COLUMBIA, SC An atomic safety investigation at a Columbia nuclear fuel factory uncovered additional problems this week as inspectors discovered more radioactive material had built up in the plant than they previously knew about.
An air pollution control system pipe potentially contained enough uranium to cause a nuclear accident at the Westinghouse plant on Bluff Road, records show. The amount of uranium found in the pipe might have exceeded a federal safety limit, according to a federal event notification report.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission became aware of the problem Tuesday, about five weeks after Westinghouse notified the agency that uranium had built up in another part of the air pollution scrubber system, records show. In that case, the amount of uranium found in the scrubber was three times higher than federal safety limits, the notification report says.
This week’s discovery, like the uranium buildup that surfaced in July, did not pose any danger to the surrounding community and no workers at the factory were harmed, according to the NRC. But buildups of nuclear material are a concern.
A buildup of atomic material can cause accidents that could endanger plant employees working nearby. Too much uranium in one place can increase chances of a “critical event,’’ which federal officials say is one of the most serious problems at a nuclear fuel plant.
[…]
Westinghouse’s nuclear fuel plant is a 550,000 square foot factory that makes nuclear fuel rods for commercial power plants. It is one of a handful of uranium fuel factories in the country, Hannah said. The plant is located on a lonely stretch of highway a few miles from Congaree National Park and along the Congaree River.
[…]
Records show the problems that surfaced Tuesday are more of a concern. Uranium was found in the crook of a pipe that could “potentially exceed’’ a limit on the material of 80 pounds. Hannah said the pipe was part of the air scrubber system at Westinghouse.
In July, the NRC reported that 191 pounds of uranium had been found in the existing scrubber, which is about three times the legal limit for uranium in that section of the Westinghouse factory.
The uranium accumulation problems aren’t the first at the Bluff Road plant. In 2004, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fined Westinghouse $24,000 after learning the atomic material had built up for eight years in a plant incinerator.
The fine, believed to be the largest against the plant at the time, prompted the company to make $3 million worth of improvements and replace its incinerator. Overall, Westinghouse has faced about a dozen major NRC enforcement actions since the late 1990s in South Carolina, NRC records show.
Featured Topics / 特集
Latest Posts / 最新記事
- Global nuclear weapons ban begins – without the world’s nuclear powers via The Guardian 2021/01/22
- <デジタル発>東日本大震災 「人災としての原発事故」は伝えられているか 記録・伝承施設を訪ねる via 北海道新聞 2021/01/22
- 群馬の原発避難者 賠償求める裁判2審 国の責任認めず 東京高裁 via NHK Newsweb 2021/01/22
- High court denies government responsibility for Fukushima nuclear crisis via The Japan Times 2021/01/22
- 福島第一原発 原子炉を納めている格納容器の圧力が一時低下 via NHK News Web 2021/01/22
Discussion / 最新の議論
- enail dab kit on US Nuclear Disaster Could Be Worse than Fukushima, Experts Warn via News wire
- Soumitra Chatterjee's Poem - Kaltivator Groups on US Nuclear Disaster Could Be Worse than Fukushima, Experts Warn via News wire
- how to sober up fast on 原発と司法 via 朝日新聞
- netflix mod apk on Global nuclear weapons ban begins – without the world’s nuclear powers via The Guardian
- netflix mod apk on Global nuclear weapons ban begins – without the world’s nuclear powers via The Guardian
Archives / 月別アーカイブ
- January 2021 (68)
- December 2020 (104)
- November 2020 (126)
- October 2020 (122)
- September 2020 (66)
- August 2020 (63)
- July 2020 (56)
- June 2020 (70)
- May 2020 (54)
- April 2020 (85)
- March 2020 (88)
- February 2020 (97)
- January 2020 (130)
- December 2019 (75)
- November 2019 (106)
- October 2019 (138)
- September 2019 (102)
- August 2019 (99)
- July 2019 (76)
- June 2019 (52)
- May 2019 (92)
- April 2019 (121)
- March 2019 (174)
- February 2019 (146)
- January 2019 (149)
- December 2018 (38)
- November 2018 (51)
- October 2018 (89)
- September 2018 (118)
- August 2018 (194)
- July 2018 (22)
- June 2018 (96)
- May 2018 (240)
- April 2018 (185)
- March 2018 (106)
- February 2018 (165)
- January 2018 (241)
- December 2017 (113)
- November 2017 (198)
- October 2017 (198)
- September 2017 (226)
- August 2017 (219)
- July 2017 (258)
- June 2017 (240)
- May 2017 (195)
- April 2017 (176)
- March 2017 (115)
- February 2017 (195)
- January 2017 (180)
- December 2016 (116)
- November 2016 (115)
- October 2016 (177)
- September 2016 (178)
- August 2016 (158)
- July 2016 (201)
- June 2016 (73)
- May 2016 (195)
- April 2016 (183)
- March 2016 (201)
- February 2016 (154)
- January 2016 (161)
- December 2015 (141)
- November 2015 (153)
- October 2015 (212)
- September 2015 (163)
- August 2015 (189)
- July 2015 (178)
- June 2015 (150)
- May 2015 (175)
- April 2015 (155)
- March 2015 (153)
- February 2015 (132)
- January 2015 (158)
- December 2014 (109)
- November 2014 (192)
- October 2014 (206)
- September 2014 (206)
- August 2014 (208)
- July 2014 (178)
- June 2014 (155)
- May 2014 (209)
- April 2014 (242)
- March 2014 (190)
- February 2014 (170)
- January 2014 (227)
- December 2013 (137)
- November 2013 (164)
- October 2013 (200)
- September 2013 (255)
- August 2013 (198)
- July 2013 (208)
- June 2013 (231)
- May 2013 (174)
- April 2013 (156)
- March 2013 (199)
- February 2013 (191)
- January 2013 (173)
- December 2012 (92)
- November 2012 (198)
- October 2012 (229)
- September 2012 (207)
- August 2012 (255)
- July 2012 (347)
- June 2012 (230)
- May 2012 (168)
- April 2012 (116)
- March 2012 (150)
- February 2012 (198)
- January 2012 (292)
- December 2011 (251)
- November 2011 (252)
- October 2011 (364)
- September 2011 (288)
- August 2011 (513)
- July 2011 (592)
- June 2011 (253)
- May 2011 (251)
- April 2011 (571)
- March 2011 (494)
- February 2011 (1)
- December 2010 (1)
Top Topics / TOPトピック
anti-nuclear
Atomic Age
Capitalism
East Japan Earthquake + Fukushima
energy policy
EU
Hanford
health
Hiroshima/Nagasaki
Inequality
labor
Nuclear power
nuclear waste
Nuclear Weapons
Radiation exposure
Russia/Ukraine/Chernobyl
Safety
TEPCO
U.S.
UK
エネルギー政策
メディア
ロシア/ウクライナ/チェルノブイリ
健康
公正・共生
兵器
再稼働
労働における公正・平等
原子力規制委員会
原発推進
反原発運動
大飯原発
安全
広島・長崎
廃炉
東京電力
東日本大震災・福島原発
汚染水
米国
脱原発
被ばく
資本主義
避難
除染
食の安全
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.