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The
recipients of the NSSA 2012 prizes have been announced, congratulations
to all the winners especially Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau “For his
seminal scientific contributions, tireless leadership, and devoted
mentoring in the field of neutron scattering”, congratulations Bob, this
is richly deserved... http://neutronscattering.org/
Instead
of ignoring the important issues facing France related to its future
energy resources "The Cour des Comptes (Court of Audit), at the request
of prime minister Francois Fillon, has released a report into the past,
present and future costs of nuclear power in the country." The
conclusion of the report is extending the operating lives of its
existing nuclear power reactors would be its best option... Read more http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Extending_operating_lives_of_French_reactors_best_option-3101124.html
Very
cool! new material is found that could be used to remove radioactive
gas from spent nuclear fuel: "Sandia chemist Tina Nenoff heads a team of
researchers focused on removal of radioactive iodine from spent nuclear
fuel. They identified a metal-organic framework that captures and holds
the volatile gas, a discovery that could be used for nuclear fuel
reprocessing and other applications." read more: http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-chemists-material-radioactive-gas-spent.html
Ever wondered why Plutonium is used in space missions? this is a great article providing details and background information: http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2012/02/01/11193/
"Plutonium-238 is useful for radioisotope heat sources, and
radioisotope power systems, because it decays radioactively, releasing a
particularly useful form of radiation called alpha radiation.
Alpha
radiation is simply energized and completely ionized helium atoms,
which lose their energy in the form of heat when interacting with other
matter. This energy loss mechanism is similar to how friction generates
heat on a surface. Alpha radiation is generally not harmful to humans,
provided its emitters are not inhaled or ingested; alpha particles can
be stopped by the outermost layer of skin."
Quite
neat: virtual reality for UK research centre to help in the design and
manufacture of large components for nuclear power plants: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Virtual_reality_for_UK_research_centre-2601124.html
"this visualization will make nuclear technology more accessible than
ever before. "This is because what makes the nuclear sector different is
the sheer scale of components and their machining tools. We're talking
about massive components weighing 40 or 50 tonnes. Any small alterations
that need to be made to components that size should be made where they
are manufactured, rather than at the assembly stage." He added, "We'll
achieve this by scanning the components and dropping them into their
virtual environment to check they fit with the other components in the
assembly.""
How
much one could earn working in the nuclear industry? here are some
median wage different energy specialists can expect to earn, the figures
may not include overtime, bonus packages or incentives: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/how-much-can-i-earn-in-the-nuclear-industry/21894
No
big Fukushima health impact: "The health impact of last year's
Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan appears relatively small thanks
partly to prompt evacuations, the chairman of a U.N. scientific body
investigating the effects of radiation said on Tuesday." http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre80u1as-us-japan-fukushima-health/
A
must watch retro movie on global warming! The clip is from an
educational documentary "Unchained Goddess" made by Frank Capra for Bell
Labs. Another well made movie! And another indication that the global
warming has been on scientists minds since half a century ago! For
anyone who doubts whether human activity is causing the observed global
warming, there are always incentives to cut the greenhouse and toxic gas
emissions, as humans we do not like to breath in chemical and toxic
gases, why would we want to expose the nature to those!!! Nuclear energy
is a proven clean and capable of satisfying the energy thirst of the
world... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lgzz-L7GFg
Well
looks like SNC-Lavalin is doing pretty well as they secure $48M
contract with Romania nuclear power plant. Remember SNC-Lavalin is the
company who bought the Candu part of AECL for -$60M (paid the government
+$15M and received $75M from them as initiative plus government keeping
all the existing &future liabilities): http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=6043404&sponsor
"Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. has won a contract
to install venting equipment at Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear power plant,
part of an industry-wide safety upgrade in the wake of the meltdown at
the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan last year.
The contract with
Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica (SNN) is worth about $48-million.
It will see SNC’s nuclear subsidiary put in reactor containment
filtering venting systems at Cernavoda, which produced roughly 20% of
Romania’s electricity from its location in the south-east corner of the
country.
Engineering and procurement work has started and
contruction is scheduled to begin immediately, SNC said. The project is
expected to be finished in late 2013.
Cernavoda uses Candu reactor
technology from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. SNC bought Candu, AECL’s
commercial nuclear-reactor business, for $15-million last June after a
two-year effort buy the Canadian government to privatize it.
In
August, Candu won a $440-million deal with Argentina’s nuclear operator
to reburbish a Candu reactor at the Embalse Nuclear Generating Station."
And if you are wondering who
SNC-Lavalin is awarding contracts for some of the things in needs for
its work in Romania, it is the French company Areva!: "Planned for
completion over the next 27 months, the contract is part of a global
co-operation agreement between Areva and SNC-Lavalin for CANDU-specific
reactor designs."
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/energy-and-environment/snc-lavalin-nuclear-awards-areva-nuclear-fcvs-contract/1011545.article
