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| Three Mile Island, PA, scene of a nuclear meltdown in 1979. (Photo, public domain) |
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Humanity continues to be blinded by unadulterated greed in its pursuit of nuclear power regardless of the threat it poses to all of life. Concerns following the nuclear crisis in Japan will soon fade, and we’ll resume our former state of denial as we insanely speak of “safe, clean nuclear power.” Friends, there is no such thing. There never has been. There never will be.
At the LA Times, Alan Zarembo and Ben Welsh report the latest reckless attempts to boost the production of existing nuclear plants in the U.S. while disregarding the risks involved. This is scary stuff:
The U.S. nuclear industry is turning up the power on old reactors, spurring quiet debate over the safety of pushing aging equipment beyond its original specifications.
The little-publicized practice, known as uprating, has expanded the country's nuclear capacity without the financial risks, public anxiety and political obstacles that have halted the construction of new plants for the last 15 years.
The power boosts come from more potent fuel rods in the reactor core and, sometimes, more highly enriched uranium. As a result, the nuclear reactions generate more heat, which boils more water into steam to drive the turbines that make electricity.
Tiny uprates have long been common. But nuclear watchdogs and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's own safety advisory panel have expressed concern over larger boosts — some by up to 20% — that the NRC began approving in 1998.
Twenty of the nation's 104 reactors have undergone these "extended power uprates."
