Nuclear lobby downplays the real dangers
Nuclear Energy White Knight or Dangerous Fantasy?
Solve Climate Aug 17th, 2009
In their current enthusiasm for nuclear energy, boosters have tended to overlook or dismissed the dark days of nuclear’s more recent past.
For example, British scientist James Lovelock has dismissed the Three Mile Island accident as a “a joke.” Continue reading
Non-nuclear production of medical isotopes
National nuclear medicine shortage could have a Wisconsin solution
WTN News Tom StillAugust 17, 2009
“…………Scientists working with the Madison-based company believe they can generate the neutrons necessary to create Mo-99, an essential nuclear medicine tool, without using a nuclear reactor to do so.It’s a safer and more sustainable method than the status quo, which relies on production of Mo-99 from five retirement-age nuclear medicine reactors – two of which are now shut down, one perhaps permanently…………………………”
National nuclear medicine shortage could have a Wisconsin solution (WTN News)
Chile: tidal power more likely than nuclear
Chile sees tidal power filling energy gap
SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 17 (UPI) — Chile is actively considering several tidal energy installations as a way of filling a major gap in its future energy needs and reducing dependence on coal-fired power generation. A feasibility study on the potential for exploiting the renewable energy resource in Chile found the country had a “unique” wealth of natural sites that, if harnessed only up to 10 percent of available tidal power, could exceed the installed capacity of Chile’s central grid. The study was conducted for the Inter-American Development Bank by Garrard Hassan energy consultancy, based in Bristol, England………………….. Electricity generation from tidal waves is a proven technology, more predictable than solar or wind power, and already used on a commercial scale by France since 1966. The French tidal barrage at Rance, operated by Electricite de France, produces 240 megawatts at peak time. Uses of tidal power in mills date back to Roman times. Tidal power generation units of varying capacity are in different stages of completion or operation in the United States, Canada, China, Russia, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand and India…………………… Chile’s tentative tilt toward tidal power follows intense debate over a switchover from coal-fired electricity generation to “clean” nuclear power, but the idea has led to an outcry from environmental campaign groups………………… If the environmental groups win the argument for renewable sources such as tidal power, Chile’s nuclear power generation program could be pushed to the back burner……………………. Chile’s environmental groups oppose the nuclear option also because they cite the country’s earthquake fault lines as a major risk. Amid the ongoing discussions, for now at least, tidal power seems to stand a greater chance of winning friends among politicians who will fund its introduction to Chile. Chile sees tidal power filling energy gap – UPI.com
Ionising radiation causing rise in thyroid cancer
Your Health: Rise in thyroid cancer may be tied to radiation
By Kim Painter, USA TODAY 16 August 09A medical mystery: As overall cancer rates fall, why are thyroid cancer rates rising? Diagnoses of cancer in this gland in the neck are increasing about 6% a year, faster than cancers found anywhere else, according to one National Cancer Institute analysis.Researchers know one big reason: The many medical scans Americans have, for everything from neck pain to artery plaque, are turning up thousands of tiny thyroid tumors that otherwise might go undetected and often would do no harm.
“We call them ‘incidentalomas,’ ” says Amy Chen, a head and neck surgeon at Emory University in Atlanta and American Cancer Society researcher.
But that’s not the whole story. Two recent studies, including one co-written by Chen, show larger thyroid tumors are being found at an increasing rate, too. And those can’t be explained by more aggressive diagnosis alone, researchers say.
“There is something else going on” to contribute to the 37,000 cases of thyroid cancer expected this year, Chen says. That’s up from 18,000 in 2000.
Your Health: Rise in thyroid cancer may be tied to radiation – USATODAY.com
Malaysia: Nuclear Energy Costly and Unsafe
Costly and unsafe – opinion from Malaysia
August 16, 2009
The threat of another Chernobyl and the question of where to dump the waste are key arguments against nuclear power.AS mankind begins to come to terms with the fact that oil will run out in the not-too-distant future, nuclear power advocates trumpet a solution that is “clean, efficient, safe and, in some cases, environmentally friendly.………………..Elizabeth Wong, the Selangor Exco for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and the Environment, says nuclear energy is not a safe option for the future.
“Contrary to the claims of the nuclear industry and the federal government, nuclear energy is neither safe nor inexpensive. It is also not a solution to climate change. Nuclear power usage has environmental, health, and security risks that make it an undesirable substitute for fossil fuels.
Radiation Contamination by Depleted Uranium
High Tech Weaponry used in Gaza: Radiation contamination by Depleted Uranium
by Peter Eyre, Global Research, August 14, 2009
I am a Middle East Consultant living in the UK and would like all people living in or near areas of conflict to understand the High Tech Weaponry used by many military establishments worldwide, especially the US (the manufacturers) and other NATO forces.The reason for pointing this out to you is as a response to my research on the terrible rise in cancer related deaths. This is not only confined to military personnel in the battle zone but also the indiscriminate contamination of civilians, field crops and water supplies in the immediate area as well as the adjacent areas/countries. Below is my report:
Concerns regarding radiation contamination by the use of Depleted Uranium (DU) weaponry in the Balkans, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Eastern Mediterranean Countries.
The majority of high tech weapons today contain Depleted Uranium and or other Heavy Metals. Some are coated in DU and others have both DU and Heavy Metal in their warheads. DU is also used to act as a counterweight.
Both DU and heavy metals have the ability to kill indiscriminately subject to how such weapons are used and if those weapons are used in densely populated areas. In the case of the latter and in the context of the Geneva Convention it would be illegal to use such weapons in populated areas like Lebanon and Gaza.
The National Academy of Sciences in their BEIR VII report, regarding low level radiation, stated that there “is no safe level of exposure”. The report also finally admitted that very low levels are more harmful per unit of radiation than higher levels of exposure; also know as the suppralinear effect.
The European Parliament has expressed grave concerns on the use of such weapons………………………
Other nations are also currently using these weapons (NATO) especially in Afghanistan and over the border in Pakistan. One must accept that this is also a crime if civilian populations are involved. However, it doesn’t match up to using them on such dense enclaves as Gaza.
If government are allowing their own troops to become victims of such weapons then they also should be held to account. More importantly the country of origin (namely the US) and their respective arms developers are equally to blame for this inhumane use of DU weaponry.
I hope you appreciate my way of thinking and agree that it doesn’t really matter how people are dying. They are dying without just cause in the most terrible way and that is an act against mankind……………………
……….All of my research experts state it is radiation alpha particles from uranium atoms that cause the problem, and this type of contamination can be measured very precisely. It is the alpha particle that once inside your body runs rife and the rate and type of “Cancer” is subject to if it was inhaled or ingested. The latter is caused mainly in areas where DU dust has spread in the atmosphere and returned to earth in precipitation.
High Tech Weaponry used in Gaza: Radiation contamination by Depleted Uranium
Nuclear power in India: a long string of mishaps and deception
Indian N. proliferation remains unchecked
Sultan M Hali
Pakistan Observer 15 August 09
A decade ago, a nine-month long AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) safety study of Indian reactors documented more than 130 extremely serious safety issues warranting urgent corrective measures in the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre; Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR); Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited; Uranium Corporation of India Limited: Indian Rare Earths Limited; Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), and the Heavy Water Board. Cirus, 40 MW has history of developing radiation leaks. Candu reactors suffering from massive leakage of heavy water.
Waste tanks at BARC habitually develop major leaks. Dhruva suffers from design problems, fuel leakages. The Fast Breeder Test Reactor of 40 MW at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, built with French assistance, was rated ‘not safe’, and discarded. Similar reactors, like Super Phoenix of France and Monju of Japan, were also discarded because of safety hazards. A brief look at its power plants reveals the following discrepancies: Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) 1986—The inlets of its reactors cracked. 1988—MAPS was shut down after heavy water leaked. 1991—Tons of heavy water burst out, had frequent break downs. Rajasthan Atomic Power Plants (RAPP), Rawatbhat. Suffers from severe design faults. Reactors de-rated from 220 MW to 100 MW. Shut down number of times from 1980 to 1994 due to cracks.
Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS). On March 1993, a fire in NAPS, 180 km east of New Delhi, nearly caused a melt-down. Kakrapar Atomic Power Plants (KAPP), Gujarat – Unsafeguarded. The radiation leakages from the plants are a usual practice. Concrete containment dome of KAPS collapsed in 1994. Tarapur Atomic Power Plants (TAPP), Maharashtra. A high dosage of iodine was found in seawater around.
In 1995, the radioactive waste contaminated the water supply of nearly 3000 villagers living nearby. Russian VVER Light Water Reactors. The potential radiation leakage remains a high probability. IAEA has expressed doubts about the safety of these plants. Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad (NFC). None of facilities at NFC are under IAEA safeguards…………….
The list of Indian nuclear scientists involved in cases of proliferation is endless. Some prominent cases are enumerated: Oct 2003. An Indian Sitaram Rai Mahadevan arrested for sending blueprints of specialized valves, a critical part for nuclear plants to North Korea. 2004. Rabinder Singh, director RAW fled to US with sensitive documents. Dr Y S R Parsad helped Iran in building nuclear power plants. Dr C Surrender helped in transferring missile technology to Iran. Dr Mahesh and Mr. Panth helped Iran in enrichment technology of Uranium………….
http://pakobserver.net/200908/15/Articles03.asp
Nuclear costs spell the dying of this industry?
Nuclear power’s new debate: cost
Issues of safety and waste make way for a focus on funding.
By Mark Clayton | Staff Writer for The Christian Science Monitor/ August 13, 2009
“…………a new wave of concern is rising – not over traditional anxieties such as radioactive waste or weapons proliferation – but about the mammoth financial cost of nuclear power and who will bear it.
The big hurdle for Calvert Cliffs III and at least 21 other nuclear power reactors now in the US development pipeline is all about money – finding the billions in loans to build them. And the key to getting those loans is winning federal guarantees to back them.
Today, the US has 104 nuclear reactors, providing about 20 percent of the nation’s power. No new nuclear plants have been ordered in the US since 1978. This is not because of protestors, but because of a lack of investor funding and Wall Street remembering the ghosts of nuclear power’s past – massive construction cost overruns, utility defaults, and bankruptcies. Yet these no longer seem to haunt the nuclear industry or its supporters.
……………….“Despite industry efforts to frame nuclear energy as the cheapest option, the reality is that nuclear power’s very survival has required large and continuous government support,” writes Doug Koplow, president of the Boston energy consulting company Earth Track, in a recent analysis of public subsidies for nuclear power. Mr. Koplow tracks $178 billion in public subsidies for nuclear energy for the period from 1947 to 1999. Others have reached similar figures.
ALTOGETHER, NUCLEAR-INDUSTRY BAILOUTS in the 1970s and ’80s cost taxpayers and ratepayers in excess of $300 billion in 2006 dollars, according to three independent studies cited in a new nuclear-cost study by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
New guarantees in coming years could also leave US taxpayers picking up the tab if nuclear utilities defaulted on their loans. In 2008, the Government Accountability Office said the average risk of default on Department of Energy guarantees was about 50 percent. The Congressional Budget Office projected that default rates would be very high – well above 50 percent.”
On that basis, the potential risk exposure to US taxpayers from federally guaranteed nuclear loans would be $360 billion to $1.6 trillion, depending on the number of power reactors built, the Union of Concerned Scientists’ study found.
http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/08/13/nuclear-power%E2%80%99s-new-debate-cost/
Nuclear Regulatory Commission: failure and cover-up
The NRC’s ghastly failure
It and the Veterans Affairs Department papered over cancer treatment errors.
Philadelphia Inquier, 12 August 09 By Peter Crane
When news broke of the bungled radiation treatments given to prostate cancer patients at the Philadelphia VA hospital, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was quick to deflect responsibility. The agency said it learned of the problems only in May 2008 and then moved “aggressively and decisively” to correct them.
The Department of Veterans Affairs took a similar line. Testifying before a Senate committee in June, acting VA Undersecretary for Health Gerald Cross expressed regret that “this problem went undetected for nearly six years.”
But the NRC’s own records tell a different story. Documents readily accessible on its Web site show it knew of Dr. Gary Kao’s pattern of errors in 2003, saw it recur in 2005, and did nothing about it until 2008. Far from “undetected,” this problem was papered over by the two agencies……………………
the doctors and hospitals licensed by the NRC are a powerful lobby, relentless and all too successful in demanding less regulation. In recent years, the agency has dismantled much of the system of regulations that used to protect patients and the public.
For example, the NRC used to have a rule requiring safety checks that might have prevented the Philadelphia disaster. But, yielding to the industry, the NRC abolished that rule in 2002………..
…..decisions affecting the medical care of Philadelphia’s veterans or anyone else should not be entrusted to an agency of nuclear engineers – certainly not one with the NRC’s record of failure. This would require a change in the law, which Congress should make after thoroughly investigating the NRC’s medical program.In the meantime, President Obama has two vacancies to fill on the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Recent reports say he is preparing to name two more reactor experts, to the jubilation of the nuclear-power industry. This would only make a bad situation worse.
Obama should instead nominate someone – perhaps a current or former state regulator – with the expertise and will to end the NRC’s long neglect of its medical responsibilities.
Decisions affecting the medical care of Philadelphia’s veterans or anyone else should not be entrusted to an agency of nuclear engineers – certainly not one with the NRC’s record of failure. This would require a change in the law, which Congress should make after thoroughly investigating the NRC’s medical program.
In the meantime, President Obama has two vacancies to fill on the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Recent reports say he is preparing to name two more reactor experts, to the jubilation of the nuclear-power industry. This would only make a bad situation worse.
Obama should instead nominate someone – perhaps a current or former state regulator – with the expertise and will to end the NRC’s long neglect of its medical responsibilities.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090812_The_NRC_s_ghastly_failure.html
AFP: Iran bomb-grade uranium not expected before 2013
Iran bomb-grade uranium not expected before 2013: State Dept
Google News 11 August 09 (AFP) WASHINGTON
— The State Department’s intelligence bureau has concluded that Iran will not be technically capable of producing weapons grade uranium for nuclear weapons before 2013, the US intelligence director has told Congress.The assessment by the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research was included in written responses to questions submitted to Congress by the Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair.Even though Iran has made significant progress in enriching uranium, the State Department bureau “continues to assess it is unlikely that Iran will have the technical capability to produce HEU (highly enriched uranium) before 2013,” Blair said……………..The US intelligence community “has no evidence that Iran has yet made the decision to produce highly enriched uranium, and INR assesses that Iran is unlikely to make such a decision for at least as long as international pressure and scrutiny persist,” the document said.
AFP: Iran bomb-grade uranium not expected before 2013: State Dept
Kuuwait’s radiation pollution due to depleted uranium weapons
‘EPA not transparent, lacks will to save country from pollution’ “
By Rena Sadeghi
Arab Times Staff 11 August 09 .……. We are concerned with everything related to the environment. We know that Kuwait suffers from all kinds of pollution whether industrial, air or marine pollution,’ stated Dr Khalid Al-Hajeri, environmentalist and head of Kuwait’s Green Line Environment Group…………..Kuwait has been suffering from radiation pollution, since the US forces used depleted uranium in its wars against Iraq in 1990 and 2003. There are many facts and information regarding the environmental situation and the magnitude of the pollution. The ill-effects that radiation has on the health of people residing in Kuwait are still being concealed despite the society’s efforts to increase awareness on the issue. Living in a clean environment is a basic right mentioned in all international agreements that Kuwait has signed, and no one should violate this right.…………….
The agency’s report also proved that some residential areas were closer to the war zones where uranium was used during the 1990 war. Such a matter must prompt the government to conduct extensive researches to determine the health hazards that might affect residents in these areas, such as the increase in cancer. The report also stressed the need for the government to notify the people where the polluted areas are, which has not happened. According to international laws and agreements, using uranium ammunition for military purposes is an international crime, since they are considered to be weapons of mass destruction, which are banned worldwide in accordance with a decree issued by the United Nations.
Therefore, as part of its mission Kuwait’s Green Line Environment Group (GLEG) has created the first international map to save the environment in war zones. The August 1990 map includes details on the damage caused to the environment by the Iraqi invasion, which is being translated into many languages.
Nobel prize-winner rejects nuclear hype
Question and answer with Jody Williams
Burlington Free Press
Interviewe By Tim Johnson • Free Press Staff Writer • August 9, 2009
Jody Williams, 58, a native of Brattleboro and a graduate of the University of Vermont, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. In 2006, with five other peace-prize laureates, she co-founded the Nobel Women’s Initiative, in support of women’s organizations worldwide working for peace, justice and equality.Tim Johnson: What are your thoughts on nuclear energy as a power source?
Jody Williams: I am not pro nuclear energy. I think looking backward in time for a response to today’s problems is ridiculous. I really take offense at the lies that it’s clean, sustainable, etc. Mining uranium is not clean. Building the plant is not clean. Decommissioning the reactors is most definitely not clean, and where … do you put the radioactivity, which can last for hundreds of thousands of years? So, putting it forth as a clean alternative is (b.s.), and I hate being lied to, quite honestly………….Without taxpayer money, it wouldn’t exist at all. Private investors don’t invest in it, as with most everything that’s full of crap. Look, I’d rather have my billions of dollars going to finding really clean, sustainable energy, not looking back to nukes. I’m really terrified about where you’re going to put all the crap. Last I checked … there’s no place in the United States that nationally will accept nuclear waste now.
US and Australian climate bills: necessary evils
Green Left 9 August 2009
“…………..Renewables are not advantaged by the US bill. Instead, nuclear power generation is expected to grow 150% by 2050 to make up 40% of total US electricity.While there is a nominal 20% renewable electricity requirement by 2020, the bill reduces the requirement for efficiency gains, new nuclear and carbon capture and storage generation and existing hydropower. This means forecast renewable electricity would amount to 12% of the total in 2020 and reach 20% only by 2030………………………
Very generous concessions are provided to trade-exposed, emission-intensive industries. These are only phased out between 2025 and 2035 or earlier if other countries “take comparable action on climate change”. Local electricity distributors are given a declining volume of free allowances until 2030.
It is striking how little pain the bill inflicts. Household consumption is still expected to have increased by 80% by 2050. Without the bill, household consumption would be only 1% higher……………..
To sum up: the two bills as currently framed propose minimalist short-term actions to meet current political expectations. There is no hint of a change to the “material growth is good” mindset.
Although grand designs are presented for the longer term, the reality is that it is left for future generations to sort things out. Concerned environmentalists should do anything and everything to draw attention to this.
Green Left – US and Australian climate bills: necessary evils
Energy security does not require nuclear power
Wicks presents nuclear distraction
by David Masters
August 9, 2009”
……………..The report by former energy minister Malcolm Wicks said increasing Britain’s nuclear capacity is vital to the UK’s future energy security……….
Greenpeace dismissed the report as “a dangerous distraction from the real solutions to climate change and energy security”.
“With the costs of nuclear reactors soaring to around seven billion euros, and the only plants being built in the western world plagued with safety, financial and construction problems, it’s clear where the UK’s priorities should lie,” said Robin Oakley, Greenpeace climate and energy spokesperson.
Liberal Democrat Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary Simon Hughes attacked Wicks’s report as scare tactics.
“This review is an attempt to scare the British public into accepting new nuclear power stations,” Hughes said.
“But energy security does not have to mean capitulation to massive nuclear subsidies.
“Britain needs a massive expansion of renewable energy that builds on the advantage of our natural resources.”
TVA reduces plans for Alabama nuclear plant to 1 reactor, instead of the 4 originally planned
TVA reduces plans for Alabama nuclear plant to one reactor instead of the 4 originally planned
by Duncan Mansfield NOXVILLE, Tenn. 7 August 09 — The Tennessee Valley Authority, faced with falling electric sales and rising costs from cleaning up a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee, on Friday trimmed plans for a potential four-unit nuclear plant in northeast Alabama to one reactor.The nation’s largest public utility, which two years ago had positioned itself as a leader in this country’s so-called “nuclear renaissance,” said it would prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement to consider a single reactor for its unfinished Bellefonte site near Scottsboro, Ala.
That single unit might be one of the two advanced Westinghouse AP1000 reactors for which TVA has already applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a combined construction and operating license. Or it might be one of the two incomplete reactors that have been mothballed at the site since 1988……………
….TVA had plans in the 1960s and 1970s for as many as 17 reactors, but scrapped most of them because of cost and lack of power demand.
TVA reduces plans for Alabama nuclear plant to 1 reactor, instead of the 4 originally planned
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”
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