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New Coal and Nuclear Plants May Not Be Needed, U.S. Energy Official Says

New Coal and Nuclear PlantsMay Not Be Needed, U.S. Energy Official Says
e360 digest23 Apr 2009:
Renewable energy technologies have come far enough that the U.S. may not need to build any new coal or nuclear plants, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said. “We may not need any, ever,” Jon Wellinghoff said at a forum of the U.S. Energy Association. The development of smart grid technologies that better store capacity from wind, solar and biomass sources, he said, will eventually meet the nation’s energy demands — and make coal-fired and nuclear plants unnecessary……………

………..Wellinghoff insists the existing concept of baseload capacity will be an “anachronism” as the technology develops to store power capacity, such as a system for concentrated solar plants that currently allows 15 hours of storage.

Yale Environment 360: New Coal and Nuclear Plants
May Not Be Needed, U.S. Energy Official Says

May 29, 2009 Posted by | ENERGY, USA | , , | Leave a comment

Kyrgyzstan: Radioactive Legacy Vexes Bishkek

Friday, May 29, 2009EURASIANET.org  KYRGYZSTAN: RADIOACTIVE LEGACY VEXES BISHKEK David Trilling 5/27/09 – “…………………..In March 2008, officials from Kyrgyzstan’s Emergencies Ministry began moving radioactive uranium waste from Soviet-era dumps — located in poorly fortified ravines and along riverbeds downstream — into the hills just above his home. “It gives us headaches; our eyes itch,” Toko says as he gestures across the road. Now he grows his fruits and vegetables in water potentially contaminated by the radioactive materials.

A few kilometers downstream from Toko’s house there are even more lethal radioactive deposits — known as tailings. They line the river and surround the former industrial town of Mailuu Suu, now home to acres of derelict factory buildings. Not too long ago, the area was a desirable place to live. ………………………….as much as 10,000 tons of yellowcake (U3O8), a refined form of uranium that can be used either to produce nuclear energy or atomic weapons, was produced in Mailuu Suu for Soviet weapons programs. The first Soviet atomic weapon was made from uranium mined at Mailuu Suu, say officials at Kyrgyzstan’s National Academy of Science. Communist central planners tended to care about results, not the potential consequences of their decisions. Thus little thought was given to the disposal of radioactive waste. Approximately 2 million cubic meters of uranium tailings were buried in the area, according to Kyrgyz government statistics. It is the largest such site in the country. In addition to the 23 tailings dumps, workers sprinkled almost a million cubic meters of uranium waste rock atop 13 dumps nearby, on land still exposed to the rain and annual mudslides.

Many of the tailing sites and waste rock dumps are now poorly marked. Sheep graze on them. Water drains through the radioactive material and downstream into Uzbekistan and the Syr Darya, which winds its way through Central Asia’s most densely populated areas.

Mailuu Suu residents complain of goiter, anemia, cancer and early death. Radiation in some areas is 30 times normal levels. Former Mailuu Suu mayor Bumairam Mamaseitova, currently an MP in Bishkek with the opposition Communist Party, says rates of cancer in Mailuu Suu are the highest in Kyrgyzstan. “All of the diseases are related to those uranium tailings in the area.” For her, it is a personal issue. “This issue of uranium tailings worries me a lot because my father died when he was only 52 years old. He used to work in the uranium mines. I was born and have lived in Mailuu Suu. Most of my relatives died in their 50s.”

Dumps there are thought to be the most dangerous in Kyrgyzstan, due to the valley’s higher-than-avera

EurasiaNet Civil Society – Kyrgyzstan: Radioactive Legacy Vexes Bishkek

May 29, 2009 Posted by | Kyrgyzstan, wastes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Gorleben nuclear storage site developed illegally

Gorleben nuclear storage site developed illegally  The Local 29 May 09lThe salt dome at the Gorleben nuclear waste depot was developed illegally to be permanent storage facility, according to an internal assessment by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) attained by daily Frankfurter Rundschau on Thursday. Since work began on the underground facility in the 1980s, only permission for “exploration” has been granted. But even without an official authorisation, the paper said that costs for assessing the salt dome for its suitability had been high because “the construction of the permanent storage depot was begun parallel to the investigation.”

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection did not want to confirm the existence of the document, but did admit that costs had been higher than necessary.

Some €1.5 billion has been invested in the site.

Work at Gorleben has been suspended since 2000, when the government decided to wait until 2010 to resume the controversial project.

The appearance of the documents has confirmed the doubts of nuclear energy opponents, who believed that Gorleben had been earmarked as a permanent storage depot before the safety of the salt dome had been adequately investigated.

Nuclear energy is deeply unpopular in Germany

Gorleben nuclear storage site developed illegally – The Local

May 29, 2009 Posted by | Germany, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear power? Great! Nuclear waste? Wait! | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

Nuclear power? Great! Nuclear waste? Wait! By JONATHAN JENKINS, QUEEN’S PARK BUREAUL Toronto Sun : 26th May 2009,

Cabinet minister Rick Bartolucci is 100% for his government’s plans to build new nuclear reactors and 100% against storing their waste in his constituency.

“I don’t see a conflict in regard to my government’s direction at all,” Bartolucci, the minister for community safety and corrections, said yesterday.

Nuclear power? Great! Nuclear waste? Wait! | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

May 29, 2009 Posted by | Canada, politics | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Canada to Seek Buyers for Atomic Energy of Canada, Globe Says – Bloomberg.com

Canada to Seek Buyers for Atomic Energy of Canada, Globe Says

By Greg Quinn

May 28 (Bloomberg) — Canada will seek buyers for part of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., seeking to boost sales of its Candu reactors, and is looking for new managers of a damaged reactor that makes medical isotopes, the Globe and Mail newspaper said.

The state-owned company would be split into a Candu division and a division for the isotope-producing reactor, the newspaper said, citing people it didn’t name who are familiar with the plans.

The isotope reactor will remain shut down for at least three months to make emergency repairs, and about C$7 billion ($6.3 billion) is needed for waste clean up at the site, the newspaper said.

Canada to Seek Buyers for Atomic Energy of Canada, Globe Says – Bloomberg.com

May 29, 2009 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | , , , | Leave a comment

Forget reprocessing nuclear waste

Forget reprocessing nuclear waste New Times SLO Paso Robles Klaus Schumann  May 27th, 2009, i “………..
………….. the Ford and Carter administrations scrapped the U.S. reprocessing program in the late ’70s precisely because of the abundance of problems associated with it. It was deemed too expensive and too polluting in terms of further radioactive co
tamination. Worst of all, reprocessing doesn’t “recycle” the waste. It creates new radioactive wastes, some which can be directly converted into nuclear weapons, increasing proliferation risks.
Meanwhile, reprocessing plants in Europe, Russia, and Japan are plagued by radiation leaks and other scandalous problems. The Union of Concerned Scientists considers reprocessing as “dangerous, dirty and expensive.” Moreover, especially since 9/11, furth
r concerns have emerged, such as nuclear terrorism or accidents during frequent shipments. Overall, reprocessing was a bad idea then and is an even worse idea now.

New Times SLO | Publishing Local News and Entertainment for over 20 years in San Luis Obispo County

May 29, 2009 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Future of nuclear power in limbo

Future of nuclear power in limboYuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Thu, 29 may 2009 1:32 PM | The ArchipelagoState Minister of Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman said on Thursday that tenders for nuclear power plants, which were initially targeted for completion by the end of this year, have been postponed indefinitely.The decision to postpone was made in light of an absence of political support since the legislative election in April, the minister said.

May 29, 2009 Posted by | Indonesia, politics | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear reactor malfunctions, shuts down at Indian Point

Nuclear reactor malfunctions, shuts down at Indian Point.Breakdown is second problem in two weeks

By Alexa James
Times Herald-Record
Posted: May 28, 2009 – 10:39 AM

BUCHANAN – A nuclear reactor at the Indian Point power plant in Buchanan automatically shut down this morning due to a malfunction. This is the site’s third unplanned break-down in three months.

According to officials with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the problem occurred around 5:30 a.m., when “a high vibration condition was detected on a main feedwater pump” in reactor Unit 3. The malfunction triggered a “high-level alarm,” then a turbine trip, then the reactor trip, said the NRC, in a statement.

This is the second time in two months that Unit 3 has malfunctioned. Plant operators manually tripped the reactor on May 15 after a main feedwater regulating valve in a steam generator failed, resulting in rising coolant levels that could not be controlled………………………….

These problems are occurring at a critical time for Entergy Nuclear, the New Orleans-based company that owns and operates Indian Point. Entergy is currently applying for a 20-year operating license renewal. It’s current licenses expire by 2015.

Indian Point’s critics, who include the state of New York and environmental groups, are formally petitioning the NRC to deny the license renewal. They’ve questioned the ability of the aging plant to operate safely and efficiently for another two decades.

Nuclear reactor malfunctions, shuts down at Indian Point. | recordonline.com

May 29, 2009 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Niger Political Melee Could Affect Foreign Uranium Cos

Niger Political Melee Could Affect Foreign Uranium CosThursday Easy Bourse May 28th, 2009 / 20h15By Brian TruscottOf DOW JONES NEWSWIRESVANCOUVER -(Dow Jones)- As Kazakhstan investigates whether state officials sold uranium assets to foreign companies illegally, Niger – and its uranium market – is undergoing a small crisis of its own…………………..Political unrest, especially from opposing political parties, is spreading, with street demonstrations and the rise of anti-referendum coalitions.
On the face of it, this looks like political wrangling, but given the history of power grabs in African countries, this could be a precursor to economic instability in a region that often sees the military step in to resolve political upheavals, one uranium markets analyst said………………………..Niger Uranium Ltd. (URU.LN) has a number of potential prospects in development while Australia’s NGM Resources Ltd. (NGM.AU) has three uranium concessions.

Actualité de la bourse sur Areva CI – CEI : interviews, rumeurs de marchés, analyses, dossiersEasyBourse

May 29, 2009 Posted by | business and costs, Niger | , , , , | Leave a comment