2009 August « nuclear-news

Nuclear reprocessing does not belong in a Climate bill

STOP GLOBAL WARMING
Bill Fowlie
1 August 09
Some members of Congress think they have the answer to what to do with high-level radioactive waste: “reprocessing”. Nuclear reprocessing separates plutonium and uranium from spent nuclear reactor fuel. Supporters of this costly and dangerous technology want to add reprocessing provisions to the Senate climate bill that is planned to be debated this fall.

Reprocessing would cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, undermine U.S. nonproliferation policy, pollute the environment, and threaten public health. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the cost of reprocessing existing spent fuel in the United States would total more than $500 billion.

The development of reprocessing technology in the US would make it harder to prevent other countries from pursuing this nuclear weapons technology. Moreover, reprocessing complicates the nuclear waste problem, rather than solves it. Reprocessing is the most polluting part of the nuclear fuel cycle and actually increases the amount of waste that must be managed.

Stop Global Warming – Change.org: Reprocessing is not a solution for spent fuel and does not belong in a climate bill.

August 1, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, climate change, politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear | Leave a comment

Radiation danger to Denver Federal Center workers

Denver Federal Center workers may be putting health at risk
FOX 31 Heidi Hemmat KDVR Investigative ReporterJuly 30, 2009
“……………..Dean says many of his co-workers died of the same type of cancer.

Dean believes the cancer was caused the contamination at his work site.

The Denver Federal Center used to be a burial ground for radioactive waste. Uranium, arsenic and other toxins are still present in the soil. The ground water is also radioactive and filled with the cancer causing chemical TCE.

But many of the workers there didn’t know about the hazardous waste until they saw our report on FOX 31 News……………..

FOX 31 medical analyst Doctor John Torres says the health risks of working in a contaminated environment are very real. He says long term exposure to TCE can cause, ” lung cancer, liver cancer, testicular and lymphoma.”

He also says arsenic and uranium can lead to heart problems, central nervous system issues, even death.

Denver Federal Center workers may be putting health at risk – KDVR

August 1, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, environment, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive | 1 Comment

GThe folly of ‘magical solutions’ for targeting carbon emissions

The folly of ‘magical solutions’ for targeting carbon emissionsSetting unattainable emissions targets such as in the UK is not a policy — it’s an act of wishful thinking, argues one political scientist.
guardian.co.uk 31 july 09
“…………………..What is missing from the debate over targets and timetables is any conception of the realism of such proposals. If a proposal is not realistic, it is not really a policy proposal but an exercise in symbolism, a “magical solution.”…………..
…………………outcome is highly problematic for those who actually care about the substance of climate policy proposals.

…………The U.K. targets are a perfect example of what happens when symbols become disconnected from reality. To achieve a 34 percent reduction from 1990 emissions by 2022…………….ritain would have to achieve the equivalent of deploying about 30 new nuclear power plants in the next six years, just to get part way to its target. One does not need a degree in nuclear physics to conclude that is just not going to happen…………………..

…Emissions reduction has its own simple arithmetic. In the context of modest economic growth, emissions are reduced when energy efficiency improves and/or when energy supply is decarbonized. A direct approach to efficiency and expansion of low-carbon energy is much preferable to the indirect approach enshrined in current policies. A low carbon tax (priced as high as politically possible) could be used to raise funds to invest in technological innovation and deployment.

Guardian Environment Network: Guardian Environment Network: The folly of ‘magical solutions’ for targeting carbon emissions | Environment | guardian.co.uk

August 1, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1 | Leave a comment

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