Atlanta, U.S.A. — Testing has begun on a major component in the construction of two new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle 3 and 4 – a 560-foot tall heavy lift derrick, one of the biggest cranes in the world.

The derrick, which will be used to move large pieces at the site of the first new nuclear units built in the United States in 30 years, has the capacity to move the equivalent of five 747 jets across the distance of more than three-and-a-half football fields in a single lift.

In addition, major components will begin arriving to the site later this year and early 2013, the first of which will be the reactor vessel for Unit 3. The Unit 3 condensers have arrived from South Korea, where they were manufactured. Unit 3 is scheduled to go online in 2016, and Unit 4 will follow in 2017.

Also at the site, significant work has been done on turbine islands, cooling towers and nuclear islands. Over the next several months, progress will continue to be made in the nuclear island, turbine building and module assemblies.

“The project is progressing extremely well, especially when compared to other large-scale infrastructure projects worldwide,” said Joseph A. “Buzz” Miller, executive vice president of Nuclear Development for Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear. “The Vogtle 3 and 4 project provides at least $2.2 billion more value to customers than the next best available technology, according to Georgia Public Service Commission staff.”

The construction of Vogtle 3 and 4 is the largest job-producing project in Georgia, employing approximately 5000 people during peak construction and creating 800 permanent jobs when the plant begins operating. Once complete, the new units will produce enough electricity to power 500,000 Georgia homes and businesses.

Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company, is overseeing construction and will operate the two new 1,100-megawatt AP1000 units for Georgia Power and co-owners Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities. Georgia Power owns 45.7 percent of the new units, with a certified cost of $6.1 billion.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility with rates below the national average. Georgia Power serves 2.4 million customers in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties.

Image Courtesy of  spirit of america / Shutterstock.com

The article Construction of New Nuclear Units in Georgia in Progress appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

After all the boycott attempts made by the Italian government and especially by the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his party, the 57% of Italian people went to vote for the four referendums last Sunday and Monday.

More than 29 millions of Italians went to the polls and 95% of them said no to the return to nuclear energy, no to privatization of public water and no to parliamentary immunity law.

These results are very important both for the future of the country and for the political sign given by the electors to the government. Italian people rejected all the programs and the laws introduced by Berlusconi and his parliamentary majority, giving another slap in the face to the Prime Minister and the government just after the heavy defeat of the local elections of May.

In spite of the numerous abstention requests made by Berlusconi and his party, the electors – also the right-wing ones – expressed their democratic will on the four fundamental questions of the referendum, ruining the government’s plans.

The need of change and the frustration of the Italian people were stronger than the boycott campaign carried out by the government by any means. The appeals to the courts for the referendums to be declared invalid and illegal and the sabotage of the television information turned out completely vain and useless.

Italians sent another strong signal to Berlusconi and the ruling class. It is clear that the distance between people and government is getting wider every day, and that the country has the will to change and want to express its disapproval of the disastrous policy of the government.

Also from a political perspective the results of the referendums are very important. The right-wing governmental coalition seems to be giving way after the defeats suffered in the last weeks. Northern League – the second party of the majority – expressed its discontent in regard to Berlusconi’s policy and his party’s line. Moreover, many Northern League exponents have publicly opposed Berlusconi’s program in occasion of the referendums’ campaign.

It remains to be seen which will be the choices of the government in the matter of energy, the country needs an energy plan but we don’t know yet what will be chosen as “substitute” to Berlusconi’s dearly beloved nuclear plants.

Anyway, for the second time in 24 years, Italy says no to nuclear energy – the first referendum had been held in 1987 – and for at least the next five years the country won’t start any atomic plan.

About the questions on privatization of water, Italians decided to keep the service public as it has been until now, confirming the value of water as a fundamental public good.

The other question was about legitimate impediment law which, if not rejected by electors, would have warranted the parliamentary immunity to the Prime Minister and the other ministers, saving Berlusconi from his numerous trials – four at the moment.

Thus, a terrible blow for the Premier and his government, and a strong signal by the people that there is a need for democracy and change.

The article Referendum in Italy, a Need of Change and Democracy appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Unusually intense radioactivity has been measured in the ocean outside of the nuclear plant Fukushima Daiichi. The test was made 330 m from the plant and found the level of radioactive iodine to be 3.355 times over the normal level.

However, a range of experts as well as the Japanese government are expecting that the ocean currents will spread out the particles, diluting the concentration so much that it will not present a risk to fish and other maritime life. Still, the numbers have been the cause of some concern to people who have bought or consumed fish from the area. In Hong Kong, restaurants check the sea food for radioactivity before serving it while some consumers in Denmark have invested in Geiger counters to make sure their food is clean. However, despite reports that European countries have introduced testing of Japanese food products, experts have said that Europe should generally not be concerned.

In the meantime, while the level of radioactivity in the area around Fukushima is still on the rise, intensive work is done to isolate the source. Previous measurements have suggested that the activity can be traced to the second reactor. The fear is that the fuel source at the core of the reactor is partly destroyed.

The last few days had otherwise shown a decrease in nuclear exposure in the rest of Japan – in the period between March 25-29, no residue of radioactive iodine was found in for example broccoli, spinach and milk. There had also previously been a ban against letting infants drink tap water which was effective in 21 places across four prefectures. Now the ban is only effective in four places – all limited to the Fukushima-prefecture.

The situation at Fukushima Daiichi is still delicate. A few weeks back, the owner of the plant, Tepco, told a press conference that four of the reactors at the plant are so damaged that they need to be taken out and disposed off. The fourth and fifth reactor can still be used but it is unclear if Tepco is planning to actually do so. The owner also promised at the press meeting to improve the conditions of the around 580 workers still working at the plant. A security inspection had revealed that the workers have been sleeping on lead mats in stairways, conference rooms and corridors to protect them against the massive radioactivity in the area. It was also made public that the men only received two meals per day – sometimes consisting of a pack of crackers and a juice box for breakfast.

The company representative also explained that the president of Tepco, which has been highly unpopular and harshly criticized since the earthquake, was recently hospitalized with symptoms of stress and heightened blood pressure. The 71-year-old Masataka Shimuzu has not shown himself in public since March 13.

Soon after the press conference, the government of Japan asked of all the remaining nuclear power plants to adopt new security procedures immediately. As an example, new rules for the emergency supply of cooling systems have now been put into force while it has become a requirement that measures for catastrophe management has to be available at all plants.

The article Fukushima, Japan – Ocean Shows Record-High Levels of Radioactivity appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.