2009 May 13 « nuclear-news

Foreign Policy: Electing the Nuclear Pope

NPR 14 May 09by Charles D. Ferguson

………………………..the ElBaradei legacy weighs heavily. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the IAEA in 2005, vindicating the director-general’s belief that he is on a mission to prevent war. Although some countries welcomed ElBaradei’s activist approach — he passionately disputed the Bush administration’s claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, for example — others would surely prefer someone less controversial. That difference of opinion often falls along economic lines, with richer countries pushing for a technocrat and the developing world advocating a peacemaker…………………. Whoever finally gets the nod will have to continue ElBaradei’s work of building the agency up from a traditionally underfunded and understaffed one to an international powerhouse of legitimacy and technical capability.

May 13, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear | Leave a comment

Nuclear is not the answer

Nuclear is not the answer
By Rina Jimenez-David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:37:00 05/13/2009
“………………………………….To forestall the reopening of the BNPP, Greenpeace has brought in Yves Marignac, an international consultant on nuclear and energy issues, who is executive director of WISE-Paris, an organization dedicated to “promoting independent information and well-informed decision-making” regarding the use of nuclear energy for power generation………………

…………….A mathematician by training, Marignac says he has been going around the world talking about the French “experience” with nuclear energy because French President Nicholas Sarkozy “has been aggressively promoting the French nuclear industry,” convincing governments in the developing world to invest in nuclear power with the help of French-built machinery and expertise……………………………

France is extraordinarily committed to nuclear power generation, with 50 reactors around the country, and some still under construction. But a report on the French nuclear industry, published by Global Chance, an association that includes among its members several of France’s independent nuclear experts, shows that “France’s nuclear promises are a dangerous illusion … locked into nuclear power in a way that presents an obstacle to the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.”

As Marignac puts it, the French nuclear power industry “hasn’t delivered even against its own set targets.”………….

………..Marignac has many tables and charts to show how power generated by nuclear plants provides only a small percentile of the total energy required by the French people, mainly because so much of this demand is created by reliance on gasoline……………………………

BUT the main drawback to an energy program dependent on nuclear power, says Marignac, is that “it approaches the problem from the wrong end.”

In his view, any long-term solution to cut dependence on fossil fuels must be addressed from the “demand side,” that is, reducing dependence on electricity and fuel by cutting down electricity use. Not only is nuclear power dangerous, expensive and wrought with untold health and security issues, it ultimately will not bring an end to the threat of climate change. As France has shown, even with 50 nuclear power plants, the French remain as dependent on fossil fuels as ever.

Nuclear is not the answer – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

May 13, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, spinbuster | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Britain’s farmers still restricted by Chernobyl nuclear fallout

Britain’s farmers still restricted by Chernobyl nuclear fallout The Guardian by Terry Macalister and Helen Carter 12 may 09 Environmentalists say controls on 369 farms highlight danger of plans to build nuclear plants around UK Nearly 370 farms in Britain are still restricted in the way they use land and rear sheep because of radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident 23 years ago, the government has admitted……………………………..

Critics of the nuclear industry expressed alarm at the latest numbers, which they believed would increase public unease about the highly toxic and long-term impact of radioactivity.

David Lowry, a member of Nuclear Waste Advisory Associates, said the figures demonstrated the “unforgiving hazards” of radioactivity dispersed into the environment, whether from Chernobyl in Ukraine, thousands of miles away and 23 years ago, or over decades from the Faslane nuclear submarine base in Scotland, as revealed by the Guardian last month…………………………

…………Revelations about the continuing impact of the Chernobyl accident come weeks after three different sites were bought in auction by EDF and other power companies for building new atomic plants in Britain.

Britain’s farmers still restricted by Chernobyl nuclear fallout | Environment | guardian.co.uk

May 13, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment

Tritium leaks at Oyster Creek not easily contained

Tritium leaks at Oyster Creek not easily contained APP.com By PETER HIBBARD • May 12, 2009The recent reports of tritium being found in monitoring wells at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey are deeply disturbing. Once a contaminant gets into the aquifer, it is nearly impossible to remove it. Water in the aquifer moves slowly, but it moves……….

…………..Oyster Creek is the oldest nuclear plant of its type in the nation. It has one of the highest leak rates in the country. Project Tooth Fairy measured Strontium 90 in children by examining baby teeth, and estimated the leakage has been going on for many years. Growing teeth can be checked for age of exposure, like rings on a tree.

Tritium leaks at Oyster Creek not easily contained | APP.com | Asbury Park Press

May 13, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Seismic activity makes nuclear power unsafe, says geologist

Seismic activity makes nuclear power unsafe, says geologistP ALOMA MIGONE – Herald-Tribune staff 13 May 09 – “……………………

The most recent earthquake occurred near the proposed nuclear plant site in Peace River on Feb. 19 with a magnitude of 3.2.

There was another earthquake recorded near Fort St. John in the ’80s and another near Snipe Lake, which is east of Valleyview, in the ’70s.

“This would be the most foolish place in Alberta to even think of putting a nuclear plant,” he said.

The concern is that over the course of many small earthquakes, a nuclear power plant would suffer “fractures,” weakening the structure and making it unsafe.

‘ADDED DANGER’

“The facilities of the nuclear plant, the concrete, the piping, over time they corrode, they get weaker and this is simply an added danger to the safety of the plant.”

Adele Boucher Rymhs from Citizens Against Nuclear Development said agreeing to a nuclear plan now would pass the problem to residents’ kids and grandchildren.

“Thirty years, 40 years from now, they are the ones who will suffer from problems if they occur.”

Seismic activity makes nuclear power unsafe, says geologist – Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune – Alberta, CA

May 13, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive | Leave a comment