasyd
That is it exactly.
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hah! Thats one of my call signs
Callme Ish
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784+ nuclear incidents
http://www.climatesceptics.org/ines-level/table
tic tic tic in Europe !
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This is exactly the same way it started at Three Mile Island. They said, “Nothing to worry about!” while the accidental Dictaphone recording made in the control room showed that the call to evacuate came early and was squashed. That was MY LIFE they were deciding in that very moment. Now I have family on the IL/Wisc border who are in direct line with the prevailing winds, but who think that their beliefs in love will protect them. Oy! We are an insane species… except for those of us here on enenews.com.
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“Byron, like most U.S. nuclear plants, has been the subject of various actions by the NRC. Escalated Enforcement Actions represent one type. From 1997–2007 the Byron plant has received five such actions, two of which resulted in a total of $150,000 in fines.[18] A $100,000 fine was issued on February 27, 1997 due to problems with excessive silt build up in two separate locations at the Byron facility; the NRC fined the plant $50,000 for each problem.[18][19] The NRC levied an additional $55,000 in fines in October 1997 when the plant failed technical specifications surveillance guidelines. Specifically, they violated rules that require the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) pump casing and discharge piping high points be vented once every 31 days.[20] The potential safety consequence of the violation affiliated with the second fine was considered “low.”[20] As of 2007, the last NRC Escalated Enforcement Action against the Bryon Station came in 2005 when an engineer deliberately falsified surveillance reports to show he had completed work that was incomplete, though the plant could have been fined up to $60,000 the NRC chose not to impose the fine.[18][21]
A small fire occurred at the plant on the morning of February 24, 2006.[22] The fire was confined to the Unit 1 Refueling Water Storage Tank (RWST) heater. Initial attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, following those attempts a breaker was opened and the heater was allowed to deenergize which extinguished the fire. Units 1 and 2 were operating at 100%, but neither reactor was shut down as a result of the fire.[22] As a result of the fire the plant declared an “unusual event,” the least serious of the four categories of emergency declarations by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.[23]
cont…”
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arclight,
“resulted in a total of $150,000 in fines”
These reactors are federally subsidized, so tax payers really pay them fines, RIGHT ?
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“…….On January 30, 2012, the Byron Unit 2 was shutdown and depressurized after suffering a power outage affecting power generation at the unit. Steam was vented to prevent over-pressure of the reactor core, while the turbines remained offline. A small amount of radioactive tritium was released into the local environment during the initial venting procedure”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Nuclear_Generating_Station
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also from that article
“22Construction on Byron Nuclear Generating Station began in 1975, at a 1,782-acre (7.2 km²) site, 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Rockford, Illinois, south of the city of Byron in Ogle County.[3] The firm of Sargent and Lundy acted as consulting engineer during construction and Babcock and Wilcox oversaw the completion of the reactor vessels.[3] Before construction was completed on the reactor vessels and facilities, at least three groups joined in a 1981 lawsuit to halt Byron Nuclear Generating Station’s completion.[4] The League of Women Voters, DeKalb Area Alliance for Responsible Energy, and others were involved in the lawsuit over the safety of and need for the plant.[4] In 1984 the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a division of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), stopped the planned nuclear station at Byron by refusing its owners, then Commonwealth Edison, permission to begin operation.[4] The decision stemmed from concerns about the quality control of independent contractors hired during construction.
Ultimately, the board overturned its decision in October 1984…”
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NRC caught in a lie already within 24hrs of Unusual NUCLEAR Event…if their statement is that harmless steam was released on the “non-nuclear side” and there is no threat blah blah blah, my first thought was: For what reason would they release steam but to relieve pressure in the reactor core (which equals radioactive steam)?
Thank you for your post, arclight, from which we discover ther truth and a tritium release (very water soluble, very dangerous).
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Might I add that we are talking about Exelon (AGAIN?!?) The notoriously negligent company who runs the brokendown Indian Point and VT Yankee (mark I BWRs like FukU), whose contemptuous, murderous actions and political scamming are only surpassed by TEPCO!!!!!!!!!!
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Like it is different heated water, it’s all the same loop, who do they think they are fooling with the double talk ?
Dosn’t matter were you let the poison out from it’s still the same, they have to vent the water every so often anywhy, done regually at all plants to keep the tritium !
Tritium is also produced in heavy water-moderated reactors whenever a deuterium nucleus captures a neutron. This reaction has a quite small absorption cross section, making heavy water a good neutron moderator, and relatively little tritium is produced. Even so, cleaning tritium from the moderator may be desirable after several years to reduce the risk of its escaping to the environment. … new Tritium Extraction Facility[11] at the Savannah River Site beginning in November 2006.[12] Tritium leakage from the TPBARs during reactor operations limits the number that can be used in any reactor without exceeding the maximum allowed tritium levels in the coolant.[13]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium
This stuff blew 89 mukes east is Chicago and 59 mile an hour winds was ther in 2 hours yesterday !
Wind Speed Map
http://weather.weatherbug.com/IL/Chicago-weather/weather-maps/surface-winds-map.html?zcode=z6286&map_id=271&prev_sectional_map_id=-1&prev_metro_map_id=-1&image_type=6
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40 mile an hour winds, opp’s
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anne
January 31, 2012 at 12:47 am · Reply
1/30/2012 — Nuclear plant vents RADIOACTIVE steam onto DOWNTOWN CHICAGO
http://www.youtube.com/user/dutchsinse#p/u/0/r8jBEGkl_uw
http://sincedutch.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/1232012-alert-illinois-nuclear-plant-vents-radioactive-steam-blows-onto-downtown-chicago/
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How many State nuclear plant statements have been issued in the past? ff not many, I would be worried, as it sounds more like: please do not panic, do not panic….
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It means the population is paying close attention and bugging the heck out of their state officials. Which is actually a great thing to have happened in the wake of Fukushima – people have been complacent way too long about constant ‘normal’ and ‘emergency’ burps from these things.
What you don’t know CAN hurt you. So people demand to know. I’m all for it, as this industry simply cannot operate under careful scrutiny from the people it routinely dumps on.
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Wisconsin is fairly honest as far as governments go, that’s why they want to remove the Governor.
Wisconites kind of detest Illinois types because they got money, buy up lake front property, raise hell in Wisconsin and are generally arrogant Chicago pricks, and just not good neighbors, in general. Suffice it to say, Wisconsin doesn’t trust Illinois too much.
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First of all I apologize for being redundant but I live near Harrisburg, PA. and could not leave during that terrible weekend. I was 21 and on my own with no means of evacuating. While I don’t think this is an emergency I would pay attention and when they announce pregnant women and children should evacuate that’s when you should hit the road. Having said that you should also listen to your gut as the statement from the individual at the plant did not instill confidence in me, but I’m tainted and a tad bias after hearing the truth about TMI and the cluster f… that ensued during that eerie weekend. So, anyone living near Byron Nuclear pay attention and do what you think is the best course of action for you and your family. Don’t trust the plant operators or the media, etc. Also many people now own geiger counters and I’m sure if there is a sudden increase in radiation, it will be posted here or on youtube.
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I’m about 80 miles southeast of the Byron Nuclear Plant.
I will post twice about this incident as it was reported on the local Chicago news stations. NBC & ABC
NBC Channel 5 Local evening news (Not the lead story.) “Tonight Exelon (the nuclear power company) says there is no danger to employees or the public…steam is being vented to reduce pressure there. It contains low levels of tritium a radioactive isotope. Exelon says it does not pose a health threat and they’re telling residents not to be alarmed if they hear noise from the plant tonight.” Cuts to interview with Exelon Plant Communications manager, Paul Dempsey, “It’s not unlike having a tea kettle you put on the stove and it’s going to uh release a noise, it’s just a very large tea kettle so uh that heat will dissipate over time.”
MY COMMENTS: Thanks for dumbing it down for us Exelon spokesperson, a tea kettle, really? Really? Why don’t you tell us if there are any additional radioactive isotopes in that tea kettle other than tritium? Yes nuclear power plants are just like tea kettles and would you like one lump or two of tritium in your tea? Also, what about the tritium, would you drink a class of tritiated water? How about having it rain down on your children or having them eat some snow with tritium in it? Oh yeah, and thanks for the “I’ll take your word for it” style of reporting NBC 5.
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and the other news station…
Local evening new ABC Channel 7 (lead story Anchor Desk): “Low levels or radioactivity are being released from a nuclear reactor in Illinois tonight…Investigators say they have figured out what caused the problem.” (Reporter on scene) An electrical problem in the plant’s switch yard is being the blame for today’s shutdown and while there are low levels of radioactivity being released there the nuclear regulatory commission is saying that is just part of the process and that there is no reason for residents of the area or employees to be concerned. (view of the nuclear plant) The sun sets over the Byron generating station after a day of worry for employees…” (Paul Dempsey, Exelon Byron Plant Spokesperson) “We did find that a piece of electrical equipment in our switch yard failed.” (Reporter) “While Byron has not had any recent problems losing power”… (Paul Dempsey says) “It’s not unusual to lose off-site power. I don’t know that we’ve had this situation before. Nuclear power plants plan for the loss of onsite power. So it is not uncommon for that to happen at plants in the country.” (Interview with NRC person Viktoria Mitlyng), “absolutely there is no threat to the pubic either from the loss of off-site power or the release.”
Reporter on site in Byron: “Residents are not worried about their safety.”
Local Resident: “I hope everything is all right. I lived here since I was four. This is the first time I ever heard anything happen.”
Local Resident #2: “I guess I’m not real concerned. My husband’s worked out there for 30 years. Anything with a nuclear plant it gets people excited. That’s okay, but I think we’re fine.”
MY COMMENTS BELOW…
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Comment to ABC 7 News report…
MY COMMENTS: So the employees had “a day of worry” but the two residents interviewed speak for all the residents and you can state “residents are not worried about their safety” one of those two residents you interviewed being the wife of a man that has worked at the nuclear plant for 30 years. Maybe the employees were worried because they know something the residents don’t. Maybe you should go back and ask them what had them so worried. Put some of them on camera stating what could possibly happen if they lost power for too long or what else might be in that steam besides tritium.
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And how about giving us a reading on the amount of tritium released and LET US DECIDE how safe that amount is…the jet stream is honking this week wiping that stuff all over Northern New England today…hope my local public health officials are taking ACCURATE air measurements today with their brand new monitor, we shall see!!
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http://www.infowars.com/illinois-nuclear-power-plant-loses-power-…-vents-nuclear-steam/
A well researched article with lotsa links…thank you Alex Jones!!!
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What’s depressing about this report is that it sounds like they have continued releasing stuff into the night (not sure what time this report was broadcast). I believe the actual “incident” occurred around 10:30 am Monday morning, yet they have STILL been releasing steamy tritium tonight. How long is that going to continue?
Another thing I don’t understand: they make it sound like the back-up generators kicked in right away. But then WHY did enough steam build up so quickly that they need to continue venting it for HOURS afterward?
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It is depressing. I can’t hold my breath that long.
(Sorry if I don’t joke I’ll freak out)
You are a good critical thinker I hope we get the answer to your question.
I’m listening to the police/emergency scanner for the area I figure if they have a bigger problem I’ll hear the commotion of it all there first.
I checked ENENEWS early this morning before the incident and was busy all day and didn’t hear about this incident until after dinner. That figures I’m usually on ENENEWS and other such sites throughout the day, but not today of all days.
Dutchsinse has a good entry about this incident on his site today with some good maps showing the Jetstream for today.
It was beautiful in this area today, around 50 degrees, very unusual. My kid was probably outside at recess when the winds from the nuclear plant started to hit our area. After school we took the dog to the dog park. Lots of people were out.
It was a beautiful terrible day.
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Thanks a lot for your report!!
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@lam335: Venting hours afterwards! Exactly and I am again concerned about the tritiated effects. Ron has given a goodly set of sources for freshening up, at enennews:
Here is an interesting link leading to tritium releases there:
http://enenews.com/study-90-higher-incidence-of-childhood-leukemia-around-nuclear-plants-authors-call-for-investigation-international-journal-of-cancer/comment-page-1#comment-191389
Ron
January 21, 2012 at 10:11 pm Log in to Reply
Nuke plants routinely release radiation into the environment.
http://www.reirs.com/effluent/
http://www.hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q3710.html
http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/routineradioactivereleases.htm
Two other major recent studies indicate a relationship between proximity to
nuke plants and cancer.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/07/20/27840.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18082395
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2757021/
One can make a revealing study-yet another of tritium releases and their effects. Tritium has a half life of 12.3 years and becomes tritiated water H3O and the H is radiaoctive there, beta particle emitter with 18 kiloelectronvolts of energy.
Combine it with ECRR 2003/2010 and you have the data for no nukes yet again.
Just because all the ICRP IAEA vested interest ‘scientists’ have used witchcraft to deny tritium’s dangers the data releases(!) show a lot of tritium, else meters would become defective and limits set so low for Cs137 for example, that the huffs and puffs and leaks would indicate ALARA! And the alarms then would be raised by great people like Gofman-infant deaths during normal operations! And but look at this on this site: Japan slated to become 40 million less by … Still IAEA wants more of nukes and will not shut nukes-International Agenda for Extinction of All.
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Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute! he said,
“It’s not unusual to lose off-site power. I don’t know that we’ve had this situation before. Nuclear power plants plan for the loss of onsite power.”
Say what? They plan for loss of ON-SITE power? I believe the loss of ON-SITE power was the cause of the Fukushima loss-of-coolant (LOCA) accident and the resulting meltdowns!
Was this just a slip of the tongue or did they actually lose ON-SITE power?
If they did, they’re in serious trouble, and that could explain the excess pressure and the resulting venting.
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Correction any reference to “onsite” power should be “off-site” power. My Typo.
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Don’t eat yellow cake snow.
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Does anyone know if tritium is lighter than air? If I remember correctly, regular hydrogen is, but I assume tritium would be somewhat heavier than regular hydrogen. Where does it generally go (or how does it behave) once released into the atmosphere?
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“However, when you compare the allowable level for tritium in drinking water in Canada to other countries, you do not feel safe. The allowable level of tritium in the European union is 100Bq/L while the United States sets a limit of 740Bq/L. The Canadian standard is 7000Bq/L. This is not a misprint
Canada’s limit must be set this high because the CANDU reactors release 30 times as much tritium to the environment as any other reactor in the world. This is because CANDU reactors use heavy water as both moderator and coolant. Refer to the ‘Tritium Hazard Report By Dr. Ian Fairlie June 2007′ for further information.
In 1994, the Ontario government appointed Advisory Committee on Environmental Standards recommended that the maximum permissible concentration of tritium in drinking water be immediately reduced 70 fold to 100 Bq/L, and gradually dropped to 20 Bq/L over 5 years. Their recommendations were contained in a report called ‘A Standard for Tritium: A Recommendation to the Minister of the Environment and Energy.’ The recommendations were rejected.”
http://www.porthopehistory.com/nucleargenocide/nucleargenocide6.htm
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sorry i am
meant to include this too
“Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen released to air and water by nuclear reactors. It has weak penetrating properties, but once inside the body, it is very dangerous. It can enter our bodies through ingestion, inhalation or directly through the skin. It is especially dangerous to pregnant women as it can cross the placenta to the baby.
Many people living near nuclear reactors are concerned about the level of tritium in their drinking water. The health authorities in the Federal Government tell them not to worry as testing shows tritium to be below allowable limits. This is true most of the time; the emissions from these facilities are within allowable levels.”
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thanks
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So much for Canada’s ‘environmental’ reputation. And you can’t even blame this on Stephen Harper.
But you can look at this another way. Does Canada’s discrepancy reflect callousness, or honesty, about actual emissions from their plants? Are the American figures and standards honored by the makers of these plants? And since many of them are over twenty years old…would those plants have been built to meet those standards at that time?
I don’t trust anyone connected with these horrible things.
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The culture of the nuclear plants and the federal government pretty much ensures that some day a France-sized area will be ruined in the US, even if a solar flare or earthquake doesn’t do it first. In how many of these plants is the culture also accompanied by very long periods of extreme boredom, punctuated by very short periods of abject terror?
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Did you notice this was the right timing for CME solar flare stuff to arrive on planet earth? Thats what happened in Canada at the time 1989…burnt up some big transformers, plunging 6 million into darkness.
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I was thinking of that too. There has been a lot of solar activity; couldn’t this trigger overloads in the power grid? In which case, we are definitely cooked. Solar maximum will be in 2013.
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Tritium is essential to the construction of boosted-fission nuclear weapons. A boosted weapon contains a mixture of deuterium and tritium, the gases being heated and compressed by the detonation of a plutonium or uranium device. The D-T mixture is heated to a temperature and pressure such that thermonuclear fusion occurs. This process releases a flood of 14 MeV neutrons which cause additional fissions in the device, greatly increasing its efficiency.
http://www.wcpeace.org/tritium.htm
The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signed by the United States 29 years ago, contains a commitment to work toward nuclear disarmament. The opinion rendered last year by the International Court of Justice on the illegality of nuclear weapons asserts that the NPT requires the nuclear powers to actually achieve nuclear disarmament, not merely conduct ongoing negotiations.
When the NPT was extended indefinitely at the NPT Review and Extension Conference in 1995, the nuclear powers had to make three commitments:
1. Complete a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for the 1996 fall session of the United Nations General Assembly.
2. Bring to an “early conclusion” a ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
3. Engage in the “determined pursuit” of “systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons.”
The first commitment was met, although it is questionable whether the CTBT will become law because of India’s refusal to sign unless the nuclear powers commit to nuclear disarmament.
The second commitment leaves a giant loophole. A ban on the production of fissile material is irrelevant to the United States and Russia. Both countries have so much weapons grade plutonium that the problem they face is disposal. The same is not the case for tritium, a fusion material used to boost the explosive power of nuclear weapons. Tritium would not be covered by a…
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Tritium would not be covered by a production ban limited to fissile material.
The third commitment above is blatantly violated by the U.S. policy decision to renew tritium production. The current U.S. supply of tritium (about 75 kilograms) would supply 1,000 nuclear warheads until 2040 and a smaller stockpile until the end of the 21st century. There is no reason why the United States and other nuclear weapon States should not have reduced their stockpiles well below current treaty limits by the year 2020 and eliminated nuclear weapons entirely by the middle of the 21st century. The policy decision to produce more tritium signals U.S. intent to flout its obligation to negotiate to achieve nuclear disarmament.
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To carry out that policy, the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Record of Decision to begin work on the two most promising tritium supply alternatives:
1. Initiate purchase of an existing commercial reactor (operating or partially complete) or of irradiation services with an option to purchase the reactor for conversion to a defense facility; and
2. Design, build, and test critical components of a proton accelerator system for tritium production.
A decision on which alternative to implement fully is to be made by the end of 1997.
Even though defense production in civilian reactors is illegal, DOE is planning a demonstration test of tritium production in a commercial nuclear reactor this year (September 1997). DOE argues that the test, to be carried out in TVA’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, would not violate the NPT because the amount to be produced would be small and it wouldn’t be used in weapons.
The test does violate the third commitment above, however, as it demonstrates a definite intent to maintain a large nuclear arsenal rather than a “determined pursuit” of nuclear disarmament. In fact, DOE has declared its intent to operate tritium supply facilities “well into the middle of the next century.”
Although significant reductions of the nuclear arsenals of the United States and former Soviet Union are resulting from the START I and START II treaties, neither treaty dictates a limit on stockpile size. The treaties limit only the numbers of warheads that can actually be loaded on strategic delivery systems. The START I Treaty limit is 6,000 warheads and the START II protocol limit is 3,500 warheads.
Current U.S. national security policy is to keep the option to reconstitute the stockpile to START I levels, that is, to keep at least 6,000 warheads loaded or stored. This policy is the driving force behind the alleged need to have a new tritium production facility operational by the year 2011.
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This was in an article post Fukushima to reassure the public about Byron nuclear plant being safe.
source: http://gazettextra.com/news/2011/may/29/safety-priority-nuclear-plant-byron-ill/
A loss of power
The plant’s electricity comes from an independent switchyard that’s connected to the power grid by four transmission lines.
Should that fail, the plant has four diesel generators that would kick on immediately. They could run around the clock for months, and underground tanks that can be refilled as needed fuel the generators that are housed in a separate reinforced concrete rooms.
Four banks of large emergency batteries back up the generators. They are capable of running for at least four hours to provide power for a safe shutdown and cooling of the plant.
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right and what if that one primary substation, aka switch yard gets toasted, like someone throws 50 feet of chain in the works and shorts everything out, it is that simple to melt down a plant.
Not to publish a “playbook” but come on this stuff needs to leave the planet earth.
An alien race reviewing what we were doing would leave in disgust at the complete non sustainability.
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“the plant has four diesel generators that would kick on immediately. They could run around the clock for months”
Operative word? “could”
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Well this tidbit shows how long this Tritium will be in streams & lakes if 20 years later it is still detectable in the ocean. So they do not dilute too well even in the ocean. sigh…And as you see the site is NASA….they ….KNOW… how long they last in the ocean. And this was Tritium had been released into the Atmosphere & they can detect it 20 years later….
“Radioactive tritium became a perfect marker for tracking ocean water §. Scientists sampling North Atlantic water found that tritium released into the atmosphere before the 1962 nuclear test ban treaty, mixed downward by 1973. By 1980, the same tritium had moved into deep areas off Florida.”
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/oceanography_currents_3.html
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@MaidenHeaven-Tritium highlighter-ten half lives -123 years!
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And luminous dresses used by radiation workers and in traffic regulation…
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These light sources are most often seen as “permanent” illumination for the hands of wristwatches intended for diving, nighttime, or tactical use. They are additionally used in glowing novelty keychains and in self-illuminated exit signs. They are favored by the military for applications where a power source may not be available, such as for instrument dials in aircraft, compasses, and sights for weapons.
Tritium lights are also found in some old rotary dial telephones, though due to their age they no longer produce a useful amount of light
Tritium is used to illuminate the sights of some small arms. The reticule on the SA80′s optical SUSAT sight (Sight Unit Small Arms Trilux) contains a small amount of tritium for the same effect as an example of tritium use on a rifle sight.
…Because tritium in particular is an integral part of certain thermonuclear devices (though in quantities several thousand[citation needed] times larger than that in a keychain), consumer and safety devices containing tritium for use in the United States are subject to certain possession, resale, disposal, and use restrictions. Devices such as self-luminous exit signs, gauges, wrist watches, etc., which contain small amounts of tritium are under the jurisdiction of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and are subject to possession, distribution, import and export regulations found in 10 CFR Parts, 30, 32 and 110. They are also subject to regulations for possession, use and disposal in certain states. They are readily sold and used in the US and are widely available in the UK and are regulated in England and Wales by environmental health departments of local councils. Tritium lighting is legal in most of Asia and Australia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium_illumination
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I have two “EXIT” signs that are illuminated wth tritium. One in my shop and one here in my computer room. Rest assured, I take great care of them!
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http://enenews.com/state-of-wisconsin-issues-statement-on-nuclear-incident-in-illinois-currently-monitoring-conditions-after-plant-lost-power-and-went-offline/comment-page-1#comment-196168
Compare this to the reports from NBC & ABC posted above (link provided above for easy jump to compare) (all are Chicago local news)
CBS Channel 2 Local evening new (not the lead story) (1 resident interview)
ANCHOR: Rattled nerves in Northern Illinois tonight after a mysterious problem with a nuclear reactor. It happened in Byron where a reactor lost power, shut down and a radioactive cloud of steam was released. It actually shut down and lost power.
Despite the scare experts say there is no danger.
REPORTER (REP): That’s what they’re saying tonight. Fire crews were sent out. Some nearby residents heard a strange noise. In the end officials did say that everything was under control. But it’s a situation that got a lot of people pretty upset.
RESIDENT(RES): Well I kind of panicked. The first thing I did was go get those pills they’d given us.
REP: [The resident] grabbed her potassium iodine pills when she thought there could be an emergency at Exelon’s Byron generating station. People saw a single plum of steam rising from one of the giant towers there. Word quickly spread something was going on.
RES: My niece called and she told me to stay in the house so that is what I did.
REP: Officials say…one of the nuclear reactors lost power and shut down…operators started to release steam from the non-nuclear side. It’s steam…officials say contains low levels of radioactive form of hydrogen called Tritium but a plant spokesperson says there is no danger.
(continued below)
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CBS Channel 2 continued…
EXCELON SPOKESMAN Paul Dempsey: No worry for our employees on-site or any of the communities around. We have many highly trained people who are looking going to look into the issue.
REP: In March of ‘08 a unit here also lost power and federal investigators say they were looking into a problem with electrical transformers at the plant back then. A time when many residents of the town 95 miles from Chicago started making their own family emergency plans just in case.
RES: I never worried about it but it but was always in the back of my mind if it did blow what would I do?
REP: Now the plant has been the focus of controversy since it was built. Area residents have been worried about ground water contaminated with radioactive material.
Officials are still trying to figure out why the plant lost power today and you know if you had this in your backyard you could see why people would be concerned.
ANCHOR: No doubt about it. But residents tonight, as far as we know, everything is okay.
REP: Everything’s okay, as far as we know.
MY COMMENT: How interesting ABC reported that residents were not worried but CBS reports the situation got a lot of people pretty upset and NBC didn’t report on how the people responded they only told them how to respond via Exelon “don’t be alarmed” as you hear more radioactive steam venting all night long.
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@enoughalready… you occur to be stunned that you news is not really news.. just want to be sure you understand why you will not get adequate protection or information for you or your family… many here for a while already know..
Media
NBCUniversal (49% ownership, remaining owned by Comcast)
NBC – National Broadcasting Company
NBC Network Television stations
WNBC 4 – New York
KNBC 4 – Los Angeles
WMAQ 5 – Chicago
WCAU 10 – Philadelphia
KNTV 11 – San Jose/San Francisco
KXAS 5 – Dallas/Fort Worth²
WRC 4 – Washington
WTVJ 6 – Miami
KNSD 39 (cable 7) – San Diego²
WVIT 30 – Hartford
NBC Entertainment
NBC News
NBC Sports
NBC Studios
NBCUniversal Sports & Olympics
NBCUniversal Television Group
Universal Media Studios
NBC Universal Television Distribution
NBC Universal International Television
EMKA, Ltd.
NBC Universal Digital Media
NBC Universal Cable
A&E Television Networks (co-owned with The Hearst Corporation and Disney/ABC):
A&E
The Biography Channel
Crime & Investigation Network
The History Channel
The History Channel en Español
History Channel International
Lifetime
Military History Channel
Bravo
Chiller (horror-themed cable channel, launched March 1, 2007) [1]
CNBC
CNBC World
MSNBC (co-owned with Microsoft)
NBC WeatherPlus
mun2
SyFy
ShopNBC
Sleuth
USA Network
Universal HD
The Weather Channel
WeatherPlus
NBCUniversal Global Networks
NBCUniversal Global Networks
LAPTV (Latin America) – co-owned with Paramount Pictures (Viacom), MGM and 20th Century Fox (News Corporation);
Telecine (Brazil) – co-owned with Globosat Canais, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, MGM and 20th Century Fox;
Universal Channel Latin America (except Brazil
Universal Channel Brazil (co-owned with Globosat Canais);
Sci Fi Channel (Latin America)
NBCUniversal Global Networks España.
Telemundo
KVEA/KWHY – Los Angeles
WNJU – New York
WSCV – Miami
KTMD – Houston
WSNS – Chicago
continued
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KXTX – Dallas/Fort Worth
KVDA – San Antonio
KSTS – San Jose/San Francisco
KTAZ – Phoenix
KBLR – Las Vegas
KNSO – Fresno
KDEN – Longmont, Colorado
WNEU – Boston/Merrimack
KHRR – Tucson
WKAQ – Puerto Rico
Universal Studios (co-owned with Comcast)
Universal Pictures
Focus Features
Rogue
Working Title Films
Universal Studios Licensing
Universal Animation Studios
Universal Interactive
Universal Pictures International
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Home Entertainment Productions
United International Pictures (co-owned with Paramount Pictures/Viacom);
Universal Operations Group
Universal Production Studios
Universal Parks & Resorts
qubo – Qubo Venture,LLC¹
¹Minority interest
²Stations which LIN Television owns a minority interest (24%) in
[edit]References
in case you missed it.. GE built the FUKUSHIMA mess and others..
..don’t forget to connect the dots on partnerships.. then lay across all channels.. remember cbs is owned by Sony..nbc is partners with Disney(Atoms for Peace) and comcast…
you will find all media is owned or in some partnership with Nuke owners/makers/operators..
another reason for hollywood silence…
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@ Cataclysmic
No not stunned just angry.
Also, I wanted to compare the reports from the different newsgroups as well as provide current info. to others about what the local news was telling people.
I have recorded on my DVR as many Noon time news shows to see what their updates are. No updates, no questions asked by reporters that would give further insight. You think they would say if steam is still being vented.
Today is another unusually warm day for our area warm and windy. All I keep thinking of was how when Chernobyl blew up the authorities let the May Day celebrations continue and everyone was encouraged to go outside and celebrate. Also, I am reminded of the Japanese continuing a foot race through Fukushima by young girls from all around the country. I don’t think our country is any different.
Thanks for the list I did not know it was that extensive either. : (
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Yes, I can feel your anger. I was hiking in the Cascade Foothills with my children while this fall out was falling down on us. Arnie Gunderson talked early on about hotspots that should be re-mediated up in the cascades… no info on exactly where.. and they know! We should have been warned to stay indoors, cover our windows and doors with plastic etc.. nothing!
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this is a list of GE owned Media…
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Wow . . .
I had no idea their reach was SO extensive. I knew about the NBC connections, but this list is really astounding.
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Yes, and it is the tip of the iceberg.. google what “_____” owns… insert any of the “players”.. and also look at who their shareholders are.. wikipedia has a ton of info.
So, Toshiba, Hitachi, GE, Westinghouse, etc..
now, consider the anti government rant that is coming out of these “sources” (aka cable news)for example: regulation = no job.., down with the FDA, down with the Department of Education, down with regulation and oversight it only stands in the way of growth. (tumor growth is good to get in the way of..)
truth is that the lack of regulation of, who can own what media in what market, has been the biggest triumph of big greedy business.. a plethora of propaganda control…
We need to start with regulating this again, and right away!!! I want to see tough rules on lying and misleading the public intentionally! I want real journalists again!
and then maybe we should quit “electing” members of the 1% club to “govern” the rest of us.
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Of the half-dozen radiation monitoring graphs I checked over at http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/03/19/realtime-epa-japan-nuclear-fallout-radiation-graphs-west-coast-cities-9228/ just now, all of them were 100% straight lines over the past several hours. This indicates no data for that time period, i.e. the system was turned off, correct?
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I noticed a steady increase in 5 separate locations on the west coast, like a 45 degree angle the past day, then dead lined.
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See I told you what Gofman told us and said nuclear during normal ops are killers!
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EARTHQUAKE IN ILLINOIS THIS MORNING JAN. 31ST
DAY AFTER NUCLEAR INCIDENT IN BYRON, IL
63 miles directly East of Byron,IL
No I’m not saying these are related but this is one hell of a conincidence.
This area is not an “earthquake” zone.
Local News Report
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8525514&pid=8525470
USGS
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/41.43.-89.-87.php
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@enoughalready45
2.4 2012/01/31 03:54:43 42.340 -88.243 5.1 3 km ( 2 mi) E of McHenry, IL
This longitude is New Madrid Earthquake longitude band.
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Wow, I hope that doesn’t indicate that more will be happening.
I feel like I’ve entered some bizzaro world.
@Ramaswami
I have seen your posts about India and hope that soon the people there will see they have gone down the wrong path. India has so many people I fear how many could be impacted during a nuclear accident.
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Byron-still no off site power.
http://www.simplyinfo.org/?p=4781
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Thanks for this update I wish they would say whether the plant is still venting tritium, however.
Has anyone heard whether that is still occurring?
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Many moons, thank you. Wonder igf the NRC still thinks it’s “of no major concern”.
Idiots playing with our lives.
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We have to deal also with another danger by fascists:
Re: Deccan Herald,31 Jan 2012:Kudankulam protesters assaulted, talks cancelled
Chennai, Jan 31, 2012, (IANS):
A civil group spearheading the protest against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) called off talks with the central government-appointed experts panel after the former’s members were assaulted in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu Tuesday, an activist said.
“We have no faith in the talks. None of the questions we had asked were answered and the documents we had asked were not presented to us. Meanwhile, our members have been assaulted when they had gone to participate in the talks. We are calling off our talks,” S.P. Udayakumar, coordinator of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), told IANS.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/223410/kudankulam-protesters-assaulted-talks-cancelled.html
You know what this means. They(the non-violent protesters against the Kudankulam project) will be forced to own private licensed revolvers to protect themselves against fascist goondas.
Modern Civilization is an extreme form of goondaism against all life. The hallmark of modern civilization is falsehood masquerading as the truth. Mahatma Gandhi saw at once what it meant when he said in 1908, given enough time modern civilization will destroy itself. Thus the supporters of such a civilization will face extinction of all life. Thats what it has come to. Japan will lose 40 million of its population by 2050(See enenews.com report today). And the Fukushima disaster will not allow nukes to operate or new ones to be constructed.
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Yeah, a news report that mentions the critics of nuclear power.
Fox Chicago News at Noon (Chicago)
REPORTER: Critics of nuclear power say Tritium releases are just far too common.
Interviewing Dave Kraft from Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS) the local anti-nuclear group based out of Chicago.
KRAFT: No numbers at all at this point.
REPORTER: You think they owe us specific numbers about the release of radiation.
KRAFT: Absolutely. It’s a billion dollar federal regulatory agency. It’s public record. We should have that information.
Just an aside: I hope that Dave Kraft will one day be recognized for the lifetime of service he has provided trying to protect humanity and the earth from nuclear destruction.
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It means nothing what WI government does. What would mean something is if every volunteer fire department in the state took radiation measurements of the air, and reported twice daily if anything was found, where, and how much.
Oh but that might affect some fire chief’s and/or his paid men’s cushy job, cushy retirement, ‘team player’ reputation, work record, etc..
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