The head of Iran’s atomic energy organization confirmed long spread rumors that Russia will help the nation build a nuclear reactor.
Akbar Salehi, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, announced Tuesday that he hopes to see the construction of the country’s second nuclear power station start in 2014 and that it will be lead “by the Russians.”
The plant is one of 34 potential new nuclear sites identified by the Iranian government.
Experts point out that Iran’s building of a new nuclear power plant would allow them more access to plutonium which can be used to fuel a nuclear weapon. Iran also continues to enrich uranium, another nuclear powered fuel.
The White House has asked Congress to not pass a new round of sanctions against Iran for the expansion of their nuclear program. House members said that because Iran has not slowed down their nuclear program the Congress should not slow down increasing sanctions.
Just days after reports that the country is about a month away from having enough material for a nuclear weapon, Iran has announced they are opening 34 new nuclear sites.
Iranian leaders, despite initial attempts at appearing to give ground at talks aimed at ending their nuclear program, boldly said they will build enough nuclear plants to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020.
“We are considering construction of power plants along the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea as well as the Central parts of Iran, but priority is given to the Persian Gulf coasts because we want to pave the way for water desalination facilities to supply drinking water for the Southern provinces of Iran,” said Iran Atomic Energy Organization head Ali Akbar Salehi.
Salehi also implied that those negotiating with western nations to end Iran’s nuclear program do not really have that authority.
Russia reportedly will be helping Iran build some of the reactors.
One of the world’s largest nuclear reactors had to be shut down after a wave of jellyfish was huge enough to clog pipes that bring cool water to the plant’s turbines.
The operators of Oskarshamn nuclear plant in Sweden said they had to scramble reactor three after the animal clog. It was not the first time they had to shut down because of jellyfish. Reactor One was shut down in 2005 because of a jellyfish invasion.
Reactor three is the largest boiling-water reactor in the world. The three reactors at the Oskarshamn site are of the same technology as the Fujushima Daiichi plant that melted down in 2011 after the Japan tsunami.
Scientists say jellyfish causing shutdowns might be happening more often.
“It’s true that there seems to be more and more of these extreme cases of blooming jellyfish,” said Lene Moller, a researcher at the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment, told the New York Post. “But it’s very difficult to say if there are more jellyfish, because there is no historical data.”
A 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit early Friday morning at the nuclear facility which suffered catastrophic meltdowns during the 2011 tsunami in Japan.
Officials with Tokyo Electric Power Company said they observed no abnormality in radiation after the quake according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo News. Continue reading →
U.S. nuclear analysts say steam seen rising from the Yongbyon nuclear facility in North Korea indicate the reactor is in or nearing operation.
The US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, which uses satellite imagery to track actions in North Korea, said the color and volume of steam released from the reactor is the indication of operation. Continue reading →
A radioactive water leak at the damaged Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan has forced the country’s nuclear agency to raise the alert level of the problem.
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale first listed the leak as a level one, lowest on the seven point scale. The Japanese government now says the leak should be considered level three. Continue reading →
A new report says that American nuclear facilities are vulnerable to a “high-force” terrorist attack and some are still vulnerable to sabotage intended to create a nuclear meltdown.
The Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas released the report stating they want to shine a light on the security gaps left a decade after 9/11. Continue reading →
A strong earthquake hit the same northern Japan region Sunday that was devastated by a massive quake and tsunami over 2 years ago.
The 6.0 magnitude quake began shortly after midday, 30 miles below the seabed off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture. Continue reading →
Survivors of the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan could be facing a serious health issue if they were near the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. Continue reading →
Japanese scientists have released a report saying fault lines under a nuclear plant in northern Japan are likely active.
The panel said that faults could cause earthquakes of magnitude 7. A quake of that level right beneath the plant could cause a catastrophic meltdown. Continue reading →
