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Areva clashes with Finnish utility over delays to new nuclear plant

 Areva clashes with Finnish utility over delays to new nuclear plant S
centa.co.uk, UK –  15 Jan 09 Areva, the nuclear plant designer expected to be at the forefront of a British atomic power revival, has become embroiled in a bitter war of words with a …

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January 14, 2009 Posted by | business and costs | Leave a comment

Start-up Delayed for Finnish Nuclear Plant

Start-up Delayed for Finnish Nuclear Plant
Energy On Line LCG, January 14, 2009–The Areva-Siemens Consortium stated yesterday that the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant unit is now not scheduled for completion until 2012. The initial target for completing the Finnish project was 2009.Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) stated that the Areva-Siemens Consortium, the turn-key supplier of the 1,600-MW nuclear power plant, filed an arbitration request over delays and overruns in the Olkiluoto 3 project and that the completion date has been delayed until June 2012.The power plant incorporates AREVA’s European Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR). In the United States, Areva is acting to develop a fleet of nuclear reactors using AREVA’s U.S. EPR design, which is a Generation III+ design based upon AREVA’s European EPR.

LCG Consulting – EnergyOnline / Start-up Delayed for Finnish Nuclear Plant

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January 14, 2009 Posted by | business and costs | Leave a comment

Russia to complete Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant in 2009_

Russia to complete Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant in 2009 TEHRAN, China View  Jan. 14 (Xinhua) — Iran’s ambassador to Russia Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi said that Russia would complete Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant this year, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Wednesday……………………..The main problem with the plant, that of the fuel supply, had been solved and the doubts whether the plant would start operation had already been removed, he said, adding that “Russians are trying to accelerate the process and hundreds of Iranian engineers who have been trained in Russia are replacing Russian experts.”

Russia to complete Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant in 2009_English_Xinhua

January 14, 2009 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

The Sydney Morning Herald: national, world, business, entertainment, sport and technology news from Australia’s leading newspaper.

Carbon capture put to the test in NSW * * Email * Printer friendly version * Normal font * Large fontBen Cubby Environment ReporterJanuary 15, 2009 NSW is about to find out whether it will be able to capture greenhouse gas emissions from its coal-fired power stations and store them underground.

Drilling began on Monday to see if the rock 800 metres under the Central Coast can handle having thousands of tonnes of liquefied carbon dioxide pumped into it each week.

It is yet to be proved that carbon capture and storage, in which carbon dioxide fumes from power stations are compressed and cooled on-site before being buried, will work on a large scale in Australia. Most environmental groups and some in the coal industry think it will not become effective in time to help slow climate change………………………..

Environmentalists say the expense of carbon capture and storage would take money away from the development of renewable energy.

“The coal industry is trying to create the appearance that it is doing something about climate change, but all they are really doing is fighting tooth and nail to keep themselves in business,” a Greenpeace spokesman said.

The Sydney Morning Herald: national, world, business, entertainment, sport and technology news from Australia’s leading newspaper.

January 14, 2009 Posted by | ENERGY | Leave a comment

US: Republicans want to be sure that Chu is pro-nuclear

Chu Quizzed Mostly on Nuclear Issues During Hearing for Energy Post

US News January 13, 2009

One could be forgiven for thinking that Steven Chu, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to head the Department of Energy, was being evaluated for a somewhat different role—that of, say, chief nuclear officer—during his Senate confirmation hearing this morning.

Though Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, received questions on a variety of energy-related topics, his examiners on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee seemed to be most interested in talking about nuclear policy.

In particular, Chu was pressed about his positions on building new nuclear plants, recycling nuclear waste, and supporting increased spending—to the tune of tens of billions of dollars—on incentives for the industry and for expediting nuclear-related programs that have gotten bogged down in Washington or have gone unfunded in recent years………………………..

To a question from Sessions about Chu’s commitment to jump-starting the construction of new nuclear power plants, Chu said, “Yes, I am.”

He also expressed support for accelerating a so far poorly executed $18.5 billion government loan program designed to help finance the first batch of new power plants and vowed to move quickly to create a long-term plan for safely disposing of nuclear waste. “We have to do it concurrently with the start-up of the industry,” Chu said, attempting to allay concerns that the Obama administration might try to stall the industry until the waste problem is adequately resolved………………………….

……..As part of that plan for nuclear waste, Chu said he is open to reprocessing—reusing spent nuclear fuel in a reactor

Chu Quizzed Mostly on Nuclear Issues During Hearing for Energy Post – US News and World Report

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January 14, 2009 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

Press TV – Environment and human life under attack

Environment and human life under attack
Press TV Tue, 13 Jan 2009
By Mahmood Perviz Alam  “………………………Nuclear weapons leave a legacy of their own. Environmental problems from the Chernobyl incident are still being uncovered. A nuclear explosion is followed by radiation with a chain of innumerable consequences. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are examples of this tragedy. The health threats brought about by the war in Iraq — and more recently, what is happening in the Gaza Strip — can be better understood when we focus on the statement of Norwegian doctors who found traces of depleted uranium in the wounded. Catastrophes keep on unfolding because budget allocations are made to keep the muscles of the war machine strong and impressive………………………”.

Press TV – Environment and human life under attack

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January 14, 2009 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste call in cancelled

Nuclear waste call in cancelled
 this is the west country  13th January 2009

A call to look again at the possibility of storing nuclear waste in Cornwall has been scrapped.

Cornwall county council’s executive had decided that they would not look at what would be needed to host a nuclear waste facility in the county……………………

The move is being seen as a victory for people power after a groundswell of protest and anger at the suggestion the county could host the waste.

Leading members of the Liberal Democrats in Cornwall had also rejected the idea with Falmouth and Camborne MP Julia Goldsworthy saying the last thing Cornwall needed was nuclear waste on the doorstep.

She added there could be serious health risks……………….

The last time storing nuclear waste in the county had been raised there was huge public opposition.

In the early 1980s thousands of people marched in protest along with the then MP David Penhaligon when a nuclear dump was proposed at Gwithian. Tin mines across the area were being looked at as possible dumps but the proposal was eventually rejected.

Nuclear waste call in cancelled (From This is The West Country)

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January 14, 2009 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

EU warns Slovakia of legal steps over nuclear plant

EU warns Slovakia of legal steps over nuclear plant
 BRUSSELS, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The European Commission renewed pressure on Slovakia on Tuesday not to reopen the Bohunice nuclear power plant, saying the move would prompt legal action from the European Union’s executive arm.

EU warns Slovakia of legal steps over nuclear plant | Markets | Reuters

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January 14, 2009 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

Bankrupt company to avoid uranium cleanup costs?

Tronox Bankruptcy raises questions about uranium cleanup

The Black Hills Pioneer & Rapid City Weekly News | BHPioneer.com | News for Spearfish, South Dakota > Breaking News > Tronox Bankruptcy raises questions about uranium cleanup

By Brandon Bennett
Black Hills Pioneer Weekly News January 13, 2009

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–> HARDING COUNTY – Tronox Incorporated announced on Monday that it and certain of the company’s subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

That raises questions about its obligations in Harding County in northwest South Dakota with regard to reclaiming land formerly used for uranium mining.

The land had been mined in the 1950s by Tronox’s predecessor, Kerr-McGee, and was left in poor condition…………………………..The company began the reclamation and environmental cleanup in 2007 after an unusually large number of cancer cases were reported in the Riley Pass area of the Cave Hills.

Ranchers asked the U.S. Forest Service to take action, and since the land was federally owned the agency asked Tronox, as a successor to Kerr-McGee, to reclaim the land in question and remove some dirt that some feel has contributed to the unhealthy situation.

Some work had been done, but Forest Service officials weren’t sure where this bankruptcy leaves them.
…………………….Meanwhile, the ranchers who have been affected by the mining have been watching what has been going on and aren’t sure if they’ll ever get rid of the problem.

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January 14, 2009 Posted by | business and costs | Leave a comment

Old tooth study revived to look at radiation effects

Old tooth study revived to look at radiation effects
Baltimore Sun January 12, 2009 – “……………….Fifty years ago, concern about atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons spurred a group of local scientists and other area residents to begin the project, then called the St. Louis Baby Tooth Survey.

An early apparent link between fallout and health problems was established by the study. But now, more than 40 years later, the study is resuming. Researchers now hope to find links between fallout and instances of cancer in children born in the 1950s and early 1960s…………….

…………….The scientist, Joseph Mangano, is executive director of the Radiation and Public Health Project. He said in a telephone interview that his research group has had possession of 85,000 donated baby teeth since 2001 but lacked the money until recently to begin a full study of the cancer risk posed by nuclear tests.

Old tooth study revived to look at radiation effects — baltimoresun.com

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January 14, 2009 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment