Nuclear Energy Blogger Carnival 208

May 12, 2014, 2:05PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

ferriswheel 201x268It's time for the 208th Carnival of Nuclear Energy, and ANS Nuclear Cafe is proud to host the event!

Every week, the top English-language pro-nuclear bloggers and authors get together to present their top stories of that week.  That means that by following the Carnival wherever it goes, you can stay on top of the most important stories, issues and concerns.  Let's see this week's!

Forbes - Jim Conca

Nuclear Waste Leak Traced To...  Kitty Litter?

The recent news of a radioactive waste incident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has now been tempered by the revelation that an attempt to "go green" may have been responsible for the leak.  Jim Conca explains.

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Next Big Future - Brian Wang

Nuclear power makes up 60% of the power that does not emit carbon dioxide

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/05/nuclear-power-in-us-makes-up-60-of.html

Time, Distance and Shielding - Radiation protection factors of
buildings are like the SPF of sunscreen

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/05/time-distance-and-shielding-and.html

Help fund this project and have a chance to shock the world with
massively lower energy costs.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/05/this-project-could-reduce-energy-costs.html

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The Hiroshima Syndrome - Les Corrice

The "Fall Back" for Japan's Press on a Slow Fukushima News Week

It's been a relatively slow week for negative Fukushima news reporting. But, the Press can always fall back on the exploitation of the angry...the frightened...the uncertain...the doubtful. The Japan Times has done just that.

http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/fukushima-commentary.html

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ANS Nuclear Cafe

Save Vermont Yankee - If Not You, Who?  If Not Now, When?

There is a safe, reliable, 650 MWe power plant with a low, predictable fuel cost - pending closing in Vermont.  Recently extensively refurbished, in a region with very tight generating capacity.  Licensed to operate through 2032.  Rod Adams notes that mothballing a plant like this seems insane, and asks if there's a way to prevent it.

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Yes Vermont Yankee - Meredith Angwin

With Vermont Yankee scheduled to close, Meredith Angwin at Yes Vermont Yankee has two posts about a possible employee buyout.  Such a buyout was proposed by Rod Adams. In Saving Vermont Yankee: Rod Adams Moves Forward,

http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2014/05/saving-vermont-yankee-rod-adams-moves.html#.U20CjSiTT9Q, Angwin has an upbeat description of Adams work and plans for such a buyout.

In Employee Ownership

http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2014/05/employee-ownership.html#.U20C6SiTT9Q Angwin describes the financial and political issues that oppose such a plan.   The truth is probably somewhere between these two posts!

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Atomic Insights - Rod Adams

B&W mPower cover story about lack of interest is bogus

During a call with investors, Jim Ferland, the company CEO announced that spending on the mPower reactor development project would be slashed by approximately 75%. The official explanation was that the company had failed in its effort to find major investors. The underlying impression given, perhaps purposely, was that SMRs were not attracting customer interest and were thus just an expensive distraction to keep nuclear-focused development teams busy.

That cover story leaves out a lot of details. Rod Adams fills in some of the missing details of a developing story.

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Nuke Power Talk - Gail Marcus

Food Irradiation

Gail Marcus provides some updates on the food irradiation issue at Nuke Power Talk.  She makes note of both the good news (the recent approval for the irradiation of crustaceans), and the bad news (the length of time it took to obtain that approval and the continuing opposition to food irradiation).  She also draws analogies with the acceptance of pasteurization of milk a century ago, and shares her discovery of a retail source for irradiated ground beef.

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That's it for this week's Carnival.  Thanks to all of our contributors!