NEI Nuclear Notes

D.C., rejoice! Season 2 of "House of Cards" is almost here. If you haven’t seen the first season, spend your snow day binge-watching because tomorrow we get the next chapter in this thrilling political drama. The award-winning series —centered on Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood, House Majority Whip and ultimate political schemer—is filled with nuanced characters, excellent performances and unexpected plot twists. Want an even better reason to watch? Nuclear energy gets some time to shine. Energy is touched upon peripherally throughout the series, and by season's end, the plot hits upon the nation’s energy supply and nuclear’s role in it. For those wanting a quick recap of how nuclear energy ties in during season 1, read on. [Spoilers ahead] In the penultimate episode, Underwood visits billionaire Raymond Tusk to vet him as a possible replacement for Vice President. Tusk, an influential friend of the President, is a big investor in nuclear power: Underwood: Y...

Those of us on the east coast have yet another major event to remember – a 5.8 earthquake that shook virtually the entire east coast. No one who doesn’t come from the west is used to such an event, so the level of surprise and mystified reaction was considerable. We won’t know for awhile if there was substantial damage or casualties. Let’s hope for little of the former and none of the latter. But we do know something about the nuclear facilities. Dominion Virginia Power shut down its two North Anna reactors  as a result of the earthquake, according to the  the company. The earthquake was felt at the North Anna Power Station and the reactor operators, following procedures, shut down the reactors," said company spokesman Jim Norvelle. "It was a manual shutdown." The plant declared an alert, the second lowest level of emergency declaration, a commission spokesman said. About what you’d expect. Virginia was at the epicenter of the quake. Domini...

An editorial from The Herald Times Reporter in Wisconsin takes a reasonably concerned stance: Sara Cassidy of the Point Beach plant said the facility's design and maintenance are based on the worst-case seismic scenario for the plant's location. And Mark Kanz of the Kewaunee nuclear plant said its owner, Dominion Resources , would review all of its safety systems. They all are comforting, albeit predictable, statements. Comforting, we hope, predictable, maybe, true, yes. In this case, however, we put more stock in the past than in what might happen in a future impossible to predict. The Point Beach and Kewaunee facilities have, for the most part, had clean safety records since going online in the 1970s. There have been occasional glitches, but they were thoroughly examined by the NRC and corrective measures were taken. None of the instances rose to the level of seriously compromising public safety. We can be thankful that current and previous mana...

The video below on blogging is something you may enjoy apart from our usual nuclear energy discussions. A museum dedicated to the news, the Newseum , is set to open April 11 in Washington DC. The video discusses the section in the Newseum created specifically about blogging and how bloggers (you) have played an important role in the media. Enjoy!