2009 June 11 « nuclear-news

Is depleted uranium too hot for Utah site?

Environment » State Radiation Control Board has decided to look further into the question.

06/10/2009 03

Utah‘s Radiation Control Board will dig deeper into the long-term risks of depleted uranium before it decides whether the unusual form of low-level radioactive waste warrants a moratorium. ………………………..”First of all, I believe the public should be protected and the environment should be protected,” said board vice chair Elizabeth Goryunova, suggesting that the board had a responsibility to consider the need for a moratorium despite hassles that might be involved in imposing one. “That’s absolutely a must.”…………………………

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12556404

June 11, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Utah a nuclear dumping ground?

Globe Salt lake community College Tamara M. Wright & Tiffany Jacobs

6/10/09 EnergySolutions, Inc. – moniker of the famed Utah Jazz’s Arena, major political lobbyist, scholarship funder, and international nuclear services company-filed a lawsuit because a regional compact was forbidding them from allowing the disposal in Utah of 1600 tons of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW). The Northwest Compact, made by congress in 1985, is comprised of Utah and seven other states to responsibly oversee the disposal of nuclear waste.

These 3.2 million pounds of waste in question would likely enter the country through the ports of Charleston, South Carolina or New Orleans, Louisiana as 20,000 tons-40 million pounds-of LLRW, get processed in Tennessee, then move to its new home–or final resting place–specially selected in Clive, Utah…………

……..that is, if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) grants the company an import license, allowing this glamorous gunk to enter the U.S………

……….Many people in Utah, as well as in the rest of the United States, are concerned about this because the waste was to be coming from out of the country, from Italy. Statewide concern primarily consist of Utahns not wanting nuclear waste-especially not alien waste- in their own backyard; national concern is that this precedent could open the door for other states to be able to do the same thing, further contaminating backyards from foreign sources.

June 11, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment

Russia says bank problems delaying Iran nuclear plant

Washington, 10 June (WashingtonTV)—In an interview with the Interfax news agency published on Wednesday, the head of Russia’s nuclear contractor, Atomstroiexport, said that the completion of Iran’s first nuclear power plant was being delayed by Russian banks refusing to work with Tehran.

The state-owned Atomostroiexport is building the nuclear power plant in the southwestern Iranian city of Bushehr, along the Persian Gulf. The project has experienced numerous delays, including some linked to disagreements over payment terms.

“The problems with financing exist because not all Russian banks are ready to work with Iran, and we have to find alternative options,” Atomstroiexport head, Dan Belenky, told Interfax, according to AFP.

http://televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=2&id=11149

June 11, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Iran | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | 1 Comment

Nuclear Opponents Argue Against Comanche Peak Expansion

Nuclear Opponents Argue Against Comanche Peak Expansion

Shelley Kofler, KERA News (2009-06-11) GRANBURY, TX (KERA) – For the second day, North Texas nuclear opponents are presenting arguments before a panel of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. They are challenging Luminant Generation’s request for a license to expand the Comanche Peak nuclear plant, as KERA’s Shelley Kofler reports.

Luminant wants to add two larger reactors to the two already operating at Comanche Peak, southwest of Fort Worth. Nuclear opponents have raised concerns about public health, cost, and enormous water use……………

………..Eye: These plants as we now know from other regulatory requirements are vulnerable to attack, and the more spent fuel that’s on site the bigger the target the more vulnerable we are to the consequences of a large radiological release

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kera/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1516592/North.Texas/Nuclear.Opponents.Argue.Against.Comanche.Peak.Expansion.

June 11, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive | Leave a comment

Hanford report shows repeated stoppages

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Seattle.pi.com 10 June 09 RICHLAND, Wash. — Work to clean out nuclear waste from underground tanks and to build a plant to treat the waste at the Hanford nuclear reservation was stopped 31 times over nine years to address safety or construction quality issues, according to a new report.

The Government Accountability Office report released Monday says more needs to be done to track the costs of the work stoppages.

June 11, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment