2009 September « nuclear-news

Nuclear sites fear they’ll get USA nuclear waste dump

Nuclear sites fear they’re the alternative to Yucca Mountain
Kansas city.com By LES BLUMENTHAL McClatchy Newspapers 1 Sept 09
It is among the nastiest substances on earth: more than 14,000 tons of highly radioactive waste left over from the building of the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal……………….

Local leaders and lawmakers from the sites where the waste is now stored, however, are increasingly concerned the Energy Department will leave it in place, even though that might violate legally binding cleanup agreements.

There’s no backup plan for dealing with the waste. A promised commission to study the issue has yet to be appointed.

“We don’t want to become a long-term repository without even having a discussion,” said Gary Petersen of the Tri-City Industrial Development Council, near Hanford, Wash. “All of this waste is supposed to be going to Yucca. Without Yucca, everyone in the weapons complex has a problem.”

Jared Fuhriman, the mayor of Idaho Falls, the largest city near the Idaho National Laboratory, agreed.

“We are all concerned,” Fuhriman said. “Where are we going to store the waste we have?”

If Yucca is closed, a search for a new site for a national repository likely would start with the 31 states on the original list of potential locations. In addition to Hanford and the Idaho National Laboratory, the states with possible sites include Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi and Pennsylvania……………..

The biggest concern has been the liquid waste, stored in aging and occasionally leaking underground tanks. Current plans call for the waste to be vitrified, or solidified into glass-like logs, and shipped to Yucca Mountain. The logs would be encapsulated in two-foot diameter, 14.5-foot-long stainless steel containers that would weigh about four tons each. The waste treatment plant would generate about 480 glass logs a year and somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 by the time the last of the waste is processed.

Nuclear sites fear they’re the alternative to Yucca Mountain – Kansas City Star

September 2, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive, wastes | Leave a comment

Bulgaria: right wing opposition to nuclear plant

Bulgaria Right-Wingers Call for Halt of Nuclear Plant Plan
novinite.com September 1, 2009,

Bulgaria’s biggest right-wing party has reiterated its calls on the new government to give up the planned Belene project as it is still undecided whether to scrap or push ahead the construction of the multi-billion nuclear power plant.

“The price tag of the nuclear power plant at the Danube river town will stand at no less than EUR 10 B,” Martin Dimitrov, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), said at a press conference on Tuesday.

According to him Belene nuclear power plant will not benefit local consumers, which makes it completely useless.

“Freezing the project is no solution to the problem,” Dimitrov added.

UDF leadership has repeatedly warned that the construction of the plant will translate into a BGN 1300 tax burden for each Bulgarian taxpayer, electricity hikes for decades on end, outdated and dubious Russian nuke units…………….

…………According to reports and non-governmental organizations RWE AG’s plan to expand in Bulgaria’s nuclear market is on the brink of collapse because financing for the project couldn’t be obtained.

Bulgaria: Bulgaria Right-Wingers Call for Halt of Nuclear Plant Plan – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency

September 2, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, business and costs, EUROPE | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs | Leave a comment

Film shows why uranium mining is bad for Virginia

Why is SCC and the Alliance concerned about uranium mining and milling in Virginia?
The Alliance Acethecat 2 Sept 09
This short film really sums it up! It’s about the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia. Their plight mirrors our own if uranium mining and milling EVER takes place in Virginia. URANIUM MINING & MILLING HAS NEVER BEEN DONE SAFELY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! WHILE SOME SAY THAT THEY WANT (AND NEED) A “STUDY”, THE ONLY TRUE INFORMATION CAN COME FROM WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST.

Studying “how” to mine and mill uranium in Virginia is much different than studying “should” we mine and mill uranium in Virginia. REMEMBER: All uranium mining and milling has been done with the “latest technology” since its inception. ALL OF THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS FAILED!
Since mining and milling has NEVER been done in an area with our population (OVER 500,000 people within 120 miles of the proposed mine and milling operation and many, many more down stream to the Atlantic Ocean) and our net precipitation (greater than evaporation) any “study” of “how” to mine and mill uranium in Pittsylvania County, or anywhere else in Virginia, will be a THEORY.

… THE Alliance … THE Alliance … THE Alliance …: Where the Green Ants Dream

September 2, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1 | Leave a comment

Financial crisis hurts some Eastern Europe nuclear plans

Financial crisis hurts some Eastern Europe nuclear plans

By Anna Mudeva

SOFIA (Reuters) 1 Sept 09

– Domestic political squabbles, funding woes and other hurdles threaten a number of nuclear power plant projects in central and southeast Europe

…………..Analysts say the global economic crisis has made banks reluctant to provide loans for nuclear plants, which cost around 3 billion euros ($4.30 billion) per 1,000 megawatt reactor, for a pay-off that takes decades.

Equipment suppliers and engineering companies are also unwilling to give fixed price tags during volatile times, which makes planning and calculation of costs difficult.

September 2, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, business and costs, EUROPE | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs | Leave a comment

India: Tap solar power to harness hydrogen energy:

Tap solar power to harness hydrogen energy: Expert
The Times of India 1 september 09
CHENNAI: The residents of Tamil Nadu who constantly fret over the harsh summer that lasts nearly throughout the year better think again. “Hydrogen is considered an ideal energy carrier in the foreseeable future. It can be produced from water using a variety of energy sources, such as solar, nuclear

and fossils, and it can be converted into useful energy forms efficiently and without detrimental environmental effects,” he said.

According to him, hydrogen can be used in any application in which fossil fuels are used. “It can be used as a fuel in furnaces, internal combustion engines, turbines and jet engines, even more efficiently than fossil fuels, that is, coal, petroleum and natural gas. Automobiles, trains, ships, submarines, planes and rockets can run on hydrogen.”

The good news for a power-starved country like India is that hydrogen can be converted directly to electricity. To generate 1 kWh of electrical energy using a fuel cell, just 0.05 kg of hydrogen need be supplied.