Protest passage of nuke waste
Lawyer: Protest passage of nuke waste
MANILA, Philippines — A lawyer has urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to place the Philippines among the countries that are protesting the shipment of radioactive waste, supposedly enough to make 225 nuclear bombs, which is intended for reprocessing in Japan.
Harry Roque of the Center for International Law (CenterLaw) said the shipment of Mixed-Oxide (Mox) fuel has been denied passage by Latin American countries because of the risks it present.
The only remaining route the shipment can take is from France to South Africa, across the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia, and the waters of South Pacific nations, including the Philippines, Roque said.
But the lawyer pointed out that several countries along this route, including Australia, are protesting the shipment.
“It is imperative…that the Philippines, together with other countries where the shipment would pass, should protest this shipment,” Roque said.
During a conference on Maritime Security in France, Roque said a member of the State Council, Edwige Belliard, made it clear that France feels it is under no obligation to clean up in case there anything goes wrong with the Mox shipment.
Suddenly, progress on renewable energy
Las Vegas Sun Scot Rutledge, Mar 9, 2009
In just the past few weeks, Nevada has made staggering progress toward realizing a vision for a clean energy economy. We took giant steps forward toward creating high-quality, green jobs and revitalizing our economy by tapping into our abundant solar, wind and geothermal power.
First, we heard that NV Energy canceled plans for a dirty coal plant in White Pine County, and that it announced plans for at least one solar-powered plant here in Southern Nevada. Now, we hear that LS Power has indefinitely postponed another White Pine County dirty coal plant, saying this sort of power plant doesn’t make sense in today’s economic and political climate. In just a few short weeks, our state looked away from a past of dirty coal plants — one of the largest contributors to global warming — and toward a future of clean, renewable energy.
Also, Sen. Harry Reid announced plans for a bill to speed up the process of transmitting renewable energy from our remote rural areas — where it will be generated — to the cities that need it most. This is the missing link in making Nevada one of the world’s renewable energy leaders, and Sen. Reid should be commended for the vision he has established here in Nevada, and nationally, of a clean energy economy
At a time when unemployment is skyrocketing and our financial situation seems so dire in Nevada, we have an opportunity looking at us straight in the face: a clean energy economy that creates thousands of green jobs that can’t be exported overseas, reduces our greenhouse emissions and cuts our dependence on foreign oil. Thanks to Sen. Reid, NV Energy, LS Power and many other forward-thinking community leaders and businesses who are looking to a bright, green future.
Deadly Plutonium Shipment Headed for Pacific | Regional | Solomon Islands News
March 07, 2009 – Sydney/Suva – Last night’s announcement by French nuclear company Areva that the largest ever plutonium (MOX ) shipment is enroute from France to Japan through the Pacific requires strong opposition from Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith.
About 1.8 tonnes of plutonium in MOX fuel, enough to make 225 nuclear weapons, will travel to Japan via the Cape of Good Hope, the Southern Ocean, the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand and the south-west Pacific Ocean, to arrive in Japanese waters by late-May.
Greenpeace protested against the departure of the shipment from Cherbourg this week. “MOX shipments are unsafe, insecure and unnecessary, and the nuclear industry knows it, that’s why there is so much security accompanying the shipment. You would never need such security levels when shipping solar panels or windmills,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigns director Stephen Campbell.
“An accident involving the ship while it is off Australia’s coast could have a catastrophic impact on the environment, and seriously affect our tourism and fisheries industries.” he said.
“Of great concern is the fact that Australia has no emergency response plan in the event of an accident, fire or terrorist attack onboard a nuclear shipment,” said Mr Campbell.
Australia should join with Pacific governments, who have publicly called for an end to such dangerous and unnecessary shipments.
In 2005 (1) and 2002 (2) Pacific nations made strong public declarations of opposition to plutonium and nuclear waste shipments through their waters and called for, “the immediate cessation of such practice, in order to prevent any occurrence of accidents that could seriously threaten their sustainable development and the health of their peoples.
Deadly Plutonium Shipment Headed for Pacific | Regional | Solomon Islands News
In case of doubt, No to nuke | Manila Bulletin
In case of doubt, No to nuke mb.com.ph By Atty. Romeo V. Pefianco March 5, 2009, “……………………
Radioactive for thousands of years
There’s a great insurmountable problem with nuclear waste: It’s radioactive and can remain that way for years, in some cases, thousands of years………………
One large issue in Bataan and RP
The raging debate here is about the structural safety of the Bataan nuclear plant. So far the zone/site for waste disposal has not been identified. One possible site is the South China Sea, with fierce opposition expected from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, etc.
Or the government may search for a cluster of sites on the mainland of Luzon Island.
No way
In both possible sites of nuclear waste disposal most readers foresee real/heated and fierce opposition from promdis in Bataan, Zambales, all of Central Luzon and such islands as Mindoro, etc.
There’s no way for this project to win approval!
roadblock to nuclear power
The anti-carbon president creates a massive road block to nuclear power and carbon reduction Dallas Morning News Andrew Smith 7 March 09 President Obama’s budget nearly eliminates funding for the planned nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Without a storage facility, spent fuel created at each nuclear plant will stay in “temporary” storage at the plant that created it — probably for decades to come. This state of affairs doesn’t necessarily prevent the construction of new nuclear plants, but it certainly reduces the odds of such construction — possibly to the vanishing point.
‘Risky’ nuke ship passes Cape: South Africa: News: News24
‘Risky’ nuke ship passes Cape NEWS 24 07/03/2009 16:12 – (SA) Johannesburg – A massive shipment of plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) is meant to travel via the Cape of Good Hope on Saturday, Greenpeace Africa said in a statement.
“MOX shipments are simply not worth the risk, they are a major terror target and pose an enormous threat to the environment of all countries en route,” said Rianne Teule, nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace International in a statement on Saturday.
The ships, Pacific Pintail and the Pacific Heron, were heavily armed and protected by specially trained British forces, the statement read.
They are to enter South African waters as they make their way from France to Japan.
Poses riskhe shipment left Chebourg port with about 1.8 tonnes of MOX fuel – enough to make 225 nuclear weapons – and will travel via the Cape of Good Hope.
“This MOX transport poses immediate contamination and security risks, and is yet another example of the dangers of nuclear energy… not only is the shipment unnecessary and insecure, there is no evidence that the containers carrying the fuel are safe from accidents,” Teule said.
MOX fuel is an alternative nuclear fuel made up of a mixture of uranium and plutonium.
“This shipment is a reminder to the South African government that the health and environment risks associated with nuclear power are real, and that taking the nuclear route in power generation is not the solution to reducing climate change emissions.
“Nuclear power will provide too little, too late to address climate change and it is a dangerous distraction, sucking billions of rands in funding, away from the real solutions which could already be implemented today,” said Brad Smith, programme director for Greenpeace Africa.
In a bid to stop this shipment, Greenpeace Africa has sent a warning letter to several African environmental ministers including South Africa’s environmental affairs and tourism Minister, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, urging them to take immediate action against the two ships.
– SAPA
Cricket massacre lays bare the flaws of a failing state
From The Sunday Times March 8, 2009 Cricket massacre lays bare the flaws of a failing stateThe Pakistan terrorist attack and its aftermath have underlined the violence and corruption at the heart of a nuclear nation “……………….
…………..Unlike Pakistan’s military rulers, Zardari has no sympathy for the militant groups, pointing out that he lost his own wife, Benazir Bhutto, to terrorism. But he heads a weak minority government in alliance with an Islamic party linked to some of them.While Pakistan remains a largely moderate country, support for militants has increased with public anger at US drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas. These have killed senior Taliban or Al-Qaeda commanders but also many civilians. “Zardari may wish to be rid of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, the LeT and other affiliated terrorist groups, but he cannot afford to be seen to cave in to western and Indian pressure”, said MJ Gohel, director of the Asia Pacific Foundation. “The terrorist infrastructure is being allowed to continue functioning with only cosmetic restrictions, whose main function is to impress the US. Yet until firm action is taken and training camps are closed down, the slow collapse of the Pakistani state will continue.”………………….
If nothing works, America could be confronted with the nightmare of a nuclear-armed and fragmented Pakistan in the hands of Islamic radicals.
For years the United States has been studying how to remove or disable Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in the event of an emergency, but it is highly delicate.
Cricket massacre lays bare the flaws of a failing state – Times Online
Aboriginal land owners told to sign leases or lose funds
Aboriginal land owners told to sign leases or lose funds * March 6, 2009m”………….
The proposal has already been slammed in some quarters.
The National Indigenous Times labelled it a “betrayal” by Labor.
“In broad terms it represents a national roll-out of the most controversial parts of the Northern Territory intervention – the compulsory acquisition of Aboriginal land for the reconstruction of townships,” the fortnightly newspaper said.
The publication said Ms Macklin argued against a similar proposal pushed by the former Howard government when Labor was in opposition.
There is also concern that native title claims will be unduly rushed as a result of the policy.
Aborigines told to swap land rights for new homes | smh.com.au
Aborigines told to swap land rights for new homes * Joel Gibson Indigenous Affairs Reporter in Cessnock Sydney Morning Herald March 6, 2009 ABORIGINES living in remote areas throughout Australia will not get a cent of $2 billion in new housing money unless they sign away their land rights for at least 40 years under a controversial Rudd Government plan that NSW indigenous leaders called insulting and dictatorial………………………………….
The policy is a milder version of a Howard government approach in the Northern Territory, which required 99-year leases, but is being extended to all states and territories for the first time.
It represents an about-face for Ms Macklin, who argued against the Howard government policy in 2007, saying land tenure reform should not be a condition of funding for basic service………………………………..
Rick Griffiths, chief executive of the Mindaribba land council, which represents indigenous people in the Cessnock area, said it was an insult. “There’s no mention of compensation for the leases … And what happens if there’s a change of state government?” he said. “They don’t go to white communities and say this, do they?”
The state’s peak Aboriginal body said neither state nor federal governments had discussed the plan with them……………………..The activist Michael Anderson, a founder of the Aboriginal tent embassy, compared the policy with those of Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Mugabe, and the former Australian prime minister William McMahon, who took land from whites and wanted to lease land to blacks, respectively.
Aborigines told to swap land rights for new homes | smh.com.au
Waste Texas
Waste Texas The Texas Observer 7 March 09 Peggy Pryor grew up the poor daughter of a roughneck, maligned as “oilfield trash,” but she prides herself on having good horse sense. For more than a decade, this feisty West Texas woman has seen something terribly wrong with plans to turn a former ranch near her hometown into the final resting place for massive amounts of radioactive and hazardous waste. Not too many years ago, Pryor could be found raising hell trying to stop the dump. These days, she’s more or less resigned to the inevitable.
“I still protest every once in a while,” she says. But in the end, “I don’t think I did anything other than scream and yell, and cause them to have a little headache.”
The corporation Pryor tried to fight, Waste Control Specialists LLC, owned by Dallas billionaire and major Republican donor Harold Simmons, has spent the last 20 years pulling political, business, and regulatory strings to do what no other company in the nation has been able to do in three decades: license and build a new radioactive waste dump. Waste Control has lobbied successfully for a change in state law to privatize radioactive waste disposal, muscled out more experienced competitors, beaten back environmentalists and anti-nuclear activists, and—perhaps most remarkably—turned the majority of Andrews’ citizens into the dump’s fiercest boosters.
The company now has in hand—a technicality or two notwithstanding—two licenses to bury about 60 million cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste at a site near the Texas-New Mexico line 30 miles west of Andrews. Much of the waste will be radioactive for millions of years; projected profits have been estimated in the billions…………………………..Waste Control prevailed. In 2003, after several failed attempts, the company finally convinced the Texas Legislature, lubricated by campaign contributions and a team of lobbyists, to change state law to allow a private outfit to handle radioactive waste. With that accomplished, Waste Control spent the next five years navigating an environmental and safety review by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that Waste Control President Rod Baltzer calls “one of the most rigorous reviews in the history of mankind.”That process is now almost complete. Andrews is on its way to becoming the nation’s preeminent radioactive waste destination. Still, the company is chafing at the limitations imposed by the disposal licenses.
For Pryor, the idea of letting a for-profit company handle, transport, and bury waste that will remain dangerous for tens of thousands of years is crazy at best. State engineers and geologists largely agree. (See “Good to Glow,” April 4, 2008) They’ve publicly predicted the landfill will contaminate groundwater and pose unacceptable risks to residents. At least three state experts have quit the environmental commission in the past two years to protest what they see as politically motivated fast-tracking of Waste Control’s licenses.
Americans are exposed to seven times more radiation
Americans are exposed to seven times more radiationTop News by Piyush Diwan on Wed, 03/04/2009 Recent research revealed that Americans are seven times more exposed to radiation than in 1980. The possible reason behind this increase is overuse of a diagnostic scans by doctors for profit.Research conducted by National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement said that doctors are ordering too many diagnostic tests, driving up the cost of healthcare in the United States and potentially harming patients. Researchers believe that too much radiation exposure can cause cancer, especially in younger people.Dr. James Thrall, chair of the American College of Radiology’s Board of Chancellors, said: “Unfortunately, one of the things we have seen in the imaging world is that many physicians look at imaging as the solution to their financial problems.”
Americans are exposed to seven times more radiation | Top News
News Headlines Increase Radiation Risks – More people go to the doctor if they are panicked – Softpedia
News Headlines Increase Radiation Risks SOFTPEDIA 7 March 09 More people go to the doctor if they are panicked – “……………………doctors say, patients are prone to getting more exposed to radiation after news programs and various daily papers tell that a disease is on the rise, or other such information……………………“Adding up all the doses and then spreading out the total over the entire population, no matter a person’s age, occupation, location, or health status is not appropriate for assessing risk to the general population,” Mayo Clinic professor of radiological physics Cynthia McCollough shares.
window.google_render_ad();While trying to keep healthy, people actually tend to get intoxicated with unnecessary doses of radiation, just to make sure that whatever disease is circulating the country at one point is not affecting them.
Bloomberg.com: Australia & New Zealand
By Shani Raja 3 March Sydney. Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. (ERA AU): Uranium slumped about 9 percent last week after supply exceeded demand on the so- called spot market for the first time this year, Denver-based pricing service TradeTech LLC said in a report.Energy Resources, a uranium producer, fell 1.1 percent to A$18.19.
First, tag your shark. Then have an informed debate – Letters – Opinion
Efficiency beats nuclear as realistic route on emissionsHeather Ridout (Letters, March 4) says most actions to reduce emissions involve costs that, in the main, will not be recovered by energy savings.Modelling by McKinsey and Company shows that potential energy savings are substantial and that reducing emissions to 30 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 is affordable and does not require major technological breakthroughs or lifestyle changes (“Going green for 80 cents a day”, February 15, 2008).Their work suggests savings from energy efficiency can pay for most of the additional costs of cleaner energy supply. Energy efficiency is not just about turning the lights off. It includes addressing market failures, such as the lack of incentive for builders to install insulation in rental homes where tenants foot the power bills.
Gayle Adams Dulwich Hill
There are many reports and real life examples to show that large amounts of energy could be saved cost-effectively by being more efficient. In particular, we should be targeting inefficient industrial electric motor systems, commercial air handling systems and commercial lighting.
The Federal Government’s report Securing Australia’s Energy Future (2004) outlines that energy usage could be reduced by 10 to 30 per cent, saving $5 billion to $15 billion a year. Other reports show that such savings can be achieved by investing in energy efficiency projects with payback periods of less than four years. Projects with longer payback periods can save substantially more energy.
Energy efficiency can deliver dollar savings which can be used to reduce carbon emissions further by investing in renewable energy.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Peter Costello’s support for nuclear power is misguided. Sydney Morning Herald, 6 March 09The 2006 Switkowski report found that even building 25 nuclear reactors by 2050 would reduce emissions by a modest 17 per cent, assuming they replaced coal-fired plants. The reactors would cost $50-$100 billion and they would produce 45,000 tonnes of high-level nuclear waste.
They would also produce enough plutonium to build 45,000 nuclear weapons, bringing Australia far closer to a nuclear weapons capability and possibly encouraging countries in South-East Asia to move closer to a weapons capability under the guise of a civil nuclear program. Jim Green Friends of the Earth, Melbourne
First, tag your shark. Then have an informed debate – Letters – Opinion
“Nuclear waste coming soon to an interstate near you”
Nuclear waste coming soon to an interstate near you The Register Guard By Jack Dresser – Mar 4, 2009, Pasco, Wash., is an exceptionally clean, well-kept little city. But as many unhappy homeowners and investors now realize, when something looks too good, you’d better look more closely. Pasco is the gateway to the most contaminated nuclear site in the Western Hemisphere……………………
The Nov. 17 hearing presented a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on the energy department’s earlier proposal to develop a “Global Nuclear Energy Partnership” presented in May, 2007 at the same locations. The DOE snuck in its mandated hearings far from our population centers, with short and little notice. For good reason.
Under the GNEP plan, nuclear fuel would be produced in the U.S. and other advanced nuclear nations through a reprocessing technology that is yet to be developed. The cost is undisclosed but substantial. Nuclear fuel would be provided to developing countries for their nuclear energy development. In return, we would receive their waste for further reprocessing — an international recycling system that would keep the big boys in control of weapons-grade nuclear material production. The DOE claims the reprocessing site isn’t yet selected, but the inside word is that it’s Hanford.
Most of the waste would be shipped by truck or train through Oregon, primarily along the Interstate 5 and Interstate 84 corridors………………………In contrast to the local news, the deceptively soothing DOE handouts had brief and carefully worded descriptions, touting nuclear as an energy source that doesn’t pollute the air (never mind the Earth and water). And its proposed system will allegedly be “proliferation-resistant” (not proliferation-secure), making nuclear materials “nearly impossible” (not impossible) to divert without detection. They were clearly hedging their pledges, and it wasn’t reassuring.
1 This Month
10 June – Assessing Canada’s Investments in Small Modular Nuclear Reactors – https://zoom.us/meeting/register/IiqHA5feRhaEBycOLNTJlA#/registration
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- June 2026 (89)
- May 2026 (306)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 