Fed up with 12 years of delays in removing nuclear waste from Connecticut’s power plants, a coalition of business and utilities is demanding the Obama administration reverse its decision undoing three decades of planning for disposing of waste from the country’s nuclear power programs. Connecticut is home to two nuclear power facilities: the active
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Waterford – Dominion violated federal requirements five times over the past three months while operating Millstone Power Station, according to a quarterly inspection report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. via Millstone violations may bring more NRC oversight | The Day.

Man’s hubris and lack of respect for all-powerful nature may well lead to the greatest disaster our country has ever known: a nuclear meltdown. Then no bird or human or home can be wiped clean by willing volunteers. Those people in the path of the blowing wind and driving rain near the nuclear site can
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant has been using the wrong kind of electrical cables in part of its operation, potentially short-circuiting and disabling the plant’s safety system.

When Dominion executive William R. Matthews retired Thursday, he left behind reactors at Millstone Power Station that produce more electricity today than they did a decade ago. As senior vice president of nuclear operations since 2003 for the Virginia-based company, Matthews was responsible for Dominion’s entire nuclear fleet, including reactors in Virginia, Wisconsin and Waterford.
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The push for more nuclear power began in 2005 under the Bush administration, whose energy bill that year included $18 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of new nuclear power plants. It didn’t take long for the industry to take notice.

Vermont Yankee officials announced on Tuesday that the ultimate cause of the tritium leak was a blocked pipe tunnel and that it could have been prevented if the officials took the proper protection measures. via VT Yankee leak blamed on blocked pipe | WWLP.com. IF YOU FOUND THIS STORY HELPFUL, PLEASE MAKE A DONATION TO
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Debt and often-changing political winds are the main reasons Dominion Resources Inc. isn’t looking to expand its Millstone Nuclear Power Station or add to the company’s portfolio of New England assets. via Millstone won’t expand in Niantic – Norwich, CT – Norwich Bulletin.

Waterford – For the second time since Dominion purchased Millstone Power Station in 2001, the company is considering boosting power at the Unit 3 reactor. via The Day – Dominion studying power boost at Unit 3.

As for a “thorough investigation” – if Millstone received my May 5 paper on May 6, held a meeting on Friday, May 7, and published its article May 16, this would have left about five business days for the investigation. via Millstone concerns ‘thoroughly reviewed’ or thoroughly spun? | The Day.

Rather paradoxically, President Obama is using the oil spill to call for more nuclear power. Yet, with the exception of a handful of insightful political cartoonists, the obvious parallel between the regulatory delinquency of the  Mineral Management Services and that of its nuclear equivalent — the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) — and the potential for
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We had a nice visit recently with Gary Sheu, deputy press director at the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in New York City, and his senior press officer, April Chen. Mr. Sheu reports Taiwan will open its fourth nuclear-power plant next year, which will increase nuclear’s share of electricity generation on the island to 30
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Waterford – David Collins, the retired Millstone Power Station worker who has accused federal regulators and nuclear complex owner Dominion of safety lapses and mismanagement, has withdrawn his complaint from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC, however, will continue to investigate any specific safety allegations in the complaint, which was filed last month with the
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Waterford – Millstone owner Dominion has fixed a malfunctioning valve in a steam generator at the Unit 2 reactor that led to an unexpected manual shutdown over the weekend. via Millstone reactor restarted after unplanned shutdown | The Day.

A Connecticut River fish caught four miles upstream from the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor this winter tested positive for low levels of strontium-90, a highly dangerous radioactive isotope recently confirmed in soil outside the plant. But the Department of Health said Monday that the fish’s strontium-90 was not related to this winter’s radioactive leak at
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In a letter dated May 20, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Petition Review Board denied a request by Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H., that it order Entergy to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant off-line until a number of actions have been completed regarding a recent leak of contaminants into the groundwater under the site. via
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Dominion Resources Inc’s 1,145-megawatt Unit 3 at the Millstone nuclear power station in Connecticut ramped up to 70 percent power by early Thursday from 30 percent early Wednesday after exiting a refueling, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report. via Dominion Conn. Millstone 3 reactor up to 70 pct power | Reuters.

Energy company Dominion Resources is reiterating its plans to focus on the regulated electricity business for future growth. via Dominion focuses on power growth | The Day.

It is reason for concern when a former Millstone Power Station employee, who also happens to be an advocate for the expansion of nuclear energy generation, contends that the nuclear power station in Waterford is slipping back to the bad old days. via Millstone safety allegations merit serious review | The Day.

Waterford – Working on a live 345,000-volt switch last fall while the Millstone Unit 2 reactor was still online resulted in a premature shutdown four days before a refueling outage. That incident, one of three highlighted at an annual meeting Thursday night, was among 14 findings considered “more than minor” but of “very low safety
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