2010 June « nuclear-news

Forgotten victims of uranium mining

Shades of hope for uranium’s forgotten victims — The Daily Climate, by Nathan Rice, 28 June 2010 “………. as the uranium industry revives in the West, health problems from the last boom still plague communities, and victims are still fighting for recognition…… Continue reading →

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radioactive, reactors, uranium | 1 Comment

Nuclear bomb for Iran not viable for several years

enriching the uranium to bomb grade would take another year, and it would take at least another year for them “to develop the kind of weapon delivery system in order to make that viable……counterproliferation efforts could further delay the Iranians’s efforts to put together a bomb for years further, if they make a final decision to do so.

New Iran Nuke NIE Still Not Ready, Newsweek, by Mark Hosenball June 28, 2010 In an ABC News interview Sunday, CIA Director Leon Panetta alluded to a fact that was reported by NEWSWEEK months ago: Continue reading →

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Nuclear company AREVA venturing into renewables

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

(Can we trust AREVA to really promote renewable energy? – Christina Macpherson)

Areva’s strength is nuclear power–it is the world’s biggest nuclear company–but it is venturing into other carbon-free generation technologies.

Solar Thermal or Solar Photovoltaic? Areva Says ‘Both!’ – Forbes.com, 26 June 2010, Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive of the French nuclear giant Areva, hinted last week during a meeting in Forbes offices that Areva is developing a hybrid solar power plant concept that combines a solar thermal system with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Continue reading →

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, spinbuster | antinuclear, AREVA, climate change, France, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors, renewable energy, solar, wind | Leave a comment

French govt’s nuclear veterans’ cancer compensation inadequate

Veterans unhappy with French government’s compensation for nuclear tests, Google hosted news, By The Associated Press (CP) 29 June 2010, ARCUEIL, France — Veterans and workers who fell ill after France’s nuclear tests in Algeria and the South Pacific have said the government’s measures to compensate victims did not go far enough…..victims’ associations said Monday the government has ruled out compensating many people who should qualify. Continue reading →

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, weapons and war | antinuclear, cancer, France, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Water shortage may be the finish of the nuclear industry

Water Scarcity: Nuclear Power’s Achilles’ Heel, THE HUFFINGTON POST Kyle Rabin: June 28, 2010, Scientists, researchers and other experts warn that the United States is entering an era of water scarcity. Back in 2003, the US General Accounting Office (now known as the US Government Accountability Office or GAO) projected that 36 states, under normal conditions, could face water shortages by 2013. However, those shortages were realized in 2008 — five years sooner than predicted. Current forecasts suggest that climate change will only exacerbate the challenges of managing and protecting water resources. Continue reading →

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, climate change, nuclear technology, water | Leave a comment

nternational Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND)

Japan – Fifth Meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) ISRIA 29 June 2010, 1. The fifth and final meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, co-chaired by the Hon. Yoriko Kawaguchi, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and the Hon. Gareth Evans AO, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, will be held in Vienna, Austria from July 3 (Sat) to 4 (Sun)……..

Japan – Fifth Meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND)

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, disarmament, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

How can nuclear energy go ahead, with no waste disposal solution?

The Feds Must Address Nuclear Waste Storage Problem By STUART PRICE | TIMES-DISPATCH June 27, 2010 Richmond, Va.

Last January, President Obama announced that the Department of Energy was creating a new group, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, to review the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and challenge national practices in place for more than 50 years.

One of the commission’s opportunities will be to determine if spent nuclear fuel rod assemblies can be safely recycled, thereby reducing the final quantity of waste requiring disposal. The commission’s challenges will include defining permanent nuclear waste solutions and selecting final repository sites. In July 2010, a commission subcommittee on waste disposal will meet in Washington. The commission’s final report is expected in January 2012.

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear, uranium, workers need health compensation

the health impacts on families of uranium workers and residents of uranium-development communities.

Senators want uranium compensation on fast track, GJSentinel.com, June 26, 2010 Colorado’s two U.S. senators are seeking a hearing on a bill that would expand the compensation program for the nation’s nuclear-weapons industry workers. Continue reading →

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Land grab from Australian Aboriginals for the nuclear industry

Uranium mining has to go, along with the racist government policies used to justify and continue the theft of Aboriginal land.

Youth candidates to witness NT intervention , Zane Alcorn, candidate for Newcastle , Green Left Weekly, 26 June 2010, We need to stand behind the first people of this country and fight for their land and cultural rights. The government’s so-called concern for Aboriginal welfare and living conditions is nothing but a cloak for a blatant land grab.

The uranium-rich land of central Australia is coveted by government and private mining corporations alike. Aboriginal land rights are a direct threat to this potential source of huge wealth. Continue reading →

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, indigenous issues | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | 1 Comment

Vietnam’s nuclear plans unlikely to succeed

A recent World Bank study found Vietnam could produce more than 500 gigawatts of electricity from land-based and off-shore wind farms, 10 times the country’s expected national demand in 2020.

Vietnam’s unnecessary nuclear ‘renaissance’ Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – June 23, 2010 The news just in from Vietnam is that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the construction of eight new nuclear power plants in the country. Each plant will feature ‘at least’ four reactors and all will be operational by 2030.

So, that’s ‘at least’ 32 reactors built within the next 20 years. Good luck with that, Mr Dung, because you’re really going to need it. Continue reading →

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors, renewable energy, uranium, wind | Leave a comment

Short refresher on ionising radiation and health

Radiation Poisoning, Sickness (Radioactivity) Symptoms | Health Articles, 28 June 2010, Radiation can simply be divided into ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Radioactive materials are a source of ionizing radiation because they emit particles (particulate radiation) and waves that can penetrate certain substances. There are three types of ionizing radiation that is of concern in terms of a person’s health : Continue reading →

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Australia’s new Prime Minister will fight for a carbon tax

Gillard to fight for carbon tax, ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Jun 27, 2010 Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she wants Australia to have a carbon tax and is prepared to fight for it.
Ms Gillard told the Nine Network this morning she had doubts about the emissions trading scheme because there was no lasting and deep community consensus for it….
Ms Gillard says she will work to get a price on carbon.”I believe in climate change. I believe it’s caused by human activity and I believe we have an obligation to act,” she said.

Gillard to fight for carbon tax – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, climate change | AUSTRALIA, climate change, global warming | Leave a comment

Nuclear resuscitation is struggling in France, Finland, England

Generation III nuclear reactors: late again, Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – June 25, 2010T he continuing and farcical story of the state of the art European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) being built by AREVA at Olkiluoto in Finland. The many, many diverse delays incompetence in the project have led to it being (at the time of writing) four years behind schedule and 2.3 billion euros over-budget. Continue reading →

June 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | AREVA, AUSTRALIA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium, Westinghouse | Leave a comment

Dangerous idea: Plutonium powered nuclear facilities planned for space

the Obama administration would turn to nuclear power in space — and on Earth.
We have been seeing — for two months now — the damage of technology run amok in the Gulf of Mexico. Consider the consequences of dangerous, expensive, unnecessary nuclear-powered technology running amok above our heads

Obama Seeks to Revive Space Nuclear Power, Karl Grossman, June 25, 2010 Despite its huge dangers, the Obama administration is seeking to revive the use of nuclear power in space. It wants the U.S. to produce the plutonium isotope that has been used for electric generation in space and is also looking to build nuclear-propelled rockets for missions to Mars.. Continue reading →

June 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | technology, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Not hard to get hold of Highly Enriched Uranium, especially in Russia

What’s It Take to Build a Nuclear Weapon? | TakePart by Adam Trunell, 25 June 2010, The Nuclear Material “………The most important ingredient in a nuclear bomb is the nuclear stuff itself, which is also the hardest to get. No way can you find nuclear material like plutonium or highly enriched uranium stockpiled in a tool shed behind some half-hearted padlock. Right? Wrong.

Every nuclear-powered nation on the planet has nuclear material, and not all of it’s under lock and key. Civilian stockpiles in Europe and Japan aren’t staffed by armed guards, nor are most nuclear research reactors on U.S. college campuses.But if you’re looking for a truly easy score, try Russia. Continue reading →

June 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | antinuclear, depleted, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment