2009 May 20 « nuclear-news

An open, honest nuclear debate

An open, honest nuclear debate Alberta’s ‘public consultation’ on nuclear power seems designed to quash any opposition to the plan canada.com By Douglas Roche, 19 May 2009

The consultation process launched by the Alberta government to determine if a nuclear power plant should be built in the Peace River area appears designed to dampen any opposition to the plan.

The Alberta nuclear consultation survey is cleverly formulated to intimidate all those without a scientific background, for example, asking the responders if they can explain the details of Alberta’s electricity system or nuclear energy to others. The responder is asked to affirm whether or not: “I was very familiar with the history of nuclear use in Canada.” In other words, if you don’t have a technical background, is your opinion worth much? Why bother to proceed if you’re not an expert?………..

……………………The report of the nuclear power expert panel and the government’s subsequent workbook downplay the risk of nuclear accidents, the staggering costs to taxpayers of nuclear power, the link between nuclear power and nuclear weapons, and the immense new potential of alternate sources of energy……………………………

A new study by the Pembina Institute found Alberta could go from producing more than 70 per cent of its electricity from coal to 70 per cent from clean energy sources in just 20 years, based on existing technology and rates of deployment already seen in other jurisdictions.

Using proven renewable energy technologies, combined with industrial co-generation and a serious commitment to improved consumption efficiency, Alberta could satisfy its growing demand for power while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful environmental impacts……………..

……………..For every argument that nuclear power is entering a “renaissance,” there is another that it is headed for obsolescence.

An open, honest nuclear debate

May 20, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, spinbuster | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | Leave a comment

Soviet-Era Uranium Waste Sites Now Threaten Central Asia

Soviet-Era Uranium Waste Sites Now Threaten Central Asia Georgian Daily 19 may Paul goble Storage sites for uranium tailings that were built in Soviet times in Tajikistan are now leaking radiation into the surrounding atmosphere and ground water supplies, undermining the health and well-being of the people of a republic and a broader region that lack the resources to clean up a problem that it did nothing to create………………………..

The impact of the release of radioactive materials on the health of the population is already clear. Not only are the numbers of people suffering from cancer increasing, but the age of onset of cancers is falling, with many local people showing signs of cancer when they are only 15 or 16 years old, something almost unheard of earlier.

Moreover, medical officials from Dushanbe say that the overall health statistics for the areas around the uranium tailings sites are chilling: The number of stillborn children has increased as have the number of newborns with congenital defects. Some 85 percent of women in the region suffer from anemia, as do more than 64 percent of newborns…………………………..he amount of radioactive leavings is enormous, more than 450 million tons.

As a result, Ferghana.ru concludes sadly, the prospects are not good. “The elites have left the area forever because they know that the supplies of uranium are practically exhausted and that sooner or later all the factories and combines involved with the production of nuclear fuel will stop.”

In the end, the news service suggests, the local population will stand alon, facing “only the ruins of nuclear processing and mountains of ecological problems.”

georgiandaily.com – Soviet-Era Uranium Waste Sites Now Threaten Central Asia

May 20, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Russia starts building world’s first floating nuclear power plant

Russia starts building world’s first floating nuclear power plant MOSNEWS.com 19 May, 11:07 PMRussia began assembling the world’s first floating nuclear power plant on a St. Petersburg wharf on Monday. The enormous platform carrying two nuclear reactors will produce heat and energy and desalinate sea water……………………

Developers of the floating station claim it is environmentally friendly.

The contract for building the first of the floating nuclear power plants is worth 983 billion rubles ($30.6 billion), Interfax reported.

Russia starts building world’s first floating nuclear power plant / MosNews.com

May 20, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive | Leave a comment

Anti-missiles in Europe: unneeded, ineffective, harmful |

Russia Today 19 May 09 The anti-ballistic missile system, which the US wants to use to protect itself and Europe from a possible strike from Iran, is not up for the job, a joint US-Russian threat assessment says. published on Tuesday by the non-partisan independent think-tank EastWest Institute, is the result of one year of work by both American and Russian scientists and missile experts.

Anti-missiles in Europe: unneeded, ineffective, harmful | Politics from 2009-05-19 | RT

May 20, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Is it safe to store US nuclear waste above ground?

Is it safe to store US nuclear waste above ground? News Scientist Phil McKenna, 20 May 09 If leading US energy experts have their way, the US will be storing tens of thousands of tonnes of nuclear waste above ground for decades to come. But are dry casks, originally intended as a short-term fix for nuclear waste, a safe bet?………………………Existing reprocessing technology is “costly, prone to sabotage, offers very little waste reduction, and very little additional energy,” said Harvard’s Matthew Bunn of a process that can yield weapon-grade plutonium.

May 20, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nuclear lobby buoyant as Europe warms up to atomic energy |

Nuclear lobby buoyant as Europe warms up to atomic energy DEUTSCHE WELLE Mirjam Stöckel 20 May 09

EU warms up to nuclear energy

The nuclear lobby has certainly been banging the drum in recent years and with increasing success………………….The nuclear industry has stepped up efforts to advertize the potentially positive effects of atomic energy in cutting carbon emissions and limiting global warming as well as reducing Europe’s energy dependency.

Critics have condemned the rethink on nuclear power, pointing out that many EU parliamentarians are letting themselves be fooled by the nuclear lobby’s “climate” arguments.

“If you wanted to be really cynical you could say that the nuclear industry had to invent the whole climate discussion in order to see a chance for themselves,” said Rebecca Harms, an MP from Germany’s Green party.

“I know of no other case in which a huge industry tries so hard to benefit from a huge global problem as the nuclear industry does in the case of climate change.”……………………………….

Critics deplore lack of transparency

But for some, the nuclear lobby’s methods of networking with policy makers remain foggy.

That was illustrated in the case of former Euro MP Rolf Linkohr who worked as a special consultant for EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs after the end of his parliamentary term.

In 2007, Linkohr was fired after it emerged he had been on the board of nuclear energy giant EnBW and had been consulting energy companies with a private firm during his work for the Commission.

For non-governmental organizations such as the Corporate Europe Observatory CEO, Linkohr’s case was proof of the murky links between politics and the influential nuclear lobby.

CEO says the nuclear lobby is marked by a persisting lack of transparency. The EU Commission is advised by various expert groups and some of them are from the nuclear sector, Yorgos Vassalos of CEO said.

“Most of the time we have no access to the protocols of the meetings and to the list of participants. It’s generally very difficult to find out anything about the ties between decision-makers and the nuclear lobby,” Vassalos said.

Powerful and flush with cash

What is known for a fact is that the nuclear lobby in Brussels is — much like the nuclear industry — one of the most influential and well-funded groups. According to Foratom’s Web site, the group spent 1.6 million euros ($2.2 million) on lobbying the various arms of the EU in 2007.

Nuclear lobby buoyant as Europe warms up to atomic energy | Environment & Development | Deutsche Welle | 19.05.2009

May 20, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Russia Especially Concerned About Threat of Nuclear War in Asia

Russia Especially Concerned About Threat of Nuclear War in Asia DIGITAL JOURNAL By Carol Forsloff.Published yesterday by ■ Carol Forsloff 19 May 09

Russian newspapers, like those in the West, are concerned about the ratcheting up of violence in Asia. They see the Russian – American nuclear armament race and potential outcome as a stalemate. Pakistan and India, however, play by different rules.

Front page news in Russia declares the concern that country has about the possibility of nuclear war between two powers that don’t play by the same rules as other nations have done. This is seen as having serious catastrophic consequences for the entire world, given the threats involved and the extreme political views held by certain factions, especially within Pakistan……………….

………..India already has enormous potential since it expanded its capabilities in 2001 given the fact that the country never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The government of India believes it is entitled to have the same privileges as Russia, the USA, China, Great Britain and France with nuclear weapons.
Here’s the terrible problem. It is recognized that Pakistan and India are enemies and have been so for decades. China and India have had border clashes that could easily manifest into war. Whereas Pakistan could attack India, it doesn’t have the capability of destroying most of India’s nuclear arms. Pakistan is smaller in size, and India has a greater nuclear capability. Add to that the Aghanistan War and the problems on the border with Pakistan. The chief, however, is China that has enormous capacity compared to either India or Pakistan; and if that sleeping giant enters the fray, the facts are this: war indeed will be hell, as newspapers in Russia detail.

Russia Especially Concerned About Threat of Nuclear War in Asia – Digital Journal: Your News Network

May 20, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Pakistan, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radioactive | Leave a comment