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State House energy panel votes no on lifting nuclear ban

State House energy panel votes no on lifting nuclear banB Star Tribune by ELIZABETH DUNBAR , Associated PressL March 27, 2009 ST. PAUL, Minn. – A state law prevents new nuclear power plants from being built in Minnesota,………………..An effort to change that suffered a setback Thursday, when members of a House energy committee voted down a bill that would lift the ban……………………many, including environmental groups, have argued that little has changed in the more than 15 years Minnesota has had a law banning new nuclear plants. Nuclear waste storage can still be a problem, and President Barack Obama’s budget calls for eliminating funding for a proposed nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada that might have helped states looking for a more permanent place to store the waste…………………

Even if Minnesota were to lift its moratorium, lawmakers on both sides of the issue have acknowledged it would take anywhere from 12 to 14 years and perhaps longer for a nuclear plant to come online in the state.

Some think that’s too long when it comes to finding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“We can’t afford to wait,” said Sen. Ellen Anderson, a St. Paul Democrat who opposes lifting the nuclear ban. “I think it will distract from maximizing the potential for wind and other energy sources in Minnesota.”

State House energy panel votes no on lifting nuclear ban

March 28, 2009 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Daniel Kessler: Remembering the Three Mile Island Meltdown

Remembering the Three Mile Island Meltdown  THE HUFFINGTON POST Daniel Kessler 27 March 09 Thirty years ago, the word “meltdown” was seared into the American consciousness ……………. in the early morning hours of March 28, 1979…………

………. Contrary to the claims of the nuclear lobby, the Three Mile Island accident spewed radiation into the environment for days and crippled the U.S. nuclear industry. The question that has persisted since the accident isn’t whether radiation was released but how much radiation was released. Even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) fact sheet on the Three Mile Island accident acknowledges that the meltdown resulted in a significant release of radiation. According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 10 million curies of radiation escaped the damaged reactor core (a “curie” is a unit of radioactivity that denotes how many radioactive atoms in a particular collection of atoms are giving off radiation; 1 curie = 37 billion atoms giving off radiation). However, independent and unbiased nuclear engineers who reexamined the accident estimate that as much as 150 million curies of radiation may have escaped to the environment.
According to government reports on the accident, the radiation monitors went off scale before 8:00 a.m. on March 28, eliminating the only direct means of assessing the quantities and rate of release of radiation from the reactor. This information was vital to an accurate evaluation of the consequences of the meltdown………

……..Even the nuclear cheerleaders at the NRC acknowledge that “exposure to any level of radiation is assumed to carry with it a certain amount of risk.” The scientific community generally assumes that any exposure to ionizing radiation may cause undesirable biological effects and that the likelihood of these effects increases as the dose increases. The NRC’s fact sheet on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation states that, “any amount of radiation may pose some risk for causing cancer and hereditary effect, and that the risk is higher for higher radiation exposures.” There is no such thing as a “safe” dose of radiation…………..

………As nuclear corporations attempt to resell reactors as clean and safe, we must remember that Three Mile Island revealed the truth about the nuclear industry. Not only is nuclear power expensive; it’s also dangerous and deadly.

Daniel Kessler: Remembering the Three Mile Island Meltdown

March 28, 2009 Posted by | environment, USA | Leave a comment

France 24 | Sarkozy backs Areva’s uranium deal in Niger | France 24

Sarkozy backs Areva’s uranium deal in Niger

FRANCE 24.com  27 March 2009

Sarkozy is expected to back a controversial deal signed in January between French nuclear giant Areva and Niger’s government that would lead to the exploitation of the Imouraren mining site in northern Niger, the world’s second biggest uranium deposit……………………………

France takes great pride in a civilian nuclear program that it says is the key to its energy independency. But the reality is more complex, says Yves Marignac, director of the World Information Forum on Energy.

“One hundred percent of uranium in France comes from abroad,” he says. “A large part comes from Niger. With this contract, its share could increase.” The visit comes a day after Areva chief executive Anne Lauvergeon signed an agreement for mining research and exploration with the Congolese government, on the sidelines of Sarkozy’s visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Niger has one big asset compared with rival uranium exporters Australia and Canada, Martignac adds. “It is the only country that has a uranium contract that doesn’t prevent France from using the ore for something else than a civilian nuclear program.”…………………………….

But the deal has come under scrutiny in France. Environmentalists have warned Areva against the temptation to enforce poor safety and environmental standards in the mostly desert region.

There are also mounting allegations that the Niger government expelled nomadic Tuareg tribes to make way for the French operation. Tuareg rebels have threatened to attack the uranium mine and transport as they did once in 2007.

It is a tense situation that contributes to blurring the line between trade relations and neo-colonialism.

“A vice-director of Areva has been quoted saying that the nuclear company has urged the French government to help Niger’s government stamp out the rebellion,” Martignac says.

France 24 | Sarkozy backs Areva’s uranium deal in Niger | France 24

March 28, 2009 Posted by | indigenous issues, Niger | Leave a comment