South Africa: pebble-bed nuclear reactor a dud? Eskom in deep financial loss

South Africa’s pebble-bed demo plant postponed indefinitely, official says

NUCLEONICS WEEK SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

South Africa’s pebble-bed high-temperature reactor

demonstration plant has been indefinitely postponed due to

lack of financing, the head of the company promoting the

small modular reactor said last week…… Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, South Africa | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation- cancer for astronauts

Space radiation could make planned Mars trip a suicide mission

Smart Planet By Andrew Nusca | Sep 16, 2009 “.…………….the galactic radiation that barrels through the solar system poses a significant health risk.

The radiation, which is made up of protons, gamma rays and cosmic rays, can slice through DNA molecules when it passes through living cells. The resulting damage can make cells behave erratically and lead to cancer………..NASA weighs radiation danger in units of cancer risk. A healthy 40-year-old non-smoking American male stands a (whopping) 20% chance of eventually dying from cancer. That’s if he stays on Earth. If he travels to Mars, the risk goes up…….The odds are even worse for women, he adds. “Because of breasts and ovaries, the risk to female astronauts is nearly double the risk to males.”…………http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/smart-takes/space-radiation-makes-planned-mars-trip-a-suicide-mission/967/

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, environment | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Missile defence shield in Europe abandoned by USA

Obama abandons missile defence shield in Europe

US president shelves scheme in Poland and Czech Republic, citing new intelligence on threat from Iran

Luke Harding in Moscow and Ian Traynor in Brussels
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 September 2009
Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe that had long soured relations with Russia. Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Nuclear power: just not economic

Meltdown: A Gloomy Look at the Economics of Nuclear Power

The WALL STREET JOURNAL

By Keith Johnson 16 Sept 09

There’s a new paper out from Spanish researchers at Universidad Pontificia Comillas exploring nuclear economics. Spain, you may recall, has its own debate about the future viability of nuclear energy.

The paper poses a simple question: Does nuclear energy add up to a rational investment in a liberalized energy market? Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | Leave a comment

Particularly dangerous wastes in new nuclear plant design

Expert fears problems with new area nukes

TimesLeader By Rory Sweeney 17 Sept 09

WILKES-BARRE – The French-designed nuclear reactor that PPL Corp. is proposing to build at its Bell Bend site in Salem Township is untested and could create more problems than it solves, according to a French nuclear consultant……. Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Urgent need for independent members on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Nuclear agency needs independent appointees

AJC 17 Sept 09 by Peter A Bradford
Two of five seats are vacant on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the independent federal agency responsible for the safety of the 104 operating U.S. nuclear power reactors, Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment