Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
4/4/2014
ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT
A worker at the Fukushima Daiichi cleanup site died late last week after a trench cave-in, according to a release from the Tokyo Electric Power Company. According to TEPCO, the worker was one of a group of workers involved in the repair of foundation piles at a currently empty container storage facility, and to access the piles, a 2-meter-deep trench had been dug on the north side of the building. After the cave-in, the worker was rescued and sent to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. TEPCO will launch an investigation while a portion of the site will remain shut down until more definitive answers are known. “President Hirose has pledged a thorough inquiry into the cause of the accident, whether workers and supervisors were following appropriate safety procedures, and what steps should be taken to prevent a recurrence,” the company’s release said.
The United States and the Czech Republic agreed to increased cooperation in civilian nuclear energy matters late last week. The Research and Development (R&D) Agreement reached between the two countries would enable better research collaboration. “The Agreement enables in-depth research collaboration between both countries on next-generation reactors, advanced nuclear fuels and materials testing, advanced fuel cycle technologies, used fuel disposition and waste management technologies, and nuclear safety,” a Department of Energy release said.
IN THE INDUSTRY
CB&I Federal Services has won a new contract from the Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District for the decommissioning of an Army ship’s nuclear reactor. The contract, worth approximately $37.7 million, calls for the dismantlement of the MH-1A nuclear reactor currently installed on the STURGIS barge, which is stored at the James River Reserve Fleet at Joint Base Langley in Eustis, Va., after going through a de-fueling, decontamination, and sealing process. “The STURGIS will be relocated in September 2014 to Galveston, Texas for decommissioning,” the Corps said in a release. “After the contractor removes the residual radioactive waste materials, the remaining portions of the STURGIS barge will be transported to Brownsville, Texas for disposal or recycling as scrap using standard ship breaking methods.” Before the MH-1A reactor shut down in 1976, it generated electricity for both military and civilian use. The Corps estimates the decommissioning will take four years.
