2010 March 09 « nuclear-news

Is Obama administration blind to the financial risks of nuclear power?

Obama’s Nuclear Blind Spot , Mother Jones , By Kate Sheppard 9 March 2010 Is the administration ignoring the potential financial fallout of its plans for a nuclear expansion?The Obama administration has embarked on a high-stakes gamble: devoting billions of dollars to an expansion of nuclear power in the hope of winning Republican votes for a climate bill. But in its eagerness to drum up bipartisan support for one of the hardest sells on Obama’s policy agenda, is the administration turning a blind eye to the financial risk? Continue reading →

March 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactor, reactors | Leave a comment

Sarkozy getting desperate to sell off France’s costly nukes?

costs of nuclear plants have been “systematically underestimated” by governments worldwide for decades.

Nuclear energy gets new French-driven boost, (philstar.com) March 09, 2010 PARIS (AP) – Poor countries need nuclear power, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday, urging rich lenders to help pay for a global nuclear expansion in the interests of fighting climate change and feeding the growing world hunger for energy……

His tantalizing vision of nuclear reactors dotting the horizon won over international energy officials from India to Brussels and French executives eager to market their expertise abroad, all present at a Paris conference yesterday.

Some experts, however, say Sarkozy’s push is opening the door to risks that deadly nuclear technology gets into the wrong hands, and warn consumers to pay attention to the staggering price tag of potential nuclear energy growth — up to $3.9 trillion worldwide by 2050…….

Mycle Schneider, an independent researcher on France’s nuclear industry, warned that costs of nuclear plants have been “systematically underestimated” by governments worldwide for decades.

He warned that the nuclear push was premature, since many small countries where France is marketing technology don’t even have large enough electricity grids to support a nuclear reactor.

March 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, spinbuster | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, reactor, reactors | Leave a comment

Radiation tests on monkeys might be stopped

“Since there is currently no realistic timetable for deep space travel, there is simply no ethical justification for putting these monkeys through these inhumane and possibly fatal experiments at this time,” the lawmakers concluded.

NASA monkey radiation experiment facing animal-cruelty accusations THE HILL, By Tony Romm – 03/08/10 NASA’s Brookhaven National Laboratory is coming under intense scrutiny this week following complaints that its forthcoming $1.75 million radiation experiment on monkeys violates a score of animal-rights laws. Continue reading →

March 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Religion and ethics, USA | cancer, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Move in U.S. Congress to question nuclear reactor licensing

A “catastrophic accident” poses a greater safety risk than “many orders of magnitude more severe than any other type of power plant,” …There is also a financial risk,

House Democrat asks GAO to investigate nuclear licensing process, The Hill, By Jim Snyder – 03/08/10 Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is asking the Government Accountability Office to review the permitting process for nuclear plants as others in his party appear poised to offer lucrative incentives to revive the industry.

Among his questions is whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has adequately weighed the risks earthquakes and severe weather may pose to nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

March 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactor, reactors | Leave a comment

New research points to cancers caused by unnecessary medical radiation

CT scan safety: Concerns mount , Chicago Tribune 9 March 2010,

Does early detection really save lives?

“As physicians find new ways to use diagnostic imaging to discover and deal with disease, concern is growing about Americans’ increased exposure to potentially cancer-causing radiation. Annual radiation doses from medical imaging have soared sevenfold since the early 1980s, according to a report last year from the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements.

Meanwhile, as many as 14,500 people a year may end up dying of radiation-induced cancers caused by CT scans, new research suggests.”–Judith Graham, Chicago Tribune.

Read her whole story: Concerns mount over radiation associatead with CT scans

Julie’s Health Club: CT scan safety: Concerns mount

March 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Renewable energy – both practicable and popular

The study was released just days after a new poll from Elon University in Elon, N.C. found overwhelming public support in North Carolina for developing the state’s renewable energy capacity. Nearly 80% of the poll’s respondents said they favor new wind energy facilities in the mountains or on the coast, while more than 83% favor construction of solar facilities.

Challenging conventional wisdom on renewable energy’s limits, FACING SOUTH, 9 March 2010, “……groundbreaking study out of North Carolina … suggests that backup generation requirements would be modest for a system based largely on solar and wind power, combined with efficiency, hydroelectric power, and other renewable sources like landfill gas. Continue reading →

March 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | energy efficiency, renewable energy, renewables, solar | Leave a comment