320.000 UK homes get electricity from offshore wind turbines
World’s biggest offshore wind farm officially connected to the Grid, Environmental News Network, 10 Feb 2012, The world’s biggest offshore wind farm was officially opened today after record-fast construction in the middle of the Irish Sea. The 102 turbines of the two connected Walney wind farms cover an area of 73 square-kilometres and were formally connected to the National Grid in a ceremony today.
With a capacity of 367.2MW, the huge project can provide low-carbon, green electricity to 320,000 homes. The generating capacity of each turbine, supplied by Siemens Wind Power, is 3.6MW, and the rotor diameter of the turbines is 107m for Walney 1 and 120m for Walney 2, with a maximum height of 150m from sea level to blade tip….. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/43984
England’s Conservative Party – a shambles of Climate Change Denialists
In the main, the Tories are a coalition of climate change sceptics ….. Despite the fact that 60 per cent of voters think it is ‘right’ to ‘subsidise wind farms to encourage more use of wind power’.
Far from being ‘intermittent’ wind turbines operate between 70-80 per cent of the time, currently providing power for the equivalent of 3.3 million homes.
Climate change sceptics and rural romantics – the Tories are a shambles on renewable energy Left Foot Forward, by Kevin Meagher, February 7th 2012 It took less than 24 hours from the resignation of Chris Huhne for the Tories to strike. A hundred and one Tory backbenchers have written to David Cameron calling for an end to public subsidies designed to support Britain’s wind power industry.
They claim that subsidies should be drastically cut and draft planning guidance strengthened to make it easier for objectors to block wind farm schemes. Read more »
UK assesses the nation’s coming dangers from climate change
UK ranks top risks posed by climate change, SMH, David Stringer, January 27, 2012 Coastlines, working patterns and even the country’s most famous meal are under threat from climate change, Britain says in its first-ever national assessment of the likely risks. Read more »
UK’s Dounreay nuclear site still radioactive
Contamination found at nuclear site, Google News, (UKPA) 27 Jan 12, Traces of radioactive contamination have been found on the shoes of workers demolishing a former nuclear power station. It was detected on around a dozen people on Thursday as they prepared to leave a building which they were preparing for demolition.
Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL), which is overseeing the decommissioning of the site in Caithness, has launched an investigation.
It said that the building is in a “controlled” area, where contamination is possible, and controls are in place to manage it.
Dounreay’s nuclear reactor was shut down in 1994 and work to decommission the site has been under way since then as part of a £2.6 billion project. It was the only plant in Britain to use liquid metal instead of gas or water in the cooling circuits.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gVcbsn-jVhJMOoqqQOYXqz-NAfaA?docId=N0166121327661398947A
Conflict of interest? Just where does the climate denialists’ money come from?
Bid to out the money behind the voice against climate change, SMH Graham Readfearn January 27, 2012 - A British journalist’s court bid to unmask the financial backers of a group of climate change sceptics is being used to raise questions about how think-tanks are funded in Australia and whether they deserve tax exemptions.
The UK’s Charity Commission, which regulates charities in the UK, is being asked to release a document that would show the start-up funders of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, chaired by former UK chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson.
Launched in November 2009, the foundation has consistently challenged the mainstream scientific view that human emissions of greenhouse gases represent a significant risk to the planet and societies.
Later today, freelance journalist Brendan Montague will appeal to the UK’s Information Rights Tribunal for the release of a bank statement provided to the Charity Commission by Lord Lawson, which Mr Montague believes will identify the source of a $50,000 seed donation.
The case has raised the issue of how think-tanks engaged in public policy debates are funded and whether potential conflicts of interest should be declared. None are required by law to publicly disclose their funders. Read more »
EDF’s nuclear plans for Britain are fraught with problems
No easy ride for EDF’s plans for new nuclear, Greenpeace by Richardg – 25 January 2012 Despite the growing shift of support away from nuclear energy in Europe, EDF is stubbornly pushing forward plans to build a new nuclear reactor in the UK, without sufficient consideration for all the relevant risks….. the French state-owned company EDF Energy is trying to build a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
EDF applied for planning permission in late October, less than three weeks after Britain’s nuclear watchdog – the Office of Nuclear Regulation – published a long list of improvementsneeded to protect Britain’s nuclear reactors. Given the scale of the recommendatons in the list, it is not possible for EDF to have incorporated all those improvements into its proposals in just three weeks. Lessons are still being learned following Fukushima (such as ‘don’t delete the minutes of the disaster response meetings’). EDF’s rush to apply for planning permission betrays their cavalier attitude and suggests they can’t have fully considered the implications of the Fukushima disaster.
We are seriously concerned that the flood defences, the emergency response plans and other vital safety features (such as a secure supply of off-site electricity during an emergency) aren’t fit for purpose. There’s a distinctly slap-dash feel to the application: as though EDF were more concerned with keeping the wheels on their nuclear gravy train than with making sure their plans stood up to scrutiny.
We’re not the only ones with concerns about the proposals. EDF’s planning application is also facing fierce opposition from local campaign groups, nuclear experts and Members of Parliament. Local councils have made their own representations, pointing out problems withtraffic levels, waste storage and the impact on tourism.
With 1,200 people registering to comment on their ill-thought out proposals, EDF shouldn’t expect an easy ride. We’ll keep you posted. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/no-easy-ride-edfs-plans-new-nuclear-20120125
UK govt not happy with GE Hitachi’s plan for plutonium waste
the UK stockpile of waste plutonium – the biggest civilian stash in the world
UK Nuclear Watchdog Toughens Stance On Waste Reuse, Planet Ark 25-Jan-12, BRITAIN by Oleg Vukmanovic Britain’s nuclear watchdog has hardened its stance against a proposal by U.S.-Japan joint venture GE Hitachi to dispose of UK radioactive waste in a plutonium-burning reactor but has not ended talks.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which advises the government on how best to manage the UK’s growing plutonium stockpile, is considering a number of options including the fast-reactor design proposed by GE Hitachi in November.
The NDA has repeatedly ruled the multi-billion pound 600 megawatt (MW) reactor out of the running on the grounds that the technology lacks credibility for the purposes of plutonium disposal. Read more »
French nuclear company warns on safety of Scottish nuclear reactor
New safety fears for Ayrshire nuclear power station, Herald Scotland, 22 Jan 12 By Rob Edwards, The company that runs the nuclear reactors at Hunterston in North Ayrshire is warning that their safety could be jeopardised by plans to build a huge coal-fired power station next door. EDF Energy says that the construction and operation of the controversial new plant could block the evacuation routes of staff and deprive its site of electricity and vital cooling water in an emergency.
It is also worried that discharges from the coal plant could compromise reactor cooling systems.
The French nuclear company has lodged a formal objection to an application by Ayrshire Power to build a £3 billion coal station at Hunterston. Following rejection of the application, which attracted more than 20,000 objections, by North Ayrshire Council in November,
the Scottish Government has now confirmed that it will go to a public inquiry later this year…… http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/environment/new-safety-fears-for-ayrshire-nuclear-power-station.1327201596
UK’s nuclear expansion could be derailed if nuclear subsidies found to be unlawful
The European Commission could take up to 18 months to consider the complaint A finding in Fair Energy’s favour could potentially derail the UK’s nuclear expansion plans – and those of other countries.
UK ‘subsidising nuclear power unlawfully’, By Richard Black, Environment correspondent, BBC News. 21 Jan 12, Green energy campaigners 
are attempting to block new nuclear power stations in the UK by complaining to the European Commission that government plans
contravene EU competition regulations.
They say financial rules for nuclear operators include subsidies that have not been approved by the commission. These include capping of liability for accidents, which they say at
least halves the cost of nuclear electricity…..
Although most of the complaint concerns the UK, some of its ingredients would apply to other EU nations as well, especially the capping of nuclear liability. Read more »
A nuclear free Scotland would make England pay up for Trident submarine base
The nuclear issue is the one that concerns ministers most; where would the new Trident submarines be based, if not at Faslane on the Clyde?
SNP’s defence policies are ‘laughable’, says Philip Hammond, Nick Hopkins, guardian.co.uk, 19 January 2012 Defence secretary wades into the debate over devolution as the likely effects – and costs – of Scottish independence rattle the MoD.… The new defence secretary, Philip Hammond, is pretty choosy about the media he does, and on what subjects. Today, he went on the record over devolution, and the effects it might have on defence.
No wonder he was prepared to speak, and in such unusually fruity language for a man not known for rhetorical flourish.
He knows the ramifications for the military, and the Treasury, are enormous. The key themes for the SNP are easy enough to spell out - Scotlandwould not be a member of Nato and would be nuclear free. Read more »
Taxpayers to fund massive nuclear waste dump, damaging to Cumbria
A public inquiry and appeal agreed with Cumbria County Council 15 years ago that the risk of radioactive waste migrating to the surface was too great for geological disposal of intermediate level waste.
Today, that same authority is a partner in the plan which now includes high-level waste.
A nuclear dump would blight Cumbria’s major industries of agriculture and tourism…. MRWS is now sinking taxpayers’ millions into a timetabled process too big to fail.
NUCLEAR DEBATE: RADIATION FREE LAKELAND: JUST SAY NO: Times and Star By Marianne Birkby, 19 January 2012 The last government set up a quango called Managing Radioactive Waste Safely. MRWS aims to give lucrative contracts, courtesy of the taxpayer, to private companies for a mine 3,280ft deep by 269 sq ft.
Put in perspective, Scafell Pike is 3,208ft. Imagine that size mine filled with high-level radioactive waste by 2026, setting a world first. Read more »
Scotland’s radioactive beach a political hazard for UK government
Mr Brown branded the “dumped” material an “undeniable hazard” for people living nearby.
He told MPs: “They are particles which should be removed quickly …and the urgent action is necessary not just because of risks to safety,
but because the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has now stated publicly that unless the Ministry of Defence brings forward a remedial plan for the area, the agency will designate Dalgety Bay as a radioactive contaminated piece of land and this will be the first and only land to be designated as radioactive contaminated in the UK and they say that they will nominate the Ministry of Defence as the culpable party.”
Brown urges beach radiation action Google News, (UKPA) 19 Jan 12, Gordon Brown has repeated his demand for a face-to-face a meeting with Defence Secretary Philip Hammond to discuss radiation poisoning. Read more »
Scottish independence would mean moving Trident nuclear base
The vast majority of MSPs [members of the Scottish parliament], as well as the churches, trade unions, and civic society across the nation totally oppose Trident nuclear weapons being based in Scotland
Scots’ breakaway plan threatens nuclear base, FT.com By James Blitz, 13 Jan 12 Contingency plans to transfer Britain’s nuclear deterrent to England if Scotland declares independence are being examined by the Ministry of Defence.
Officials warn that London would demand billions in compensation from Edinburgh to fund the move. As Scotland prepares for a referendum on independence in the autumn of 2014, MoD officials said they had been studying the implications of a Yes vote for the deterrent – Trident nuclear missiles, carried by four Vanguard class submarines that operate from Faslane Naval Base in the Firth of Clyde.
Officials warn that the costs of moving the four submarines from Scotland to England would be immense, Read more »
Renewable energy deal between Scotland and Masdar
Scotland set for renewable energy deal in Abu Dhabi, BBC News 8 Jan 12, Mr Salmond said the deal would help develop university research into renewable energy Scotland is poised to sign a renewable energy technology research deal in the Middle East.
First Minister Alex Salmond is to travel to Abu Dhabi this week to sign a “ground-breaking” contract with renewables firm Masdar. Read more »
“ WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF TISSUE ANALYSIS TAKEN FROM DECEASED NUCLEAR TEST VETERANS ? “
“ The motives for the work appear to have been similar to those set out in relation to nuclear industry , namely scientific research and potential claims for damages .”
Why Nuclear Veterans are Being Silenced, Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, 6 Jan 12,”..……Secret examination of tissue , organs and body parts of nuclear industry workers and nuclear test veterans …..
Michael Redfern QC published his report on tissue analysis at nuclear installations on the 16th November 2010 . This report took some three and half years to complete and covers 655 pages .It was originally set up to investigate claims by the families of deceased nuclear industry worker that their beloved ones body parts had been secretly removed
for examination , without family consent , for analysis and destruction .
One bereaved family found the body of a nuclear industry worker in his coffin had a broom stick put in place of a removed leg bone to give the appearance on burial that the body was whole and not desecrated.
The Redfern Report links Nuclear Test Veterans and Power Workers in on-going medical research programmes . Read more »
1 THIS MONTH
Uranium mining in Namibia http://namibian.me/group/canwin2?commentId=4103091%3AComment%3A47391&xg_source=msg_com_group
Nuclear industry is moribund, despite 2 new reactors licensed in USA http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3428147.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3413882.htm Is the world facing a groundwater crisis?
of the week http://climaterealityproject.org/thin-ice/
and another WEBSITE : - New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution http://www.necnp.org/
EVENT
February 18 Hindsdale, Chicago American Association of University Women - nuclear disaster preparedness H.OB.aauw.reservations@gmail.com.
March 2012 is “March Against Nuclear Madness” and Beyond Nuclear has created a new March Against Nuclear Madness Facebook page.
March 8th & 9th – Cape Town, South Africa - The Global Conference: Nuclear Power For Africa? http://koebergalert.org/npfree/
May 31 USA - Portland, Maine, Bonnie Raitt benefit concert for New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution
Nuclear power and water – theme for February 2012
FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR PLANT and WATER – present state
That nuclear core is in direct contact with tons of water. And that containment, while not leaking down, is leaking out the sides. That contaminated water is going into every other building on site. And there is literally thousands and thousands of tons of water in other buildings. That water contains radioactive cesium, radioactive strontium, and it also contains nuclear fuel. There will be uranium in that water and plutonium in that water as well. We know for sure that that water is leaking into the ground water and into the Pacific Ocean. So while it is important to know that we are not going to release the nuclear core directly into the center of the earth, the problem is not over. And as a matter of fact, the problem will last for tens, perhaps even as long as 30 years because this contaminated water is in the basements of all the buildings on site. And not only does it contain cesium (that hangs around for 300 years), strontium (hangs around for 300 years), but it also contains plutonium and uranium and they have half lives of tens of thousands of years.
So the problem is, what do we do with all that water that is contaminated? It is already leaking into the groundwater. It is already leaking into the ocean. TEPCO is frantically catching it and putting it into tanks. But just today, TEPCO announced that they are running out of tank space on site, and eventually they are going to have to release those tanks into the Pacific Ocean. Now they will try to clean up some of the isotopes like cesium. But they have been unable to capture all the strontium. Strontium is a bone seeker that causes leukemia… http://fairewinds.com/content/fukushima-could-it-have-china-syndrome
NUCLEAR REACTORS - WATER USE : Per megawatt existing nuclear power stations use and consume more water than power stations using other fuel sources. Depending on the cooling technology utilised, the water requirements for a nuclear power station can vary between 20 to 83 per cent more than for other power stations.”- Dep of Parliamentary Services research note, 4 December 2006, no. 12, 2006–07, ISSN 1449-8456 Water consumption figures:
Nuclear: 2.3 L/ kWh
Solar (PV): 0.110 L/ kWh
Wind: 0.004 L/ kWh
(American Wind Energy Association estimate & US DOE)
A typical 1000-megawatt pressurized-water reactor (with a cooling tower) takes in 20,000 gallons of river, lake or ocean water per minute for cooling, circulates it through a 50-mile maze of pipes, returns 5,000 gallons per minute to the same body of water, and releases the remainder to the atmosphere as vapor. A 1000-megawatt reactor without a cooling tower takes in even more water–as much as one-half million gallons per minute. The discharge water is contaminated with radioactive elements in amounts that are not precisely known or knowable, but are biologically active.
Some radioactive fission gases, stripped from the reactor cooling water, are contained in decay tanks for days before being released into the atmosphere through filtered rooftop vents. Some gases leak into the power plant buildings’ interiors and are released during periodic “purges” and “ventings.” These airborne gases contaminate not only the air, but also soil and water. http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/routineradioactivereleases.htm
NUCLEAR REACTORS -IONISING RADIATION to GROUNDWATER In USA the nuclear industry has contaminated groundwater with radioactive tritium at nuclear power plant sites all across the country. Nuclear plants that have admitted leaking tritium into the groundwater include:
- Braidwood, Byron, Dresden and Quad Cities in Illinois;
- Indian Point and Fitzpatrick in New York;
- Yankee Rowe and Pilgrim in Massachusetts;
- Three Mile Island and Peach Bottom in Pennsylvania;
- Callaway in Missouri
- Catawba in South Carolina
- Oyster Creek in New Jersey
- Hatch in Georgia
- Palo Verde In Arizona
- Perry in Ohio
- Palisades in Michigan
- Point Beach in Wisconsin
- Salem in Delaware
- San Onofre in California
- Seabrook in New Hampshire
- Shearon Harris in North Carolina
- Watts Bar in Tennessee
- Wolf Creek in Kansas
- Connecticut Yankee in Connecticut
- Vermont Yankee in Vermont
URANIUM MINING – OPEN CUT or UNDERGROUND It is very difficult to find figures on the amounts of water used. All mining is water intensive, but uranium mining is the greatest guzzler Water is extensively used to suppress airborne dust levels, to try to reduce the radioactive clouds that would otherwise emanate constantly from the uranium tailings.IN SITU LEACHING – Uranium Mining Process in-situ leaching uses a hydrogen peroxide mixture to strip the uranium from the rock, which kills tissue and destroys cells in human and animal life. The addition of oxygen and sodium bicarbonate called oxygenates causes uranium and other radioactive substances and trace metals to be liberated from the rock into the groundwater.
.. judges have too often taken the stance that they are judges who know nothing of the mining industry and accept the data of corporations, claiming the corporations are in the know.
..the water taken from the extremely pristine Westwater Canyon Aquifer near Crownpoint for uranium mining and used for flushing out chemicals would not be replaced in our lifetimes.
It takes hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, to transform aquifer water back into a drinkable condition. Virginia Against Uranium Mining: Scientists Back Navajos’ Uranium Mining Fight: Tribe fears contamination of drinking water
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