Quote; "Sharpness (Berkeley
Magnox nuclear facility), close to vulnerable areas of the A38 and M5..".....
"(........I had a pdf file map of Britain showing the various nuclear facilities which I have, unfortunately, been unable to find again having lost the file owing to a PC crash. There were two facilities detailed at the very mouth of The Severn itself on either side of the estuary*. It struck me at the time that any tsunamic event which might hit the area would strike these sites with tremendous force and almost certainly distribute radioactive contaminant all over the already devasted region.)" From "What's that Coming Over the Hill?" "Arafel"
Quote; "Oldbury nuclear power station near Bristol has stopped generating electricity after 45 years.
Both of the station's reactors were scheduled to be turned off in 2008, but had their operational life extended.
Reactor two was turned off in 2011 and reactor one was finally shut down at 11:00 GMT on Wednesday.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Magnox, which owns the site, said continued operation was not economically viable.
The switch-off was watched through a video link by many of the station's 500 staff in Oldbury's canteen." Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/threat-fromtsunamis-re-new-nuclear.html
*Infact there are several sites, one of the reactors at Hinkley is infact still in operating...
Sharpness Berkley and Oldbury have now ceased producing power and are either in the process of being decommissioned or have been so (not of-course that the areas themselves can really be described as safe as yet), but the insanity at Hinkley continues..........
"Dragons and Fables"
"Recently, an earthquake occurred along the English Channel
coast, with its epicentre at Folkestone in Kent, at
8.28 a.m. (local time) on 28 April 2007. The local earthquake
magnitude was estimated by the British Geological Survey
as 4.2ML (Walker and Musson, 2007) and no discernable
affect was reported on the sea. However, worryingly, a local
news outlet reported that coastal residents on feeling the
tremor “started rushing out from their houses and on to the
beach for safety” (Kent News, 2007)! This highlights the
need to assess the threat from tsunami and associated hazards
in Britain and, if appropriate, raise public awareness of
the potential hazards."
from http://dyscovery.newport.ac.uk
According to "The Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Organisation" (go to.... http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/8/587/2008/nhess-8-587-2008.pdf ), siesmic events either in or on either side of The Channel are historically far from rare!
"I tell you naught for your comfort, Yea naught for your desire, Save that the sky grows darker yet, And the sea rises higher." - GK Chesterton
"..a 2005 BBC2 Timewatch documentary which was postponed and re-edited after the Asian tsunami due to its sudden topicality. It documented how, out of a clear blue sky on 30th January 1607, nearly 600 km of the Devon, Somerset and Welsh coast was inundated by a wave of up to 7.5m (25ft). The ‘largest and most destructive flood in British history’ , it may have been caused by a tsunami deriving from an undersea quake, the wave reaching up to 14 miles inland (to the foot of Glastonbury Tor), leaving a temporary inland sea of over 200 square miles for ten days, and drowning around 2,000. For the benefit of sceptics, the academic study the documentary was based on pointed out a 1755 seaquake off Portugal had sent out a 15m (49ft) high tsunami that killed nearly 50,000. There has also been a claim a tsunami hit Dorset in 1868 – luckily the relatively deserted stretch of shore west of Portland."
from... http://www.msbnews.co.uk
..I watched the "Timewatch" documentary when it was screened, the evidence for the tsunami it dealt with seemed very strong as too did that of their estimation for the event's source (the point where the European continental shelf ends some considerable miles S.W of Ireland in the N.Atlantic).
"The Great Flood
The great flood was seen by some at the time
as a judgement from God on his people. It is
generally considered to have been the result
of an exceptionally high tide coupled with a
storm surge, rather than the more modern
tsunami theory. Flood prevention from a Severn barrage in this
instance would be direct, in the manner of the Thames Barrier. The
conditions for such a storm surge to occur again
are possible though of low probability..........
...A barrage could hold water out of the upstream river systems at high
tide, meaning that if there were some hours warning of flash floods, as
was the case in summer 2007, generation would cease and the
barrage sealed at the first available low water. At Gloucester this
would make a 2 metre difference to water levels on a spring tide, on a
neap tide this would mean no reduction in water levels, though still a
four metre difference further downstream at Sharpness (Berkeley
Magnox nuclear facility), close to vulnerable areas of the A38 and M5.." from... http://www.deasil.co.uk/08%20stakeholder%20submission%20Severn%20VARCHIVE.pdf
"... Nb. Of-course it is unlikely that the U.K's Atomic Energy Authority would espouse the tsunami theory to its "stakeholders" (far too much money involved), look at where they placed their facilities. Berkley is now described as "closed" by the UAEA . "..
and this from WalesOnline
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/09/29/welsh-professor-makes-waves-about-the-dangers-of-a-tsunami-91466-21918965/ ...
The delicate relationship between the coastal areas of Britain and the sea was known by our forebears.
The Holy Isle of Arianrhod "Lady of the Lake" (now known as Glastonbury Tor), was surrounded by.. a lake before the monks drained the marshes
(and as we know "Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea" too...).
I am convinced that "The Great Dragon of Uffington"
 |
| Dragon Hill |
represents a serious attempt by our ancestors to reconcile these forces." Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/whats-that-coming-over-hill.html
"Can't Happen HERE they Say!"
Quote: "The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the “Great Lisbon Earthquake” and “the Disaster at Lisbon”, occurred in the Kingdom of Portugal on Saturday, 1 November 1755, the Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day, at around 9:40 am. Seismologists today estimate the Lisbon earthquake had a magnitude in the range 8.5–9.0 on the moment magnitude scale, with an epicentre in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km (120 mi) WSW of Cape St. Vincent."..........
..."There were three distinct quake shocks over a ten minute period. The first shock was followed by an even more powerful second shock which sent buildings toppling down. According to reports, the tremors and the ground motions from this shock lasted for three-and-one-half minutes. Gigantic fissures of up to 15 feet wide tore through the centre of Lisbon. A third shock was less powerful. Effects from the earthquake were far reaching. Severe shaking was felt in North Africa where the quake caused heavy loss of life in towns of Algeria and Morocco - more than 400 miles south of Lisbon. The town of Algiers was completely destroyed. Tangiers suffered great loss of lives and extensive damage.
The earthquake was particularly destructive in Morocco, where approximately 10,000 people lost their lives. Archival records document that the coastal towns of Rabat, Larache, Asilah, and Agadir (named Santa Cruz while under Portuguese rule) suffered much damage. Even the cities of Fez, Meknes and Marrakesh in the interior were similarly damaged. Mosques, synagogues, churches, and many other buildings collapsed in Meknes, where there was heavy loss of life.
In Europe the Lisbon earthquake caused considerable damage in Spain - particularly in Madrid and Seville. Shaking was felt in France, Switzerland, and Northern Italy, too.
However, the worst damage occurred in the south-west of Portugal. Lisbon and its inhabitants were particularly badly hit by the earthquake. In 1755, Lisbon was a great city legendary for its wealth, prosperity and sophistication, it was one of the most beautiful cities in Europe with an estimated population of 275,000.
When the earthquake arrived, most of Lisbon's population were praying in six magnificent cathedrals, including the great Basilica de Sao Vincente de Fora. Within minutes, this great thriving city-port of Lisbon, capital of Portugal and of the vast Portuguese empire and seat of learning in Europe, was reduced to rubble.
The destruction caused by the earthquake was beyond description. Lisbon's great cathedrals, Basilica de Santa Maria, Sao Vincente de Fora, Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina, the Misericordia - all full of worshipers - collapsed, killing thousands. Lisbon's whole quay and the marble-built Cais De Pedra along the Tagus disappeared into the river, burying with it hundreds of people who had sought refuge." Go to: http://www.sms-tsunami-warning.com/pages/tsunami-portugal-1755#.V59UtRLooyE
Arafel Comment: As is now becoming clear to serious geoarchaeologists these events have a definite periodicity based on the tolerances and pressures to which the major tectonic plates are subject. If our "Dragon" was responsible for our 17c tsunami here in the U.K is it not also likely to have been responsible for the loss of Lyonesse and if so is it not probable that such an event will occur again?
""Biggest Tremor in the U.K for SIX YEARS Shakes the South West"
The nation was hit by its biggest earthquake in six years today, shaking homes and leaving residents frightened and confused.
The 4.1 magnitude quake was felt over hundreds of miles, with thousands
of people caught in the tremors across the West Country and South Wales.Sally Norden, of Barnstaple, North Devon, said: “I thought I was going mad. I was just sat having a cuppa in my front room and I felt the earth move.
“I looked outside and the birds seemed to be noisy and flying off. It was scary and I was left feeling disorientated.”
The 10-second tremor struck at 1.21pm and Emma Larkworthy, also from the area, said: “My daughter and I felt the house shudder.
"It was scary hearing what we thought was a loud bang and then all the furniture shook, then we heard like a rumble and rattling and we couldn’t fathom out where it was coming from.”"" Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/eacape-to-heights-from-metromania-eloy.html
Quote; "Ask yourselves how it has come to be acceptable for, for instance; The Russian and American presidents (ostensibly -and in reality- gnashing their teeth over Poland), to cabal themselves during the recent summit in Tokyo, get their heads together on how to repair the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactor ( http://www.stwr.org/land-energy-water/nuclear-power-no-panacea-critics-say.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihama_Nuclear_Power_Plant http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/earthquake-fire-and-nuclear-l/ -Edited 11/12/10-), and keep the whole affair from the public?
How is it that the B.B.C can show wonderful pictures of Britain from the air, including aerial shots taken with isotopic-radiation sensitive cameras, but all that Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace can just about manage (with anything like an international profile), is to keep the blood-thirsty Japanese off the whales for another season and ignore all the other oceanic life out there dying of our ignorance." Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/whats-that-coming-over-hill.html
I make no apology for the remark above (originally posted on the MediaLens forum -unfortunately the MediaLens forum itself is now defunct-, in 2009 Go to: http://www.medialens.org/ -well before #Fukushima-), for whilst things have changed a little within the organisations the prioritisation of mere (what "one" might describe as), "gung-ho protection" of the cetacean population by both Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth continues and still does not extend to the very vital (even more so since Fukushima), epidemiological study of the long term effects on all oceanic life of mankind's abuse of the atom (Mr "I'm such a conservationist" Attenborough -he doesn't seem to have ever heard the term "Imperialist" or of Hans Rosling, see ""Decolonizing Humanity by Reconnecting with the Earth" Emergence Theory and Social Engineering incl. full "Overpopulation Myth" lecture: Hans Rosling-)" Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/decolonizing-humanity-by-reconnecting.html
-, and the rest).
Also see: "Japan Under the Sword" Go to:http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/japan-under-sword.html , "Japan Under the Sword (continued)" Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/japan-under-sword-continued.html
& "International Atomic Energy Authority "Protects Against Truth and Irradiates People" For full #Fukushima archive go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/international-atomic-energy-authority.html
"Arafel" Comment: The questions always arise what are the alternatives for fuel and employment? As is so often the case with such problems perhaps it is helpful firstly to examine what the answer is not (or "the via negativa"**)!
Quote; "A voice of dissent; quote: "Nobel Laureate Robert B. Laughlin exposes the consequences and limitations of biofuels from manure and corn ethanol to switchgrass and algae.
........
The energy industry’s sudden interest in algae might also be part of this absurdity, unfortunately. Green politics powerfully encourages “greenwash,” the practice of associating yourself with green causes to look more environmentally friendly than you actually are. Although the investments that the oil majors are presently making in algae look technically legitimate, they might just be public relations expenditures. We can’t tell, for the amounts of money involved, though considerable, are smaller than the potential costs of taxation, regulation, and political vexations that might be visited upon them for not being sufficiently green. Absent some truly unprecedented discovery or breakthrough, it will be hard not to smile knowingly whenever world-famous geneticists begin explaining their strategic algae oil partnerships that involve no farming until sometime way in the future, if ever." Go to http://criticalenvironmentalism.org/2011/12/05/algae-biofuels/#comments
My comment: "…and how much do you think cleaning up"...the effects of.."the nuclear industry will cost? As with the previous century’s “green” research INVESTMENT is required, or one can continue to pedal the myth that the notion of an “unsustainable economy” is NOT an oxymoron."...Also
...
"It is vital to realise that INVESTMENT also means investment in education"..."How myopic to assume that even the “most able” are unable to provide an answer in adulthood when they have received no encouragement (infact been actively dissuaded from, cajoled and FORCED not), to explore the alternative paradigms which inform such research as children.
Considering the blinkered attitude towards mycological and bacteriological research displayed by the academic institutions generally (revealed on my thread; Mycology and Bio-Remediation..or; "Why Should #Fukushima Become a Japanese "Bearded-Lady"?" Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/mycology-and-bio-remediation.html ), it is hardly surprising no one has an answer as yet.
Comment from Sean OHanlon on the same article: quote; "So Robert Laughlin shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1998. Good for him; But Algae cultivation is about Biology & Systems Engineering, not Physics. To me this is another case of someone who clearly hasn’t spoken with any leading researchers in the field of algae R&D or attended a single conference to get a pulse on the state of the industry.
Fresh water? Why would we want clean water to grow algae? Not only does algae capture CO2 but it also has the ability to sequester heavy metals and other toxins that no reasonable person would want released into the air or water. In addition, Algae has the ability to cut energy consumption in Wastewater treatment plants by as much as 80 percent. Even if that number were only 20% it would still be a technology well worth pursuing."
Dr. Laughlin also chooses to narrowly focus on saltwater micro-algae. This is another major miscalculation. We have barely scratched the surface of what can be done by the over 100,000 species of micro-algae in the world. We haven’t even started to take a serious look at the macro-algae that grow faster and have a higher sugar content. And as for: “there is no saltwater agriculture industry at the moment from which you can make crop comparisons” Not true, The Irish have been harvesting algae for centuries and Asia has been cultivating it for decades now. (Where do you think your sushi wrap comes from?) Algae is already being grown profitably as feed for livestock, pharmaceuticals, and DHA Omega 3′s just to name a few.
The cost of producing biofuels is getting cheaper all the time while exploration, drilling, and refining oil is getting ever more difficult, costlier, and dangerous. (Let’s not forget the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill that took 11 lives and went on for over 90 days just last year; Not to mention the environmental damage that will last for decades.) Take away the tax breaks and other advantages that petroleum currently enjoys and it immediately becomes economically unsustainable to the tune of ~$13/gallon and up for gasoline.
Thank you for your opinion Dr. Laughlin. However, Your opinion is clearly not supported by the facts."
Re: “clean” water (see above), there’s a difference between “capture” and “proliferation”, you can’t continue to pollute the body (even when using maggots to clean-up a wound)." From "Aunt Sally Whipping the Boy" Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/aunt-sally-whipping-boy.html
Nuclear Power = Nuclear Weapons? No joke! : Not just the obvious ones either but also (as with so many of the more abusive unsustainable "industries**"), nuclear power's "by-products" are now used extensively, the most infamous and controversial being that of "depleted uranium" both for armour and for armoured piercing ordnance, quote; "If (as John Keats would have us believe), '"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," "(and)" - that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.' Which is more repugnant, the hand-ringing posturing of the British Government over the (alleged), use of chemical agents and incendiary weapons by the Syrian regime on its own population, or the deformed children born to the victims of N.A.T.O since the inception of the war of aggression that The West has been perpetrating against the "dissenting" Arab states for more than two decades? Surely it is human behaviour itself which truly defines the nature of that which is ugly (the foetus is utterly defenceless against such; "reckless hate")?"....
"The notion that the N.A.T.O countries occupy the moral high-ground with regard to the use of weapons of mass destruction would be laughable if it wasn't so repellent so why does our mainstream media so consistently fail to draw the obvious parallels between that which our governments condemn and that which they perpetrate themselves?" "Editorial Balance (re: Syria and the use of W.M.Ds)"
Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/editorial-balance-resyria-and-use-of.html For images links re: #D.U.
The western mainstream media constantly pose the question; "what motivates the acts of barbarism of which so-called "Islamic State" seem so often capable?!" Never allowing themselves to consider that perhaps it is not just the West's use of weapons containing contaminants and pollutants such as d.u but also its willfull denial of the consequences of same that rouses its victims to such fury! Also see; ""Burning Flag" The Rage of The Caliphate" Go to:http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/burning-flag-rage-of-caliphate.html
*The problem with "-isms" is that they are made up of many "-ists".
**http://aleteia.org/2013/03/04/what-is-the-via-negativa/
***Using the term very advisedly see; "The Philosophy of "The Loss Leader"" Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-philosophy-of-loss-leader-re.html
Quote: "When the nuclear industry claims that nuclear power is "carbon -free", it is basically taking advantage of the fact that many people don’t know the difference between a "carbon footprint" and "direct carbon emissions". Our individual direct CO2 emissions are basically limited to whatever CO2 we exhale when we breathe- but our carbon footprint is much larger than those limited emissions. Our individual carbon footprint depends on how much gasoline we use, how much electricity we use, and, in general, how much of anything and everything we consume or use. Studies that show nuclear is carbon-neutral are considering only the direct emissions, not the carbon footprint."...From "Flush the Greenwash": Nuclear Power's True CO2 Profile" Go to:http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/flush-greenwash-nuclear-powers-true-co2.html
#BioFuelsArchive: "Tell the #EU to Ban (monocultural land-based) BioFuels!": Rainforest Rescue; #COP21 #OceanBasedBioFuels #CERN #Fukushima" Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/tell-eu-to-ban-land-based-biofuels.html
, "Plastics, Bio-Fuels, Synergisms, Synthesis and Balance" Pt.1, go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/plastics-bio-fuels-synergisms-synthesis.html
' "Plastics, Bio-fuels, Synergisms, Synthesis and Balance." Pt., go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/plastics-bio-fuels-synergisms-synthesis_30.html
and "Plastic from Trees! British company leads the field.." Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/plastic-from-trees-british-company.html
Lyonesse: Quote; "If "The Dragon" of Uffington does represent "a serious attempt to reconcile these forces" one would expect there to be evidence of previous tsunamis generated by the fault concerned. Well perhaps there is in the legend of the "lost" land of Lyonesse, quote: "The legend of a sunken kingdom appears in both Cornish and Breton mythology. In Christian times it came to be viewed as a sort of Cornish Sodom and Gomorrah, an example of divine wrath provoked by unvirtuous living, although the parallels were limited in that Lyonesse remained in Cornish thought very much a mystical and mythical land, comparable to the role of Tir na nÓg in Irish mythology.[citation needed]
There is a Breton parallel in the tale of the Cité d'Ys, similarly drowned as a result of its debauchery with a single virtuous survivor escaping on a horse, in this case King Gradlon. The Welsh equivalent to Lyonesse and Ker Ys is Cantre'r Gwaelod, a legendary drowned kingdom in Cardigan Bay.
It is often suggested that the tale of Lyonesse represents an extraordinary survival of folk memory of the flooding of the Isles of Scilly and Mount's Bay near Penzance.[2] For example, the Cornish name of St Michael's Mount is Karrek Loos y'n Koos - literally, "the grey rock in the wood". Cornish people around Penzance still get occasional glimpses at extreme low water of a sunken forest in Mount's Bay, where petrified tree stumps become visible. The importance of the maintenance of this memory can be seen in that it came to be associated with the legendary British hero Arthur, although the date of its inundation is actually c.2500 BC." Go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyonesse
..and as we know the loss of considerable areas of land from these islands following the retreat of the ice-sheets at the end of the last ice-age and subsequent geological movements and sea-level rises is becoming increasingly better understood and documented." From; ""The Cerridwen" an Update on the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age Landscape" Go to: http://gkhales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-cerridwen-update-on-mesolithic.html
Petition: "Switch to the Renewable Plan B for Hinkley C – fit for the 21st Century" Go to: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/163725
Petition: Greenpeace "Hinkley's already 8 years overdue. And by the time it's finished it'll be the most expensive object on earth." Go to: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/s/osborne-dont-waste-billions-nuclear?source=em&subsource=20160912egem02&utm_source=gpeace&utm_medium=em&utm_campaign=20160912egem02
...and to illustrate the point that NASA and many others are now taking the subject of #OceanBasedBiofuels far more seriously I'll do that which I would usually eschew and publish the Google Search results, go to: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Ocean+Based+Bio+Fuels&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=9dW-V-mPNK7S8AeAzI74Aw#q=Ocean+Based+Biofuels
Quote; "..there is a far greater objection to Hinkley than that: it is a deeply flawed project, driven more by political vanity than economic rationale, the numbers of which make no sense whatsoever. The new British government of Prime Minister Theresa May would be right to pull the plug, regardless of any Chinese involvement. Warnings that Beijing could turn out Britain’s lights if a future prime minister were to meet the Dalai Lama make eye-catching headlines. But the evidence that London’s review of Hinkley was prompted by security concerns is remarkably thin. It consists largely of a blog post on a right-wing website written last October by the director of an education charity who was later appointed May’s joint chief of staff. In the post, he cited an article in The Times newspaper, claiming unnamed “security experts... are worried that the Chinese could use their role to build weaknesses into computer systems which will allow them to shut down Britain’s energy production at will”. Maybe, but that should be the least of London’s concerns over Hinkley. The real problem with the project is its cost. The new nuclear power station was conceived in 2008 in order to help the British government meet its aim of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, an aim that was itself a vanity project intended to showcase Britain’s supposed environmental leadership. However, the chosen design, the European Pressurised Reactor promoted by the French state-controlled company EDF, remains an untested technology. The first EPR project to go ahead, a power plant in Finland, is currently running nine years behind schedule and more than 100 per cent over budget. Construction costs for Hinkley are estimated at £18 billion (HK$184 billion), which would make it by far the most expensive power station in the world. But that’s only part of the objection. In order to persuade EDF to shoulder the construction costs, in 2013 the British government guaranteed that Hinkley would be able to sell its electricity to the grid at a index-linked price of £92.50 per MWh. At the time, oil was trading at US$120 a barrel, and Britain’s wholesale peak power prices were as much as £80 per MWh. Since then oil and gas prices have tumbled and British electricity prices have slumped to £40 per MWh – less than half the cost of power from Hinkley." Go to: http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2009502/why-britains-hinkley-nuclear-reactor-horror-show-or-without-china For full article. Quote; "A new report finds that 28 nuclear reactors, 18 of them EDF plants in France and one at Sizewell in the UK, are at risk of failure 'including core meltdown' due to flaws in safety-critical components in reactor vessels and steam generators, writes Oliver Tickell. The news comes as EDF credit is downgraded due to a growing cash flow crisis and its decision to press on with Hinkley C.
As a result of AREVA's failures,
a significant share of the French nuclear reactor fleet is at increased risk of
severe radiological accident, including fuel core meltdown. However, there is
no simple or quick fix to this problem.
A new review of the safety of France's
nuclear power stations has found that at least 18 of EDF's units are
are "operating at risk of major accident due to carbon anomalies."
The review was carried out at the request of Greenpeace France following the discovery of serious metallurgical flaws by French regulators in a reactor vessel at Flamanville, where an EPR plant is under construction. The problem is that parts of the vessel and its cap contain high levels of carbon, making the metal brittle and potentially subject to catastrophic failure. These key components were provided by French nuclear engineering firm Areva, and forged at its Le Creusot. "The nature of the flaw in the steel, an excess of carbon, reduces steel toughness and renders the components vulnerable to fast fracture and catastrophic failure putting the NPP at risk of a major radioactive release to the environment", says nuclear safety expert John Large, whose consultancy Large Associates (LA) carried out the Review. His report examines how the defects in the Flamanville EPR reactor pressure vessel came about during the manufacturing process, and escaped detection for years after forging. It then goes on to investigate what other safety-critical nuclear components might be suffering from the same defects. Steam generators at 28 EDF nuclear sites at risk After several months of investigation LA found that critical components of a further 28 nuclear plants were forged by Le Creusot using the same process. These are found in the steam generators - large, pod-like boilers - that have been installed at operational EDF nuclear power stations across France. The conclusion is based on documents provided by IRSN (the independent French Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire) that reject assurances given by both EDF and Areva that there is no safety risk from steam generators containing the excess carbon flaw. In August 2016, IRSN warned the French nuclear safety regulator Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) that:
"As a result of Areva's failures, a significant share of the French nuclear reactor fleet is at increased risk of severe radiological accident, including fuel core meltdown", said Large. "However, there is no simple or quick fix to this problem. "The testing and inspection regime currently underway by Areva and EDF is incapable of detecting the extent and severity of the carbon problem and, moreover, it cannot ensure against the risk of rapid component failure. It is most certain that the IRSN finding will equally applies to replacement steam generators exported by Areva to overseas nuclear power plants around the world." EDF reactors face protracted closure, credit rating falls EDF stated yesterday that it will carry out further tests on 12 nuclear reactors during their planned outages in the coming months - and that extended periods of outage are to be expected. "There are outages that could take longer than planned", an EDF spokesman told Reuters. "In 2015, we discovered the phenomenon of carbon segregation in the Flammanville EPR reactor. We decided to verify other equipments in the French nuclear park to make sure that other components are not impacted by the phenomenon." In anticipation of the nuclear closures, year-ahead electricity prices rose in the French wholesale power market, forcing power rises across Europe up to a one-year high. Meanwhile Moody's has downgraded EDF credit ratings across a spectrum of credit instruments. EDF's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings fell from A2 to A3 while perpetual junior subordinated debt ratings fell to Baa3 from Baa2. Moody's also downgraded the group's short-term ratings to Prime-2 from Prime-1. According to Moody's, "the rating downgrade reflects its view that the action plan announced by EDF in April 2016, which includes government support, will not be sufficient to fully offset the adverse impact of the incremental risks associated the Hinkley Point C (HPC) project on the group's credit profile. "Moody's believes that the significant scale and complexity of the HPC project will affect the group's business and financial risk profiles. This is because the HPC project will expose EDF and its partner China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN, A3 negative) to significant construction risk as the plant will use the same European Pressurised reactor (EPR) technology that has been linked with material cost overruns and delays at Flamanville in France and Olkiluoto 3 in Finland. In addition, none of the four plants using the EPR technology currently constructed globally is operational yet." Once rating agencies have had time to evaluate the seriousness of EDF's current problems with reactors packed with unsafe critical components, further downgrades may follow. "The ratings could be downgraded if (1) credit metrics fall below Moody's guidance for the A3 rating; or (2) EDF were to be significantly exposed to AREVA NP's liabilities"*, the agency warns." Go to: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2988175/sizewell_b_and_27_other_edf_nuclear_plants_at_risk_of_catastrophic_failure.html For full article.  *Bold mine. |
