Permanent storage remains unsolved in new push for nuclear energy
Permanent storage remains unsolved in new push for nuclear energy
MEDILL REPORTS by Fui Tsikata Nov 19, 2008 Applications for new nuclear reactors keep rolling into the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), but everyone seems to be ignoring the crucial question: where will used nuclear rods be stored permanently?As nuclear companies continue to store nuclear waste on-site, environmentalists warn that without a permanent storage location, building more nuclear plants could be dangerous to the country’s security………………………Yucca mountain, 80 miles from Las Vegas, Nev., was identified years ago as a potential storage area for spent nuclear rods and other nuclear waste. Now, a decade after the repository was to open, it has been weighed down by controversy. Fear of volcanic activity in Yucca, lawsuits and other challenges considerably slowed down its development. Presently, the NRC has a three- to four-year time frame to complete geological analysis and assess the feasibility of Yucca mountain……………………………..There are no functioning permanent storage facilities anywhere in the world, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Finland has identified a site, which has public support but is still a few years away from being operational, according to Negin. France relies on “temporary” sites like one in Gorleben, a town in Northern German to store its nuclear waste.
Meanwhile, in the absence of any permanent storage, companies like Exelon store spent fuel rods on-site in large pools of water and in large containers known as dry casks. The U.S. Navy, whose nuclear ships generate spent rods, stores them in pools of water as well.
Permanent storage remains unsolved in new push for nuclear energy
Let’s get on with building new nuclear plants, says British Energy chief | Business | guardian.co.uk
Nuclear plant problems push British Energy into the red
The Guardian 18 Nov 08 British Energy, which operates 15 reactors at eight nuclear power stations around the country generating electricity, posted a 49.7% fall in first-half earnings today due to power station shutdowns and lower electricity output………………..The company has seven reactors out of action due to unexpected or routine repairs
Let’s get on with building new nuclear plants, says British Energy chief | Business | guardian.co.uk
Ranger mine expansion short-sighted: ACF – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Ranger mine expansion short-sighted: ACF
ABC NewsThe Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says it would be short-sighted to expand the Northern Territory’s Ranger uranium mine now that another major potential deposit has been found.
Energy Resources of Australia says it has found a potential further 40,000 tonnes of uranium oxide near the Ranger mine in Kakadu National Park, which could extend the mine’s life by seven years.
Dave Sweeny from the Conservation Foundation says focusing on the jobs it could bring will put the environment at a greater radioactive risk.
He says everyone at the Ranger mine could be employed for the rest of their working lives cleaning up the site.
“There is an obligation on Energy Resources Australia to clean up its mess, and its mess is considerable,” he said.
“They’ve got a legal requirement to keep radioactive tailings, which there’s a mountain of them out in Kakadu, to keep them out of the Kakadu environment for a period of not less than 10,000 years.”
Ranger mine expansion short-sighted: ACF – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Australians ‘will accept nuclear power’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Australians ‘will accept nuclear power’
ABC NewsDr Ziggy Switkowski …..has dismissed concern about finding a storage site for waste from future nuclear reactors.
“To find one location in central Australia presumably that will progressively store the spent fuel from Australia’s reactors at the end of this century, we’re talking 80 years out, strikes me as a very straight forward technical problem,” he said.
Australians ‘will accept nuclear power’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Dirty money, or filthy rich
Dirty money, or filthy rich
WA Today * Tim Clarke * November 18, 2008 * Opponents to the immediate lifting of the ban on uranium mining in WA say the decision could leave the state with a deadly legacy……………………..Making good on one of his key election promises, Premier Colin Barnett and his cabinet yesterday said any future mining leases granted in the state would not incorporate the clause excluding uranium, as they had done since 2002.
That opens the way for companies such as BHP Billiton to finally mine their vast deposits in WA, which one model estimates could generate up to $4 billion in export values.
But according to Greens MLC Giz Watson that will mean “unacceptable risks” for West Australians.The Wilderness Society claims thousands of tonnes of radioactive tailings will end up buried somewhere in WA.
“Uranium is not just another mineral to be exploited for cash,” Ms Watson said. Radioactive waste is produced at every stage of its mining and processing. This will create a deadly legacy for all West Australians for tens of thousands of years,” she said.
“Which port does he (Barnett) intend the yellow cake to be shipped through – which community will become the new Esperance?”…………………..Peter Robertson of the Wilderness Council said bringing a “dirty and dangerous” industry into the state would create issues at every stage of production.
“Uranium mining uses millions of litres of water, produces masses of radioactive tailings and opens up the question of transporting the material,” he said. “Uranium brings with it a whole new set of regulatory risks.
“And it will also undoubtedly bring more pressure on Australia and WA in regards to accepting nuclear waste.”
Green group slams nuke plant rehab – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
Green group slams nuke plant rehab By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net 11/18/2008MANILA, Philippines — The environmentalist group Greenpeace expressed “strong opposition” to the rehabilitation and reopening of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), saying it would be “stacking one potential catastrophe over another.”At a press conference Tuesday, Amalie Obusan, Greenpeace Southeast Asia climate and energy campaigner, presented the group’s position paper against Senate Bill 2665 (An Act Mandating the Immediate Re-commissioning and Commercial Operation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant).
Greenpeace will be giving copies of their position paper to concerned agencies, including the Senate and the Department of Energy, Obusan said.
“You can’t solve a problem by creating another problem. To propose nuclear expansion in the name of climate change is stacking one potential catastrophe over another,” Obusan said…………
“Nuclear power could at best make only a negligible contribution to greenhouse gas reduction, and investment in this technology deprives real climate solutions, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, of funding,” it said.
Baconguis also said rehabilitating and reopening the BNPP would bring the risk of “nuclear terrorism” should groups get their hands on nuclear waste to produce “dirty bombs.”
“Experiments by the US government have proven that several nuclear weapons can be built in a matter of weeks using ordinary spent fuel from light water reactors. One study showed that a country with a minimal industrial base could quickly and secretly build a small reprocessing facility, called a ‘quick and dirty’ plant, capable of extracting about a bomb’s worth of plutonium per day,” Greenpeace said.
Green group slams nuke plant rehab – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
U.S. Space Command reveals fire at nuclear missile silo : NewsHerald.com
U.S. Space Command reveals fire at nuclear missile silo
NEWSHERALD November 17, 2008Freedom NewspapersCOLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A fire in a Wyoming missile silo last spring exposed more problems in the oversight of the nation’s nuclear ICBM fleet………………………
The command, headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, released an accident investigation report on the silo fire Oct. 30, but had made no previous announcement of the incident. The Air Force has been under fire for months for failure to properly safeguard nuclear weapons in other incidents that led to the firing of the service’s top civilian and military leaders and discipline for several officers linked to nuclear problems.
The fire occurred May 23 at an undisclosed location outside Cheyenne, Wyo, where the Minuteman III missile is stored, ready for firing in an underground launch facility……………
John Pike, a nuclear expert with the think-tank GlobalSecurity.org said that the findings or the accident investigation, which revealed that duct tape was being used as a repair material in the silo, are cause for serious concern.
“The notion that you’re patching up your H-bombs with duct tape is not encouraging,” Pike said. “You also have to wonder if you have this sloppy activity that is revealed by a fire happened, how much other sloppy activity has not detected.”
U.S. Space Command reveals fire at nuclear missile silo : NewsHerald.com
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Climate changes may lead to violence, experts warn | National | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
Global climate changes could lead to violenceExperts say it will accelerate the race for food, water
chron.com By SCOTT CANONMcClatchy-TribuneNov. 15, 2008, “…………………The Earth’s fast-changing climate has a range of serious thinkers — from military brass to geographers to diplomats — predicting a spate of armed conflicts driven by the weather…………………………We will pay for this one way or another,” wrote retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, the former chief of the U.S. Central Command. “We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today, and we’ll have to take an economic hit of some kind. Or, we will pay the price later in military terms. And that will involve human lives. There will be a human toll.”…………………………”Governments that are already weak will be destabilized much more often and much more easily,” said Jay Gulledge, a senior scientist at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change……………………………….Even efforts to mitigate global warming could prove dangerous.
Nuclear power …………….could mean the spread of doomsday technology to unstable parts of the world. Iran already is thought to be cloaking nuclear weapons ambitions inside “peaceful” nuclear facilities.
Climate changes may lead to violence, experts warn | National | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
10 major miscues – News Extras – The State
10 major miscues
The StateNov. 16, 2008 – “………………when the Department of Health and Environmental Control missteps, South Carolinians’ lives and property can be at risk…………
NUCLEAR WASTE, SECRECY: BARNWELL
It was common knowledge that radioactive chemicals had leaked into groundwater from the 235-acre landfill where much of the nation had long sent its low-level nuclear waste. But at the request of operator Chem-Nuclear, DHEC for years kept secret details about the contamination. Only in 2007, after a legislative debate on the contamination’s severity prompted The State newspaper to challenge the secrecy, did DHEC release the information. The unsealed data showed radioactive tritium levels rivaling some at the nearby Savannah River Site, a repository not for low-level nuclear waste but deadly, high-level waste. Lawmakers voted to close the landfill to all but three states.
10 major miscues – News Extras – The State
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Kissinger fears Pakistan could become a ‘failed state’
Kissinger fears Pakistan could become a ‘failed state’
Press Trust of India 17 Nov 08 New Delhi, Nov 16 (PTI) Fearing that Pakistan could become a “failed state”, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger today said the Barack Obama administration will be faced with the challenge of preventing that as it could be an “extraordinary” situation considering that Pakistan has nuclear weapons.
Kissinger also suggested that the George W Bush government had “failed” on the Afghanistan front and said the next regime will have to conduct re-evaluation of the problem posed by the war-torn country.
Kissinger fears Pakistan could become a ‘failed state’
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
10 major miscues – News Extras – The State
10 major miscues
The StateNov. 16, 2008 – “………………when the Department of Health and Environmental Control missteps, South Carolinians’ lives and property can be at risk…………
NUCLEAR WASTE, SECRECY: BARNWELL
It was common knowledge that radioactive chemicals had leaked into groundwater from the 235-acre landfill where much of the nation had long sent its low-level nuclear waste. But at the request of operator Chem-Nuclear, DHEC for years kept secret details about the contamination. Only in 2007, after a legislative debate on the contamination’s severity prompted The State newspaper to challenge the secrecy, did DHEC release the information. The unsealed data showed radioactive tritium levels rivaling some at the nearby Savannah River Site, a repository not for low-level nuclear waste but deadly, high-level waste. Lawmakers voted to close the landfill to all but three states.
WWW.WPCVA.COM
STAR TRIBUNE Sue Pruitt November 12, 2008 – “……………….Do they think if you do not live near the mines that they will be safe? The answer is no.
Winds from open-pit uranium can blow uranium-laced dust up to 50 or more miles away.
Floods can wash uranium tailings into our rivers, and radon gas can be carried by the winds.
Remember the fires in North Carolina; the smoke made it as far as Roanoke. The winds will carry the uranium particles to all parts of the county and the City of Danville, plus Halifax County, North Carolina, etc.
Water contamination, heavy rains will flood the uranium tailings ponds, which means overflow will happen.
This means the Banister River will be polluted. The river flows toward the drinking water for Halifax and Bugs Island, which goes to Virginia Beach and Kerr Lake for the Raleigh- Durham area. Eventually it makes its way to the sounds of North Carolina and the Atlantic………………….The great and innovative people of our country can rise to our energy problems without decimating our environment, communities and future generations.
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Coal Regains Crown As Slump In Nuclear Output Raises Fears Of Power Shortages (from Sunday Herald)
Coal regains crown as slump in nuclear output raises fears of power shortages
sundayherald 16 Nov 08 POWER SUPPLIERS are turning back the clock to use coal-fired plants as their main source of electricity in a bid to avert potential shortages this winter.
Latest figures from the National Grid show that the fuel accounted for 42.5% of all power generation, overtaking natural gas production for the first time in years.
The surge, from a usual level of little more than a third of total output, comes as the major networks seek to fill a gap caused by a slump in nuclear energy output at East Kilbride-based British Energy.
Nuclear power accounted for as little as 10.5% of output during peak times last week. This is roughly half the levels of a couple of years ago and there had been fears that we could see the first power shortages as early as this month………………..imported power from France reached a peak of more than 4% last week………………………..While the UK as a whole is struggling to meet EU targets to gain 20% of its energy from renewable sources, first minister Alex Salmond believes Scotland could get up to 50% of its own needs from wind farms, tidal energy and biomass as well as hydro-electricity by the same date………………..n contrast, British Energy chairman Bill Coley……….will confirm that the continuing problems among the group’s eight nuclear power stations led to a 27% slump in output in the opening half of the year despite rising production from its coal-fired plant at Eggborough.
The group’s big B21 reactor in Dungeness recently re-opened after four months’ closure, but four reactors at Hartlepool and Heysham will remain closed until early next year for boiler repairs.
Coal Regains Crown As Slump In Nuclear Output Raises Fears Of Power Shortages (from Sunday Herald)
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Moneyweb – Investment Insights – Uranium One’s shocker
Uranium One’s shocker
Uranium One writes down USD 2.8bn in the third quarter, mostly attributable to the Dominion debacle in South Africa.
MONEYWEB Barry Sergeant14 November 2008 16:08 JOHANNESBURG –”……………………….During the latest quarter, Uranium One wrote down mineral interests, plant and equipment to the tune of USD 1.8bn on Dominion, USD 0.7bn on US exploration properties, USD 0.2bn on Honeymoon and Australian exploration, and USD 0.1bn on Hobson (US), La Palangana (US) and Shootaring Mill (US).According to statements from the company released on Friday, the fair value of Dominion at 30 September 2008 has been estimated as its “salvage value” of USD 50.5m.
Uranium One’s stock price has moved from highs in 2007 of CAD 35 a share – the stock holds a primary listing in Toronto – to recent lows of 60 cents a share, a fall of 99%. The stock was most recently quoted at CAD 1.13 a share.
Uranium One has persistently refused to supply even the vaguest answer as to how much shareholder cash Dominion has been wolfing down. -…………………………..Uranium One’s stock price has moved from highs in 2007 of CAD 35 a share – the stock holds a primary listing in Toronto – to recent lows of 60 cents a share, a fall of 99%.
Moneyweb – Investment Insights – Uranium One’s shocker
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) | Jharkhand | UCIL leak bothers Aussie expert
UCIL leak bothers Aussie expert
The Telegraph Jamshedpur, Nov. 14: A member of Medical Association for Prevention of War, Australia, Tilman Alfred Ruff today visited Dungridih village in East Singhbhum that witnessed spilling of radioactive waste due to a leakage in the pipeline that carries it to the tailing pond of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL).
Ruff, who is also a director at International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War, claimed that the 25 families are forced to live in unhealthy and toxic environment due to the leakage.
His visit was organised by a local NGO, Jharkhand Organisation Against Radiation, which campaigned against the radiation.
Talking to reporters today, Ruff maintained that the world should shun nuclear power in view of the waste it produces. “Toxic and unhealthy waste has spilled over the entire region and I am surprised to find children playing on the radioactive waste. Though UCIL has covered the area with a layer of earth, people of the area may still be affected by the ill-effects of radiation,” said Ruff.
He said that people should not live within 100m of the pipe that carries radioactive material.
The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) | Jharkhand | UCIL leak bothers Aussie expert
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
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25 June- THE PUKE ON NUKES
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From NRC & DOE Deregulation to Techno-Fascist Billionaires Going Nuclear, Plus a Few Songs from Atomic Cabaret REGISTER
26 June – Radiation Trainwreck at the NRC / Join the Protect Better Campaign – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/4ZlZ5_qLSHGiLSCg8FF6Bg#/registration
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
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