How seawater could corrode nuclear fuel

Japan used seawater to cool nuclear fuel at the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant after the tsunami in March 2011 — and that was probably the best action to take at the time, says Professor Alexandra Navrotsky of the University of California, Davis. But Navrotsky and others have since discovered a new way in which seawater [...]

Issues about corrosion at Hanford Vitrification plant

Hanford vitrification plant testing has not shown that components that will be difficult to replace can last the required 40 years the plant is designed to operate, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Whether vessels and piping for high-level radioactive waste in the plant will corrode is an issue raised by DOE scientist [...]

Radiation, rust seen in tsunami-hit Japan reactor

The first look inside one of Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear reactors showed radiation, steam and rusty metal surfaces scarred by 10 months’ exposure to high temperatures and humidity. The steam-blurred photos taken by remote control Thursday found none of the reactor’s melted fuel but confirmed stable reactor temperature and showed no major damage or ruptures caused [...]

Investigation findings: Corrosion at Michigan nuclear plant due to stainless steel components

A recent investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission found that the failure of a water pump due to the corrosion of certain kinds of stainless steel components caused an August shutdown of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert. In a news release from his office,Congressman Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, [...]

U.S Rep. Kucinich seeks NRC hearing about cracks at Davis-Besse

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Cleveland) asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday to hold a public hearing on the cracks in the concrete containment building at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant 10 miles west of Port Clinton. In a letter to the chairman of the agency, Mr. Kucinich disputed FirstEnergy’s description of the cracks [...]

Indian nuclear reactor exposed to risk of corrosion

The stagnant coolant water in the reactor vessel and pipes in the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) is giving sleepless nights to scientists and engineers who say the risk of damage to the equipment is increasing each day. “Water has to be circulating so that the components are not exposed to the risk [...]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission responds to rare East Coast earthquake

When an earthquake hit Virginia Tuesday afternoon, nuclear power plants up and down the East Coast — including Exelon Nuclear’s Limerick Generating Station — began assessing if damage had occurred. Part of the problem, however, may be that the place an earthquake is most likely to cause damage is also the place the hardest to [...]

University of Illinois gets half-million-dollar grant for nuclear research

The U.S. Department of Energy research grant is focused on developing cutting-edge nuclear energy technologies and training and educating the next generation of leaders in the U.S. nuclear industry. Principal investigator James F. Stubbins, professor and head of nuclear, plasma, and radiological engineering at Illinois, said the UI researchers will look at new materials that [...]

Ancient Roman glass may yield clues to containing nuclear waste

A shipwreck 1,800 years ago in the Adriatic Sea might give scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory better information about how well modern glass might work to contain radioactive waste. The Department of Energy is building a $12.2 billion vitrification plant at the Hanford nuclear reservation to glassify radioactive waste before it is buried deep [...]

75 percent of US nuclear sites have corrosion issues — leaking tritium

BRACEVILLE, Ill. (AP) – Radioactive tritium has leaked from three-quarters of U.S. commercial nuclear power sites, often into groundwater from corroded, buried piping, an Associated Press investigation shows. The number and severity of the leaks has been escalating, even as federal regulators extend the licenses of more and more reactors across the nation. Tritium, which is [...]