Category Archives: Safety

Last NRC call about foreign ownership of U.S. nuclear reactors: now until noon today

Call in this morning or send written comments. Here are the previous materials (this URL works; the one in the NRC PR is broken). See also NRC’s PR and Commission Direction. The nuclear industry has been pushing for changes for a year now; see more posts. Rather than relaxing rules on foreign ownership of operating reactors, how about stop accepting foreign nuke parts from the likes of document-forging Doosan, which supplies Plant Vogtle among a dozen or so other U.S. nukes?

Try joining the webinar from a Linux system and you get:

This system isn’t supported

Not supported Joining a session from this computer’s OS or web browser isn’t supported.
Please view the GoToWebinar system requirements.
Questions?
Contact Global Customer Support or tweet to us @gotowebinar.

They support Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android, but not Linux. Seriously? And NRC is asking technical questions?

NRC PR 7 August 2013, NRC Webinar Aug. 21 to Discuss Regulations On Foreign Ownership of U.S. Reactors, Continue reading →

Traffic study? –John Page; Who pays? Richard Raines; Tax exemption –Demarcus Marshall @ LCC 2013-08-13

Traffic and taxes were discussed by Commissioners about REZ-2013-09 Moody Family Housing on Val Del Road, but none of them thought those topics important enough to make them conditions, and they didn’t even discuss use of local contractors or sinkholes like the one in the Phase II site, or the missing geotechnical study mentioned in the USAF Draft Environmental Assessment whose comment period wasn’t even ended when they voted at the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Traffic study? --John Page As he had at the previous morning’s Work Session, Commissioner John Page wanted to know if that traffic study was going to be required before the development could start. Planning Commissioner Tommy Willis had also asked about that back in July. This time Page didn’t ask about GA 122 or anywhere other than “Val Del and that area”.

Answer from County Engineer Mike Fletcher: Continue reading →

Karst subsidence beneath a house in Lowndes County –Don Thieme @ LCC 2013-08-13

Received yesterday on Florida sinkholes spreading real estate effects in same Aquifer as under Lowndes County. -jsq

Scanning John — Thank you for pressing forward on this important issue for the airmen and their families at Moody AFB as well as for all citizens of Lowndes County. My colleagues and I are also concerned and hope that we can eventually obtain the Phase I geotechnical study. Of course, we have our own research agendas as well as a desire to see our students working on these problems close to their own university campus. In particular, one of my undergraduate students just completed his thesis on karst subsidence beneath a house in Lowndes County. Here is a link to a poster where he presented those finding to our undergraduate research conference: GPR Investigation of Subsidence.

-Don Thieme

Ground-Penetrating Radar Investigation of Subsidence
in Covered Karst near Valdosta

Benjamin Davis, Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
Faculty Sponsor: Donald M. Thieme

Abstract

Continue reading →

PR and Marketing materials, ads, and trips @ VLCIA 2013-08-20

One hopes all this PR and marketing pays off in jobs. Remember, the Industrial Authority has kept its cushy 1 mil of property tax throughout the economic downturn. Four new industry projects are on the agenda this time, plus more solar power at Valdosta’s Mud Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. Much better PR than Valdosta Fire Dept. helping put out Perma-Fix on fire.

Here’s the agenda in a slightly broken PDF on the VLCIA website and extracted below.

Continue reading →

Florida sinkholes spreading real estate effects in same Aquifer as under Lowndes County

Florida real estate effects of sinkholes in the same Floridan Aquifer that underlies Lowndes County would be worth looking at before rushing to build Moody Housing around a sinkhole on Val Del Road. It’s not just the sinkhole that may widen, it’s housing prices that may drop.

Diana Olick wrote for CNBC 15 August 2013, Overdevelopment widens Florida sinkhole problem,


DAVID MANNING / Reuters
A section of the Summer Bay Resort lies collapsed after a large sinkhole opened on the property’s grounds in Clermont, Fla. on Aug. 12.
Sinkholes may be as old as the earth itself, but the increase in sinkhole activity is new. The rush to reason why has put scientists, engineers and real estate developers at odds.

Some geological experts believe the sinkhole activity is increasing because developers are pumping more water out of the ground for new projects or for agricultural use. While acid in the water itself is what causes the limestone under much of Florida to dissipate and create the holes, the water also acts as a support. Add water from heavy rains on the top soil, and you’ve got a bigger problem.

It is even beginning to weigh on the recovering real estate market in Florida.

Recent sinkholes of note in Lowndes County include: Continue reading →

USAF Environmental Assessment for Moody Housing on Val Del Road (REZ-2013-09) @ LCC 2013-08-13

No geotechnical study was seen from the developer before drawing the sinkhole buffers shown in the the Air Force Draft Environmental Assessment for the proposed Moody Housing on Val Del Road, just rezoned as REZ-2013-09, PDF courtesy of Prof. Michael Noll of VSU. You can see sinkholes and wetlands in its maps:

Most of the site area, including all of the Phase I area subject of REZ-2013-09, is colored for medium wetland habitat quality: Continue reading →

Geotechnical conditions and maybe sinkholes –Michael Noll @ LCC 2013-08-13

A VSU professor said he was in favor of the economic benefits, but geotechnical issues should determine whether the new Moody Housing on Val Del Road (REZ-2013-09) should be built, and those were still unclear, at the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Dr. Michael Noll of VSU said he was speaking because he had been referred to by previous speakers (Jason Davenport and Tom Kurrie), and he was neither for nor against REZ-2013-09. Dr. Noll’s neither-in-favor-nor-against position seemed to puzzle County Engineer Mike Fletcher. Noll said he and his colleagues had looked at the Environmental Assessment (EA) which has been available at the public library and concluded that they had a number of questions they’d like answered, and he was sure the developers had similar concerns for safety of the project.

Dr. Noll said they’d been trying to get a copy of the geotechnical analysis Continue reading →

Down, up, down again: Arkansas Nuclear One

Entergy announced August 8th that its Arkansas nuke was back up after a man died there in March, but it only made it to 87% power on August 12th and then back to zero yesterday. There’s no NRC event for yesterday’s downtime: what’s going on? Meanwhile, the dead man’s family is suing Entergy, and Entergy is suing its contractors. Sounds like the Plant Vogtle circular firing squad.

ANO Feb-Aug 2013

THV11 wrote 8 August 2013, Nuclear One unit back on after deadly accident and EBR staff wrote more detail for Energy Business Review 9 August 2013, Entergy restarts Unit 1 at Arkansas Nuclear One power plant,

Prior to restart, the unit needed an extensive restoration, including damage evaluation, repairs to non-nuclear plant components and rescheduling its refueling activities.

The restoration was made compulsory following the collapse of a contractor’s crane on 31 March 2013, while shifting a generator stator out of the turbine building.

Hm, “made compulsory” by whom? NRC? OSHA, which also investigated? Arkansas? Other? Continue reading →

Valdosta Fire Department Responds to Chemical Fire with Support of Mutual Aid

Lowndes County has no press release about today’s Perma-Fix fire, but as promised VDT has pictures and video, and here’s City of Valdosta PR, Valdosta Fire Department Responds to Chemical Fire with Support of Mutual Aid,

The City of Valdosta Fire Department responded to a chemical explosion on August 14 at PermaFix Environmental Services, located at 1622 James Rodgers Circle. The call came in at 2:22 p.m. and within minutes more than 40 firefighters and other first responders were on scene. The fire was under control by 4:30 p.m. with the assistance of the Lowndes County Fire Department and the Moody Air Force Base Fire Department. Also responding with aid were the Valdosta Police Department, Lowndes County Sheriff’s office, the Georgia State Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Due to the nature of the chemicals at the facility, the area was evacuated within a one-mile radius. At least three injuries have been reported, but no fatalities are known at this time.

The fire is under investigation. An update will be provided when more information is available.

-jsq

Perma-Fix on fire

Update 4:18 PM 14 August 2013: Lowndes County Sheriff, Police, Fire and EMS on the web (thanks Carolyn). They just said Moody is bringing a truck down to help.
Perma-Fix of South Georgia, located in the Gil Harbin Industrial Park, is apparently on fire, according to the VDT, Update: Explosions blast local Industrial Park, Covering the sky

Updated 3:06 p.m.: Explosions continue from Perma-Fix at the Gil Harbin Industrial Park. Times staff at the scene reports that the industrial park is being shut down. Emergency personnel are attempting to turn off gas mains at the site, according to preliminary reports.

No injuries reported at this time.

It’s good nobody has been injured; let’s hope it stays that way.

Gretchen took these pictures of the smoke from the County Extension office four miles away on US 84 East.

Zoomed in Oh, my, this could be ugly Continue reading →