Commissioner Paul Newman of the Arizona Corporation Commission asks Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS) owners Arizona Public Service (APS) and Salt River Project (SRP) to answer questions about nuclear safety issues at an upcoming Commission Open Meeting to be scheduled as soon as possible.
Phoenix AZ (April 23, 2011) – Arizona Corporation Commissioner Paul Newman’s letter dated March 16, 2011 asked the utilities to answer these questions, and also welcomed any comments by Commission staff and other Commissioners:
- What are the sources of back-up power for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS); how long would each system provide back-up power; please provide as much detail as possible.
- What would happen if PVNGS had a total and sudden loss of power?
- How much cooling water is stored on-site, does it require electricity or is it gravity-fed, how long would the cooling water last in case of catastrophic failure; please provide as much detail as possible.
- How much waste is stored on-site; are there spent fuel ponds that are open to the air; please provide as much detail as possible.
“I have been getting a lot of questions from constituents who are wondering about possible issues at PVNGS, and understand from a study done by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that Arizona’s nuclear power plant ranks 18th on a list that ranks over 100 nuclear power plants in the U.S. at risk of core meltdown from earthquakes. I know that APS and SRP have high safety standards but would like to hear about their concerns and plans in case they lose cooling water.”
Commissioner Newman also noted that Commission meetings are open to the public, and that the public can call in to the ACC’s listen line at 602-542-0222 or online at www.azcc.gov, and encourages the public to call his office with comments at 602-542-3682 or newman-web@azcc.gov .
Here are some interesting facts about the Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station:
•Construction began in 1976. There are three units, the last of which was completed in 1988. The total cost to build the plant was $5.9 billion.
•The Palo Verde plant is the largest nuclear energy generating facility in the United States. It is located about 50 miles west of Phoenix in Tonopah, Arizona. The facility is on about 4,000 acres. Approximately 2,500 people are employed there.
•In 2000 the Palo Verde nuclear plant generated 30.4 million megawatts of power.
•About 4 million people in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas receive power generated by the Palo Verde plant.
•Palo Verde is the only nuclear energy facility in the world that uses treated sewage effluence for cooling water.
•Palo Verde does not use fossil fuels to generate electricity. It is a zero-emissions facility.
•The reactors at Palo Verde are in an airtight, reinforced concrete structure designed to withstand the force of a jet airplane.
PHOENIX – Working together with federal and local partners, three state agencies are keeping close tabs on the radar and changing situation with the air currents from Japan . There is a plume coming toward the southwestern U.S. coast from Japan . At this time, the amount of radiation in the plume is not much different than people experience on a cross-country flight.
The Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency (ARRA), the Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) and the Department of Health Services (ADHS) issued a statement today emphasizing that people in Arizona are safe from dangerous radiation and need to be aware of potential dangers of taking potassium iodide when there is no danger.
“Between the state and federal agencies monitoring the situation, we are confident that there is no danger to the people today,” said Will Humble, ADHS Director. “We are worried that people are taking medication that they don’t need and could create problems for themselves.”
Arizonans should not take potassium iodide as a precautionary measure:
· It is not necessary given the current circumstances in Japan ,
· It can be dangerous to people with allergies to iodine, shellfish or who have thyroid problems, and
· Taken inappropriately, it can have serious side effects including abnormal heart rhythms, nausea, vomiting, electrolyte abnormalities and bleeding.
Besides the air monitoring conducted by ARRA in Arizona, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have all stated that there is no risk expected to Arizona or its residents as a result of the situation in Japan.
For more information on the emergency in Japan , including answers to some frequently asked questions, visit the Arizona Emergency Information Network (AzEIN) website at http://www.azein.gov or email questions to azein@azdema.gov .
most assuredly I am not a nuclear expert …though I feel “we” owe a huge debt of gratitude to those Japanese employees diligently attempting to stem the radiation releases from the damaged nuclear power facilities …
… THANK YOU…
March 22 2011–Radiation from Japan is detected in Arizona today per Health Department Officials but no adverse health impact is expected or precautionary measures needed.
A letter from Dr Masaru Emoto…To All People Around the World,
Please send your prayers of love and gratitude to water at the nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan !
By the massive earthquakes of Magnitude 9 and surreal massive tsunamis, more than 10,000 people are still missing…even now… It has been 16 days already since the disaster happened. What makes it worse is that water at the reactors of Fukushima Nuclear Plants started to leak, and it’s contaminating the ocean, air and water molecule of surrounding areas.
Human wisdom has not been able to do much to solve the problem, but we are only trying to cool down the anger of radioactive materials in the reactors by discharging water to them.
Is there really nothing else to do?
I think there is. During over twenty year research of “Hado” measuring and water crystal photographic technology, I have been witnessing that water can turn positive when it receives pure vibration of human prayer no matter how far away it is.
Energy formula of Albert Einstein, E=MC2 really means that Energy = number of people and the square of people’s consciousness.
Now is the time to understand the true meaning. Let us all join the prayer ceremony as fellow citizens of the planet earth. I would like to ask all people, not just in Japan, but all around the world to please help us to find a way out the crisis of this planet!!
The prayer procedure is as follows.Please say the following phrase:
“The water of Fukushima Nuclear Plant,
we are sorry to make you suffer.
Please forgive us. We thank you, and we love you.”
Please say it aloud or in your mind. Repeat it three times as you put your hands together in a prayer position. Please offer your sincere prayer.
Thank you very much from my heart.
With love and gratitude,
Masaru Emoto
Messenger of Water
http://emotopeaceproject.blogspot.com
After a two-year review, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the operating licenses of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Arizona Public Service Co. said. The licenses for all three Palo Verde generating units will be extended 20 years beyond their original 40-year length, allowing Unit 1 to operate through 2045, Unit 2 to run through 2046 and Unit 3 to operate through 2047.
Recent equipment upgrades, including replacement of key reactor components and an ongoing overhaul of the plant’s cooling towers, have positioned Palo Verde “for continued safe and reliable operation,” APS said. A water agreement between Palo Verde’s owners and Phoenix-area cities guarantees a supply of treated effluent for cooling water to the plant through 2050, the utility said.
Palo Verde, west of Phoenix, is owned by APS, the Salt River Project and five utilities in California and New Mexico. The plant supplies about one third of the base-load power used in the state, APS said. Base-load power is the minimum power produced to meet ongoing daily needs.
Read complete article at … http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_097ab05f-72d6-5624-a675-df87122eb569.html.
Palo Verde N-plant licenses extended ….Arizona Daily Star…http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_097ab05f-72d6-5624-a675-df87122eb569.html
Interactive Map: All the World’s Nuclear Reactors …Huffington Post… David Kroodsma…http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kroodsma/interactive-map-all-the-w_b_853433.html
Submitted by: Paul Miller, Phoenix, AZ with the following comment: FAIT ACCOMPLI … ALL WITHOUT DISCLOSURE …TRANSPARENCY … JUST FOLLOW THE $$$…
Germany shuts down ALL reactors older than 30 yrs and AZ approves 60 year old reactors? Bridges don’t last that (deleted) long built in the 60’s. Ask any steamfitter how long welds in these nuclear plants last? Did Superman send Krytonite to build the Palo (Verde) reactors!!!? Nobody in government learned anything from Japan or Russia except to look away. Sorry for the poor schmucks standing watch when Palo (Verde) fails.The 2 yr oversite is a laugh. None of the Japanese scenarios were known or considered. Force a real review! 60 YEARS! STINKS OF CORRUPTION.
L.C. Williams
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_aging_nukes_part2
READ THIS: So Japan lied to its citizens about Fukushima nuclear power plant situation …Lying is SOP for America government everyday …! More lies during the Fukushima meltdown.
Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:35 PM PDT … by David Safier …http://www.blogforarizona.com/blog/2011/08/more-lies-during-the-fukushima-meltdown.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlogForArizona+%28Blog+For+Arizona%29
READ ABOUT THE…People in Namie, a town near the Fukushima power plant, fled to the north, led by their town officials. It seemed like a good idea, since winter winds tend to blow to the south. It wasn’t until two months later the town officials learned the wind was blowing toward where they fled. Bureaucrats in Tokyo knew it — they had computer models — but they kept the information to themselves, because…
http://news.yahoo.com/nuclear-plant-scare-explosives-found-sweden-130921675–abc-news-topstories.html
Titanic Ocean Liner Going Down. Piano Top Floats By, Makes Great Life Preserver! Doesn’t mean The Best Design for Life Preserver is Piano Top. ~
22 minutes ago · Like on Facebook
The paper estimates Tepco would need to pump out about 100 tonnes of water each day to prevent leakage into the ocean but that it was not clear where the water would be stored.
More than 85% of its 380,000 tonnes of storage capacity is already filled, and Tepco has acknowledged it could run out of space.
Last month Tepco reversed months of denials and acknowledged that radioactive water has been leaking into the ocean.
One of its biggest challenges is trying to contain radioactive water that cools the reactors as it mixes with some 400 tonnes of fresh groundwater pouring into the plant daily.
Tepco has been injecting a chemical into the ground to build barriers to contain the groundwater.
But the method is only effective in solidifying the ground from 1.8 meters below the surface, whereas data from test wells shows the contaminated water has risen to one metre below the surface, the Asahi newspaper said.”
Fukushima radioactive water risk rises:
http://www.rte.ie
Radioactive groundwater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has risen to levels above a barrier being built to contain it, according to Japanese media reports.
If the grid goes down, how quickly will spent fuel be uncovered/uncooled and ignite? This would change everything. It nearly happened at fukushima. We used to worry about “China syndrome” – but that’s *nothing* compared to nuclear fire burning superradioactive ash into our biosphere. I know Nuclear proponents downplay this, but that is conflict of interest.