The #Trump Administration exempts new #nuclear reactors from #environmental review

Geoff Brumfiel, February 2, 20263:09 PM ET

"The Trump Administration has created an exclusion for new experimental reactors being built at sites around the U.S. from a major environmental law. The law would have required them to disclose how their construction and operation might harm the environment, and it also typically required a written, public assessment of the possible consequences of a #NuclearAccident.

"The exclusion announcement comes just days after NPR revealed officials at the Department of Energy had secretly rewritten environmental, safety and security rules to make it easier for the reactors to be built.

"The Department of Energy announced the change Monday in a notice in the Federal Register. It said the department would begin excluding advanced nuclear reactors from the #NationalEnvironmentalPolicyAct. The act requires federal agencies to consider the environment when undertaking new projects and programs.

"The law also requires extensive reporting on how proposed programs might impact local ecosystems. That documentation, known as an #EnvironmentalImpactStatement, and a second lesser type of analysis, known as an #EnvironmentalAssessment, provide an opportunity for the public to review and comment on potential projects in their community."

Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/02/nx-s1-5696525/trump-nuclear-safety-regulations-environmental-review

#NoNukes #NoNewNukes #NuclearPlants #USPol #PublicReview #Secrecy #NuclearSafety #NuclearPollution #EnvironmentalImpact
#NoNukesWithoutConsent #EnvironmentalLaw #TrumpAdministration #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

The Rise and Fall of #NuScale: a nuclear cautionary tale

Kelly Campbell
October 29, 2024

"A decade ago, NuScale, the Oregon-based small modular nuclear company born at Oregon State University, was on a roll. Promising a new era of nuclear reactors that were cheaper, easier to build and safer, their Star Wars-inspired artist renditions of a yet to be built reactor gleamed like a magic bullet.

"As of last year, NuScale was the furthest along of any reactor design in obtaining Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing and was planning to build the first small modular nuclear reactor in the United States. Its plan was to build it in Idaho to serve energy to a consortium of small public utility districts in Utah and elsewhere, known as #UAMPS.

"This home-grown Oregon company was lauded in local and national media. According to project backers, a high-tech solution to climate change was on the horizon, and an Oregon company was leading the way. It seemed almost too good to be true.

"And it was.

"Turns out, NuScale was a #HouseOfCards. The UAMPS project’s price tag more than doubled and the timeline was pushed back repeatedly until it was seven years behind schedule. Finally, UAMPS saw the writing on the wall and wisely backed out in November, 2023.

"After losing their customer, NuScale’s stock plunged, it laid off nearly a third of its workforce, and it was sued by its investors and investigated for investor fraud. Then its CEO sold off most of his stock shares.

"NuScale’s project is the latest in a long line of failed nuclear fantasies.

"Why should you care? A different nuclear company, #XEnergy, now in partnership with #AmazonCorp, wants to build and operate small modular #nuclear reactors [#SMRs] near the #ColumbiaRiver, 250 miles upriver from #PortlandOR. #BillGates’s darling, the #Natrium reactor in #Wyoming is also plowing ahead. Both proposals are raking in the Inflation Reduction Act and other taxpayer funded subsidies. The danger: Money and time wasted on these #FalseSolutions to the #ClimateCrisis divert public resources from #renewables, #EnergyEfficiency and other faster, more cost-efficient and safer ways to address the climate crisis.

"A recent study from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis concluded that small modular nuclear reactors are still too expensive, too slow to build and too risky to respond to the climate crisis.

"While the nuclear industry tries to pass itself off as 'clean,' it is an extremely dirty technology, beginning with #UraniumMining and #UraniumMilling which decimates #IndigenousLands. Small modular nuclear reactors produce two to thirty times the radioactive waste of older nuclear designs, waste for which we have no safe, long-term disposal site. Any community that hosts a nuclear reactor will likely be saddled with its radioactive waste – forever. This harm falls disproportionately on #Indigenous and #LowIncome communities.

:For those of us downriver, X-Energy’s plans to build at the Hanford Nuclear Site on the Columbia flies in the face of reason, as it would add more nuclear waste to the country’s largest nuclear cleanup site.

"In #Oregon, we have a state moratorium on building nuclear reactors until there is a vote of the people and a national waste repository. Every few years, the nuclear industry attempts to overturn this law at the Oregon Legislature, but so far it has been unsuccessful. This August, Umatilla County Commissioners announced they’ll attempt another legislative effort to overturn the moratorium. Keeping this moratorium is wise, given the dangerous distraction posed by the false solution of small modular nuclear reactors. Let’s learn from the NuScale debacle and keep our focus on a just transition to a clean energy future–one in which nuclear power clearly has no place."

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/10/29/the-rise-and-fall-of-nuscale-a-nuclear-cautionary-tale/

#EnvironmentalRacism #HoltecLies
#NuclearLies #TEPCOLied
#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #Hanford #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

Five Things the “#NuclearBros” Don’t Want You to Know About #SmallModularReactors #SMRs

by #EdwinLyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists (#UCS)
April 30, 2024

"Even casual followers of energy and climate issues have probably heard about the alleged wonders of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). This is due in no small part to the 'nuclear bros': an active and seemingly tireless group of #NuclearPower advocates [#Trolls] who dominate social media discussions on energy by promoting SMRs and other 'advanced' #nuclear technologies as the only real solution for the #ClimateCrisis.

"But as I showed in my 2013 and 2021 reports, the hype surrounding SMRs is way overblown, and my conclusions remain valid today.

"Unfortunately, much of this SMR happy talk is rooted in #misinformation, which always brings me back to the same question: If the nuclear bros have such a great SMR story to tell, why do they have to exaggerate so much?

What are SMRs?

"SMRs are nuclear reactors that are 'small' (defined as 300 megawatts of electrical power or less), can be largely assembled in a centralized facility, and would be installed in a modular fashion at power generation sites. Some proposed SMRs are so tiny (20 megawatts or less) that they are called 'micro' reactors. SMRs are distinct from today’s conventional nuclear plants, which are typically around 1,000 megawatts and were largely custom-built. Some SMR designs, such as #NuScale, are modified versions of operating water-cooled reactors, while others are radically different designs that use coolants other than water, such as liquid sodium, helium gas, or even molten salts.

"To date, however, theoretical interest in SMRs has not translated into many actual reactor orders. The only SMR currently under construction is in China. And in the United States, only one company—#TerraPower, founded by Microsoft’s Bill Gates — has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a permit to build a power reactor (but at 345 megawatts, it technically isn’t even an SMR).

"The #NuclearIndustry has pinned its hopes on SMRs primarily because some recent large reactor projects, including #Vogtle units 3 and 4 in the state of #GeorgiaUSA, have taken far longer to build and cost far more than originally projected. The failure of these projects to come in on time and under budget undermines arguments that modern nuclear power plants can overcome the problems that have plagued the nuclear industry in the past.

"Developers in the industry and the US Department of Energy say that SMRs can be less costly and quicker to build than large reactors and that their modular nature makes it easier to balance power supply and demand. They also argue that reactors in a variety of sizes would be useful for a range of applications beyond grid-scale electrical power, including providing process heat to industrial plants and power to #DataCenters, #cryptocurrency mining operations, petrochemical production, and even electrical vehicle [#EV] charging stations.

"Here are five facts about SMRs that the nuclear industry and the 'nuclear bros' who push its message don’t want you, the public, to know."

Read more:
https://blog.ucs.org/edwin-lyman/five-things-the-nuclear-bros-dont-want-you-to-know-about-small-modular-reactors/

#HoltecLies #NuclearPower #NuclearLies #TEPCOLied #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

Remember that time when #Japan wanted everyone to think radiation was safe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pd5HfmmTZo

#Plutokun #NoNukes #DrinkUp
#Propaganda #NuclearIndustry
#TEPCOLies #HoltecLies #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

#FukushimaNuclearPlant clean-up faces yet another delay

Story by Mari Yamaguchi, July 29, 2025

"The full-scale removal of melted nuclear fuel from the #tsunami-wrecked #FukushimaDaiichi power plant has been delayed by several years, with the operator now targeting 2037 or later for the crucial operation.

"Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (#TEPCO) announced the setback on Tuesday, underscoring the immense challenges still facing the site.

"TEPCO stated that 12 to 15 years of preparation are required before commencing full-scale debris removal at the No. 3 reactor, involving radiation reduction and facility construction.

"An estimated 880 tons of melted nuclear fuel and structural debris remain within the three reactors that suffered meltdowns following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

"This latest delay further jeopardises the Japanese government and TEPCO's existing 2051 target for decommissioning the plant.

"A test retrieval of a small fuel sample in November was already three years behind schedule, with some experts suggesting the entire #decommissioning process could extend beyond a century.

"TEPCO said it plans to stick to the current completion target of 2051.

" 'Realistically, we are aware of the difficulty (to achieve the target) but we will not drop the goal just yet, as we still don't have a clear work schedule after the full-scale removal begins,' said Akira Ono, chief decommissioning officer at TEPCO.

"Ono said TEPCO plans to examine preparation work necessary at the two other reactors within the next couple of years ahead of full-scale melted fuel retrieval.

"After small missions by robots [that were fried by radiation] to gather samples, experts will determine a larger-scale method for removing melted fuel, first at the No. 3 reactor.

"In May, Japan announced plans to use slightly radioactive soil, stored near Fukushima nuclear plant, for flower beds outside Prime Minister #ShigeruIshiba’s office. [Maybe put more waste there as well! Useless politicians! Who have access to #PrussianBlue pills which remove #Cesium137 from one's body!]

"The move is intended to demonstrate the safety of reusing soil that was removed from Fukushima prefecture during decontamination efforts following the 2011 nuclear disaster. Officials say that some of the soil has now reached levels deemed safe for reuse." [Using faulty dosimeters, I'll wager!]

https://apnews.com/article/japan-fukushima-nuclear-plant-decommissioning-meltdown-fd41d18eac406d7ffc7afb2785f1fa63

#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #TEPCOLies #RethinkNotRestart #FukushimaIsntOver
#NuclearPowerPlants #NuclearWaste #NuclearPowerNoThanks #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

Paper: #ClimateChange: Assessment of the Vulnerability of #NuclearPowerPlants and Approaches for their Adaptation

Adobe Acrobat PDF Document - on 6/2/25 at 12:01 PM

"Climate change will create specific risks and challenges for nuclear power plants and the electricity system as a whole. #ExtremeWeather events caused by climate change – such as #floods, #storms, #HeatWaves and #droughts – have already affected the operation of #NuclearPower plants. Any increase in the temperature of the water used to cool nuclear power plants can also lead to reductions in their power output due to decreasing thermal efficiency.

"This report sets out the adaptation strategies that can be effectively implemented to improve the resilience of existing plants as well as any new installations. The costs of adaptation to climate change can vary significantly depending on the type of reactor, the climate change issues affecting them, as well as the applicable regulations and standards. However, while these adaptation costs can, in some cases, be significant, the costs of inaction – both directly at the plant level and indirectly for the electricity system – are likely to be even higher."

https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_61802/climate-change-assessment-of-the-vulnerability-of-nuclear-power-plants-and-approaches-for-their-adaptation?details=true

#RethinkNotRestart #NoNukesForAI #NuclearPower #NuclearWaste #CostOverruns #NoNukes #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

#NuclearPower ALWAYS costs more than the estimates!

"She added: 'It is astounding that it is only now, as contracts are being signed, that the government has confessed that #SizewellC's cost has almost doubled to an eye watering £38bn - a figure that will only go up.'"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cev03wer0p2o

#TemporaryJobs #PermamentWaste #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #WaterIsLife #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies #NuclearPowerNoThanks

#Japan's #Fukushima #nuclear wastewater 'pose major #environmental, #HumanRights risks' - UN experts

20 May 2025

"The United Nations (UN) human rights experts have written to the Japanese government to express their concerns about the release of more than one million metric tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the #PacificOcean.

"In August 2023, Japan began discharging wastewaster from about 1000 storage tanks of contaminated water collected after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that caused the meltdown of its Fukushima nuclear plant.

"In the formal communication, available publicly, UN Human Rights Council special rappoteurs addressed the the management of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) by the Japan government and TEPCO (Tokio Electric Power), and the ongoing discharge of such waters into the Pacific Ocean.

"They said 'we are alarmed that the implementation of contaminated water release operations of into the ocean may pose major environmental and human rights risks, exposing people, especially children, to threats of further contamination in Japan and beyond.'

" 'We wish to raise our concern about the allegations of the failure to assess the consequences on health of the release of wastewater against the best available scientific evidence,' the special rappoteurs write.

" 'Against this backdrop, we would like to highlight that the threats to the enjoyment of the right to adequate food do not concern only local people within the borders of Japan.

" 'Given the migratory nature of fish, their contamination represents a risk also for people living beyond the Japanese borders, including Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Ocean which, according to their culture and traditions, mainly rely on seafood as their primary livelihood.'

"The letter follows a complaint submitted by Ocean Vision Legal in August 2023 on behalf of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (#PANG) and endorsed by over 50 civil society groups in the Pacific and beyond.

"In a statement on Tuesday, PANG hailed it as "a landmark move for #OceanJustice and #HumanRights'.

"The organisation said that the destructive legacy of nuclear #contamination through #NuclearTesting is still strongly felt across the region.

"It said this legacy is marked by severe health impacts across generations and the ongoing failure to properly clean up test sites, which continue to contaminate the islands and waterways that Pacific peoples depend on.

" 'As Pacific groups, we remain disappointed in the Japanese Government and TEPCO's shameless disregard of the calls by numerous Pacific leaders and civil society groups to hold off on any further release,' PANG's coordinator Joey Tau said.

" 'Their ignorance constitutes a brazen threat to Pacific peoples' livelihoods, safety, health and well-being, and the sovereignty of Pacific nations,' he added.

"Japan has consistently maintained that the release is safe.

"The UN human rights experts have asked for further information from Japan, including on the allegations raised, and on how the Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted according to the best available scientific evidence.

"This communication sends a clear message: Ocean issues must be understood as human rights issues, requiring precautionary and informed action aligned with international environmental law to safeguard both people and the marine environment.

"#OceanVisionLegal founder and CEO Anna von Rebay said while the communication is not legally binding, it is a crucial milestone.

" 'It informs the interpretation of human rights and environmental law in response to contemporary threats, contributing to the development of customary international law and strengthens accountability for any actor harming the Ocean,' she said.

" 'Ultimately, it paves the way towards a future where the Ocean's health is fully recognised as fundamental to human dignity, justice, and intergenerational equity.' "

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/561566/japan-s-fukushima-nuclear-wastewater-pose-major-environmental-human-rights-risks-un-experts

#OceansAreLife #WaterIsLife #Radiation #TEPCOLies #NoFukushimaDumping #FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #NoDumping #Tritium #PacificOcean #WaterIsLife #NoNukes #NoNewNukes #FukushimaDaiichi #Fukushima #ALPS #RadioactiveContamination #HormesisIsBullShit #Bioaccumulation #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

Experts warn #Trump’s #nuclear blitz could trigger ‘Next #ThreeMileIsland'

by Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams
May 24, 2025

"U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed a series of executive orders that will overhaul the independent federal agency that regulates the nation's nuclear power plants in order to speed the construction of new fissile reactors—a move that experts warned will increase safety risks.

"According to a White House statement, Trump's directives 'will usher in a nuclear energy renaissance,' in part by allowing Department of Energy laboratories to conduct nuclear reactor design testing, green-lighting reactor construction on federal lands, and lifting #RegulatoryBarriers 'by requiring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (#NRC) to issue timely licensing decisions."

"The Trump administration is seeking to shorten the yearslong NRC process of approving new licenses for nuclear power plants and reactors to within 18 months.

"White House Office of Science and Technology Director Michael Kratsios said Friday that 'over the last 30 years, we stopped building nuclear reactors in America—that ends now.'

" 'We are restoring a strong American nuclear industrial base, rebuilding a secure and sovereign domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, and leading the world towards a future fueled by American nuclear energy,' he added. [And radioactive waste!!!]

"However, the Union of Concerned Scientists (#UCS) warned that the executive orders will result in 'all but nullifying' the NRC's regulatory process, 'undermining the independent federal agency's ability to develop and enforce #safety and #security requirements for commercial nuclear facilities.'

" 'This push by the Trump administration to usurp much of the agency's autonomy as they seek to fast-track the construction of nuclear plants will weaken critical, independent #oversight of the U.S. nuclear industry and poses significant safety and security risks to the public,' UCS added.

"#EdwinLyman, director of nuclear power safety at the UCS, said, 'Simply put, the U.S. nuclear industry will fail if safety is not made a priority.'

" 'By fatally compromising the independence and integrity of the NRC, and by encouraging pathways for nuclear deployment that bypass the regulator entirely, the Trump administration is virtually guaranteeing that this country will see a serious accident or other #radiological release that will affect the health, safety, and livelihoods of millions,' Lyman added. 'Such a disaster will destroy public trust in #NuclearPower and cause other nations to reject U.S. #nuclear technology for decades to come.'

"Friday's executive orders follow reporting earlier this month by NPR that revealed the Trump administration has tightened control over the NRC, in part by compelling the agency to send proposed reactor safety rules to the White House for review and possible editing.

"#AllisonMacfarlane, who was nominated to head the NRC during the Obama administration, called the move 'the end of independence of the agency.'

" 'If you aren't independent of political and industry influence, then you are at risk of an accident,' Macfarlane warned.

"On the first day of his second term, Trump also signed executive orders declaring a dubious 'national energy emergency' and directing federal agencies to find ways to reduce regulatory roadblocks to 'unleashing American energy, including by boosting #FossilFuels and nuclear power.

"The rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence systems is creating a tremendous need for energy that proponents say can be met by nuclear power. The Three Mile Island nuclear plant—the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history—is being revived with funding from #Microsoft, while #Google parent company #Alphabet, online retail giant #Amazon, and #Facebook owner #Meta are among the competitors also investing in nuclear energy.

" 'Do we really want to create more #RadioactiveWaste to power the often dubious and questionable uses of #AI?' #JohannaNeumann, Environment America Research & Policy Center's senior director of the Campaign for 100% #RenewableEnergy, asked in December.

" '#BigTech should recommit to solutions that not only work but pose less risk to our #environment and #health,' Neumann added."

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-nuclear-2672196220/

#RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #BigTech #EnvironmentalRacism #UraniumMining #NuclearWaste #TEPCOLies #TrumpLies
#HoltecLies #WaterIsLife #NuclearPowerPlants #Datacenters #AIPollution #MicrosoftSucks #TrumpSucks #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree #CancerRates #Downwinders #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies