Nuke news. Lots of nuke news.

by David Safier

Nuclear reactor news from the past few days could occupy half a dozen posts, but I'll give a snapshot instead. (1) The U.S. has loosened its standards to let aging plants stay in operation. (2) The Fukushima nuke plant hit by the tsunami is either making great progress or is bogged down by unexpected problems. (3) And in a nothin'-to-see-here moment in Nebraska, a nuke plant in the flood area is said to be just fine — in part because levees elsewhere failed and let water out that otherwise would have risen around the plant.

Story #1: Remember how we're always hearing how nuclear power is becoming safer and safer because of all the wonderful things we've learn? Like from accidents? Well, many of the U.S. plants are operating decades beyond their expiration dates, suffering from leaking valves, cracking of steam generator tubing, and on and on.

Failed cables. Busted seals. Broken nozzles, clogged screens, cracked concrete, dented containers, corroded metals and rusty underground pipes _ all of these and thousands of other problems linked to aging were uncovered in the AP's yearlong investigation. And all of them could escalate dangers in the event of an accident.

So what has the Nuclear Regulatory Agency done in response to the rising danger levels? It has worked with the industry to lower standards.

Records show a recurring pattern: Reactor parts or systems fall out of compliance with the rules. Studies are conducted by the industry and government, and all agree that existing standards are "unnecessarily conservative."

Regulations are loosened, and the reactors are back in compliance.

The U.S. reactors, many of which are of the same type as the one in Fukushima, are less safe today than they were in 1979 at the time of the accident at Three Mile Island.

And if you think our workers are adequately prepared to deal with a genuine disaster, read this account of how ill prepared they were at Fukushima, even though they had a disaster drill a week earlier.

Story #2: Speaking of Fukushima, an article in Sunday's Star made things sound pretty good, or at least not too bad.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. executives expressed confidence over containing the crisis at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant as the utility released a revised timetable for stabilizing damaged reactors, but emphasized that the situation at the crippled plant remains serious.

But then you look at a Saturday story in the NY Times, and you learn, things at the plant have more of a radioactive than a rosy glow. A new filtration system was started, then stopped after five hours.

The company said that the sprawling system, which is designed to siphon oil, radioactive materials and salt from the water used to cool the reactors, was shut down because of readings that indicated one of the filters had filled up with radioactive cesium. The rapid depletion of a filter that was supposed to have lasted several weeks suggested the presence of far greater radioactive material than anticipated.

That probably means thousands of tons of "low-level contaminated water" will be going into the Pacific, after an 11,000 ton dump back in April.

Story #3: Flooding in Nebraska has put the Cooper Nuclear Power Plant at risk, but it looks like the water crested below the elevation of the plant — 18 inches below. Why? Because "several levees in northern Missouri failed to hold back the surging waterway." Kinda lucky the levee system didn't work, huh?

The plant is protected from the flood waters by an earthen berm and "an 8-foot rubber wall outside the reactor building." That sounds safe, doesn't it? What could happen to a pile of dirt and a wall made of rubber?

But there's more to the story. There was a fire at the plant a few weeks earlier, meaning it "briefly lost the ability to cool a pool of used nuclear fuel." Of course, that was before the flooding — whew, that was lucky! — and anyway, the flood water didn't end up sloshing around the plant — whew, that was lucky too! — and, purely by chance, the plant was shut down for refueling — whew, lucky again! I guess it's better to be lucky than prepared. Right? But during the outage, the FAA banned airplanes from flying within two miles of the plant. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

That old spiritual line, "No more water, the fire next time," didn't account for floods and nuclear fuel. Thanks to a combination of modern technology and monumental hubris, now we can get water and fire at the same time.