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Submission + - Nuclear Plants Should Focus on Risks Posed by External Events (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: "Engineers at American nuclear plants have been much better at calculating the risk of an internal problem that would lead to an accident than they have at figuring the probability and consequences of accidents caused by events outside a plant, a report released Thursday by the National Academy of Science said.

Accidents that American reactors are designed to withstand, like a major pipe break, are “stylized” and do not reflect the bigger source of risk, which is external, according to the study. That conclusion is one of the major lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan in 2011, which began after an earthquake at sea caused a tsunami."

NAS Report: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php...

Submission + - Japanese monkeys' abnormal blood linked to Fukushima disaster (theguardian.com) 1

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: Wild monkeys in the Fukushima region of Japan have blood abnormalities linked to the radioactive fall-out from the 2011 nuclear power plant disaster, according to a new scientific study that may help increase the understanding of radiation on human health.

The Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) were found to have low white and red blood cell levels and low haemoglobin, which the researchers say could make them more prone to infectious diseases.

Submission + - New regs for Friday: Radiation, coal mines, model airplanes and beer (thehill.com)

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: Friday's edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for radiation at nuclear facilities, explosives used in coal mining operations, model airplanes and recreational drones, and energy efficiency at manufactured homes.

Here's what is happening:

Radiation: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering new radiation protections at nuclear facilities.

The radiation standards would protect workers and the public from hazardous radiation stemming from a nuclear facility, the NRC said Thursday.

The public has 120 days to comment.

Explosives: The Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is considering more stringent blasting regulations at surface coal mine sites, the agency said Thursday.

The Interior Department is considering a petition from WildEarth Guardians, an environmental group that wants the agency to prohibit visible nitrogen oxides emissions resulting from blasting operations.

The petitioners argue this would protect the health, welfare and safety of mine workers and the surrounding public.

The public has 30 days to comment....

Comment Data beyond the standard model (Score 2) 219

by mdsolar (#47515115) Attached to: China Plans Particle Colliders That Would Dwarf CERN's LHC
The origin of the matter-antimatter imbalance in the universe is something that people try to solve using the standard model and indications that charge-parity symmetry breaking occurs in some interactions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C... Much larger collides could explore this beyond leptons as well as ideas beyond the standard model such as supersymmetry and string theory and their connection with vacuum energy.

Comment Re:Fossil fuels cut radiation exposure (Score 1) 230

by mdsolar (#47502921) Attached to: EPA Mulling Relaxed Radiation Protections For Nuclear Power
Radon is important when it collects. Carbon-14 free carbon is important when it dilutes. You've gotten mixed up again. The dilution of carbon-14 is not about external radiation or even what we breath but about what ends up in our food in solid form. You should just admit that you are carrying water for a corrupt industry that is always trying to deceive the public and regulators. Your method of argument is part of that it would seem from the pattern of misrepresentation we are seeing here. Use of fossil fuels cuts radiation exposure. It has also prevented about 24 serious nuclear accidents, about 16 of which would have resulted in large exclusion zones like Chernobyl and Fukushima under typical accident rates and sizes. So, fossil fuels have also prevented increased exposure, though renewable energy can do the same job.

Comment Re:Fossil fuels cut radiation exposure (Score 1) 230

by mdsolar (#47500719) Attached to: EPA Mulling Relaxed Radiation Protections For Nuclear Power
You seem to have the radon situation backwards too. "The emanation of radon gas from fly ash is less than from natural soil of similar uranium content. " http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/f...

You are getting thing backwards and mixed up. You don't seem to be able to understand the sources you've cited. There are many reasons not to burn fossil fuels, but their use does cut radiation exposure. The nuclear industry has marred its credibility by claiming otherwise. It does the same thing when it claims there are no pipes under Vermont Yankee. You should come to understand that they can't be trusted. That they have been entrusted with the safekeeping of nuclear power plants is a very grave mistake.

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