nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry

UK’s secretive discussions on the unknown cost of new nuclear power

“Discussions are happening in smoke-filled rooms, over champagne and croissants, to establish a price that we will all pay,” said Ian Marchant, chief executive officer of the U.K.’s second-largest energy supplier SSE Plc (SSE), which dropped plans to develop reactors in
September. “There is no transparency as to what that price will be.”

“What you have is a whole bunch of people saying they know what a new reactor will cost and they don’t,” 

U.K. Seen Doubling Power Price to Guarantee New Reactor  Bloomberg News, By Kari Lundgren on July 13, 2012. “……The future of the U.K.’s nuclear industry will be decided on one number: the price the government’s willing to guarantee Electricite de France SA will get
for generating atomic power. Read more »

July 14, 2012 Posted by | people, UK | Leave a Comment

Dr Helen Caldicott’s message on nuclear power, now truer than ever

(a) “We can no longer afford to entrust our lives, and the lives and health of future generations, to politicians, bureaucrats, ‘experts’ or scientific specialists, because all too often their objectivity is compromised.

(b) “Most government officials are shockingly uninformed about the medical implications of nuclear power — and yet they daily make life-and-death decisions in regard to these issues.”

(c) Some in the medical profession are too indifferent about larger questions and they are reluctant to look beyond their immediate research and treatment responsibilities.

(d) Many doctors remain silent about the medical hazards of nuclear technology despite their firm knowledge that nuclear radiation is a certain cause of cancer and genetic diseases.

Is Helen Caldicott’s Nuclear Madness still relevant?, THE HNDU, 11 March JOHN VERGIS VILANILAM Helen Caldicott, the Australia-born physician and anti-nuclear activist of the late 1970s and early 1980s, was a practitioner of paediatrics at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston, U.S. A leading critic of nuclear technology and armament industries, she tried to conscientise the world through her almost solitary protest writings and TV and radio appearances against the dangers of nuclear technology for the environment.

In the light of Fukushima (2011), Chernobyl (1986) and Three Mile Island (1979) nuclear accidents (all of which happened after 1978) and the great concern they generated in the world during the last four decades, Caldicott’s 1978 book Nuclear Madness assumes prophetic significance.

We cannot ignore the several pieces of vital information missing from the reports of these accidents. Our treasure house of
knowledge of nuclear technology is the poorer for these omissions. But what is more puzzling is the deliberate or accidental camouflaging of scientific truths from people’s vision by well-informed people of national and international significance who ought to, and do know better.

Caldicott did not have any personal stake in taking a strong stand against nuclear technology. Such disinterested personalities are few in the 21st century, and hence this brief note to a brave doctor who took a stand in favour of universal safety. Her book is dedicated to “her children and all the children of the world.”

“As a physician, I contend that nuclear technology threatens life on our planet with extinction. All of us will be affected by radioactive contamination, unless we bring about a drastic reversal of our government’s pro-nuclear policy,” she observed in the late 1970s. Read more »

March 12, 2012 Posted by | people | Leave a Comment

Patrick Moore praises nuclear power, but the world does not believe him!

Dramatic fall in new nuclear power stations after Fukushima,   in Brussels,  and n. guardian.co.uk,  8 March 2012 The drop in construction work on new reactors may reflect waning interest in nuclear after the shutdown of the Japan reactor a year ago

The number of new nuclear power stations entering the construction phase fell dramatically last year compared with previous years, in the aftermath of the incident at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan last March.

From 2008 to 2010, construction work began on 38 reactors around the world, but in 2011-12, there were only two construction starts, according to Steve Thomas, professor of energy studies at the University of Greenwich. Read more »

March 9, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, opposition to nuclear, people | Leave a Comment

Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan’s treacherous nuclear deals with India

The Secret Treachery of A.Q. Khan, PLAYBOY, January  12, JOSHUA POLLACK “…… By now Khan has made nearly every possible claim about who bears responsibility for selling Pakistan’s centrifuge technology. He did it at the behest of the military. He acted purely on his own. The military was solely responsible. It was all done by foreigners. Khan lost many things during his ordeal, including his freedom and his credibility. But throughout, he retained one crucial secret: the identity of a fourth country, after Iran, Libya and North Korea, to which he had provided the shortcut to a nuclear weapon. Read more »

January 18, 2012 Posted by | India, Pakistan, people, Reference, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a Comment

Dr Mohamed El Baradei on nuclear power and nuclear weapons

27,000 nuclear warheads remain in the arsenals of nine countries. Strategic reliance on these weapons by these countries and their allies undoubtedly motivates others to emulate them. And of course, plans to replenish and modernize these weapons creates a pervasive sense of cynicism among many non-nuclear-weapon States — who perceive a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude.” (5)

“Why, some ask, should the nuclear-weapon States be trusted, but not others – and who is qualified to make that judgment?

Quotes about safeguards and proliferation, Friends of the Earth, Jim Green 11 Jan 2012, 

1. Quotes from former IAEA Director-General Dr Mohamed El Baradei

“The IAEA’s Illicit Trafficking Database has, in the past decade, recorded more than 650 cases that involve efforts to smuggle such [nuclear and radioactive] materials.” (1)

“Today, out of the 189 countries that are party to the NPT, 118 still do not have additional protocols in force.” (1)

“IAEA verification today operates on an annual budget of about $100 million – a budget comparable to that of a local police department. With these resources, we oversee approximately 900 nuclear facilities in 71 countries. When you consider our growing responsibilities – as well as the need to stay ahead of the game – we are clearly operating on a shoestring budget.” (1)

“… we are only as effective as we are allowed to be.” (1) Read more »

January 11, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, people, weapons and war | Leave a Comment

Attacks on NRC Chairman take attention away from nuclear safety issues

The grumbling over Jaczko is a convenient smokescreen to draw attention away from the fact that, for the first time in decades, the NRC actually has a Chairman who, in his own words, is “a very passionate person about safety” at the country’s 104 operating nuclear reactors. That shows up the other four, who, much of the time, adhere to an old culture of capitulation to the demands of the nuclear power industry, a practice which almost invariably diminishes safety…….

Congress could better spend its time looking deeper into lax safety oversight at NRC and tell its commissioners to stop favoring the nuclear industry’s financial priorities over public safety.

The Jaczko DebateNuclear Agency Squabbling Throws Smokescreen Over Safety Lapses, Counter Punch, 6 Jan 12, by LINDA PENTZ GUNTER Four of the five commissioners at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission have charged their boss, Chairman Gregory Jaczko, with “causing serious damage to this institution.” That is tough talk coming from an agency where mismanagement under previous chairmanships actually did serious damage, not only to the regulatory integrity of the institution, but to safety integrity at nuclear reactors. Read more »

January 7, 2012 Posted by | people, secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a Comment

Kim Jong Un – an unknown quantity in charge of North Korea’s nukes

Understanding the youngest man who can launch a nuclear weapon Kim was ‘dim’ and a Chicago Bulls fan to his Swiss schoolmates Gulf News, By Malcolm MoorePublished: 00:00 January 7, 2012 Shanghai: Officially aged 29, but probably only 26 or 27, he is the youngest man in history with the power to launch a nuclear weapon.
But the man who appears to have risen smoothly to become North Korea’s ”Supreme Military Commander”, the title bestowed on him on Friday and confirmed by the country’s ruling politburo on Thursday, is a worrying blank to most of the outside world…. Inside North Korea, the country’s secretive regime has begun honing propaganda messages about the new leader…. http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/understanding-the-youngest-man-who-can-launch-a-nuclear-weapon-1.962297

January 7, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, people | Leave a Comment

UK’s climate change secretary, Chris Huhne two faced on nuclear power

Huhne noted the UK has enough high-level nuclear waste to fill “three Olympic-sized swimming pools, and enough intermediate waste to fill a supertanker”. Because of the errors of the past, his department was spending £2bn a year “cleaning up” the “mess” of nuclear waste which he said would rise two thirds next year.

Chris Huhne: UK’s nuclear policy is most expensive postwar failure Climate change secretary, under pressure from fellow Lib Dems over nuclear power, says UK must learn from past mistakes   Guardian Uk 13 Oct 11, The climate change secretary, Chris Huhne, has described the UK’s nuclear policy as the “most expensive failure of postwar British policy-making” in a “crowded and highly-contested field”.

Huhne set out five tests for how power plants would be adopted in a cautious new regime, but is under pressure from his party to ensure any new-builds do not receive public subsidy – something the coalition has pledged it will not allow…..

The energy secretary’s speech was emphatically critical of the industry in the UK, Read more »

October 14, 2011 Posted by | people, politics, UK | Leave a Comment

Rudy Giuliani the face of Indian Point nuclear reactor – for money of course

Rudy Giuliani to do ads promoting safety of nuclear power plant Digital Journal, 8 Oct 11

Rudy Giuliani is about to become the face of Indian Point, a Westchester County, NY nuclear power plant. Starting next week, the former NYC Mayor will be showcased in a series of ads designed to promote Indian Point’s safety……
This high profile campaign ironically enough comes at a time where Giuliani is considering a presidential bid for 2012, as reported by Digital Journal.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/312452#ixzz1aDlRcPrm

October 8, 2011 Posted by | marketing of nuclear, people, politics | Leave a Comment

Israel prevents nuclear whistleblower Vanunu from emigrating

Israel bars nuclear whistle-blower from emigrating: media, Google News, 7 Oct 11 JERUSALEM — Israel’s supreme court on Thursday barred nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu from emigrating on the grounds he still poses a threat to state security, Israeli media reported. Vanunu, under orders to stay in Tel Aviv and not to speak to journalists, “has proved several times he can not be trusted and does not respect the letter of the law,” supreme court judges said in turning down his appeal.

The prosecution charged he posed “a real danger to the security of Israel,” while the judges stressed the 56-year-old former nuclear technician had contacts with unspecified “foreign elements.”

Vanunu served 18 years behind bars for disclosing the inner workings of Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant to Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper in 1986. He was released in 2004 but banned from travel or contact with foreigners without prior permission. He has since been sanctioned more than 20 times for breaking the rules.

Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, with between 100 and 300 warheads, but it has a policy of neither confirming nor denying that.

The Jewish state has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or to allow international surveillance of its Dimona plant in the Negev desert of southern Israel. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g9x-LXW9KK7ZK3qTE9Lev88ZJTHg?docId=CNG.c05571d1da8b533f5fbbc6407b4da20d.ae1

October 7, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, Israel, people | Leave a Comment

Death of anti nuclear activist,Nora Bredes

Nora Bredes, Long Island nuclear plant foe, dies – WSJ.com, AUGUST 22, 2011,  Nora Bredes, Long Island nuclear plant foe, dies  ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Nora Bredes, an advocate for women’s leadership, environmental protection and public health who led the fight to keep a nuclear plant from opening on Long Island 25 years ago, has died at age 60.

Bredes died Thursday after a lengthy battle with breast cancer, her family said…..

In the 1980s, Bredes led the push to derail Long Island’s Shoreham nuclear power station. The plant was completed in 1984 for $6 billion but never went into operation due to community opposition.

As a chief organizer of the Shoreham Opponents Coalition, Bredes enlisted New York state in a high-stakes regulatory battle revolving around potential safety concerns, such as how quickly the plant’s heavily populated surroundings could be evacuated in a crisis.

The Long Island Lighting Co., which had drawn backing for the plant from President George H.W. Bush, agreed in 1989 to shut down the plant, which was fully decommissioned in 1994…..Nora Bredes, Long Island nuclear plant foe, dies – WSJ.com

August 23, 2011 Posted by | people, women | 1 Comment

Desmond Tutu warns on the system of nuclear weapons apartheid

We must not tolerate a system of nuclear apartheid, in which it is considered legitimate for some states to possess nuclear arms but patently unacceptable for others to seek to accquire them. Such a double standard is no basis for peace and security in the world. The NPT is not a license for the five original nuclear powers to cling to these weapons indefinitely. The International Court of Justice has affirmed that they are legally obliged to negotiate in good faith for the complete elimination of their nuclear forces…

Ending nuclear evil, Pakistan Observer, Desmond Tutu 3 July 11 , ELIMINATING nuclear weapons is the democratic wish of the world’s people. Yet no nuclear-armed country currently appears to be preparing for a future without these terrifying devices. In fact, all are squandering billions of dollars on modernisation of their nuclear forces, making a mockery of United Nations disarmament pledges. If we allow this madness to continue, the eventual use of these instruments of terror seems all but inevitable. Read more »

July 2, 2011 Posted by | people, Religion and ethics | Leave a Comment

As nuclear power unpopular, France gives Anne Lauvergneon the chop

French Government Fires Anne Lauvergeon, Forbes, Maha Atal, Jun. 17 2011 –   The Wall Street Journal reports that Anne Lauvergeon, the longtime CEO of France’s state-owned nuclear firm Areva SA, has been asked to step down when her term expires in June. There’s been no comment from Lauvergeon, but the WSJ has a few hypotheses as to what happened:1. Nuclear energy is unpopular, to put it mildly, following the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi. France is unique in its dependence on nuclear power (80% of French power generation), and can’t afford to pull back on the technology. Indeed, Lauvergeon has been traveling the world defending the technology in the wake of the disaster. Replacing her pays lip service to public outrage at nuclear execs without making any changes to France’s overall nuclear position. …..
French Government Fires Anne Lauvergeon – Maha Atal – Foreign Exchange – Forbes

June 20, 2011 Posted by | France, people | Leave a Comment

Japan should have turned away from nuclear power – says Murakami

Mr. Murakami said Japan, having experienced the trauma of radiation, should have turned away from nuclear power…. those who questioned nuclear power were marginalized as being ‘unrealistic dreamers’,

Murakami Slams Japan’s Nuclear Choice, WSJ JUNE 10, 2011,“……..Accepting an international award given to people whose work helps ”develop cultural, scientific and human values worldwide” from Catalan authorities in Barcelona late Thursday, Mr. Murakami didn’t mince his words. Picking up the International Catalunya Prize (in Catalan), the author described the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi as the second nuclear blow Japan has suffered after the atomic bombings of World War II—and a self-inflicted blow at that, he said, one that should never have happened. Read more »

June 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan, people | Leave a Comment

Perspective on Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear catastrophes

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in Perspective, Global Research ca by Dr. Helen Caldicott 15 may 11, First I want to present this report, produced by the New York Academy of Sciences, a report on Chernobyl.  It can be downloaded.(2)  They translated 5,000 articles from Russian for the first time into English.  It seems that nearly a million people have already died as a result of Chernobyl, despite what the WH0(3) says and the IAEA.(4)  This is one of the most monstrous cover-ups in the history of medicine.  Because everybody should know about this.  Read more »

May 16, 2011 Posted by | - Chernobyl, - Fukushima, people | 1 Comment

« Previous Entries    

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 204 other followers