2010 March « nuclear-news

Crummy outlook for uranium prices

Outlook for Uranium, Uncommon Wisdom, by Sean Brodrick on March 11, 2010, Gold is shining … oil is heating up … so what’s up with uranium? The once white-hot metal is certainly way off its highs. In fact, the spot price of uranium recently fell to U.S.$40.50…

.Both Macquarie and UBS forecast spot prices will average$47 per pound this year, down from an average of $52 per pound in 2009. In other words: uranium is not expected to join the recovery elsewhere in the commodity space anytime soon.

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, uranium | Leave a comment

Virginia Beach’s uranium deposit much smaller than touted

Uranium Mining Focus of VA Forum, RICHMOND, Va. (AP)A speaker at a Richmond forum on uranium mining in Southside Virginia says the deposit is much smaller than the estimated 119-million pounds stated by its owners. Mar 12, 2010, STEVE SZKOTAK – Associated Press Writer

Uranium Mining Focus of VA Forum

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium investors worried by corruption in Kazakhstan

Kazakh ex-uranium boss jailed for corruption, Daily Times , 12 March 2010, ASTANA: A Kazakh court sentenced a former uranium tycoon to 14 years in jail for theft and corruption on Friday in a case that has alarmed foreign investors working in the former Soviet republic. Continue reading →

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, Kazakhstan, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, uranium | Leave a comment

Virginia Beach’s water threatened by uranium mining

Virginia Beach city officials have said they oppose the mining proposal because it could threaten the city’s water supply which includes Lake Gaston…..

Experts at Va. symposium see risks in uranium mining | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com. March 12, 2010By Rex Springston, Richmond Times-Dispatch | MCT Regional News Virginian-Pilot writer Cindy Clayton contributed to this report.Mining uranium can create health and economic problems, experts said yesterday.A company called Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to mine uranium in Pittsylvania County in south-central Virginia. Continue reading →

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, uranium | 1 Comment

Don’t try to mix renewable energy and nuclear power

.New nuclear projects will take massive amounts of capital and years to ramp up, and only a few will get built. Renewable projects are relatively smaller and cheaper to build and can be constructed quickly, which means jobs can be created more quickly.

You got your uranium in my biomass! Why renewable policies and nuclear don’t mix, Renewable Energy World, Jennifer Zajac, 12 March 2010“…….There was a series of commercials in the 1980s for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in which one actor would exclaim, “Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and the other actor would respond, “You got peanut butter on my chocolate!” Then an announcer would say, “Two great tastes that taste great together!”Today, lawmakers at the state and federal level are mixing renewable energy policies with nuclear energy. They shouldn’t, because unlike chocolate and peanut butter, biomass and uranium do not go great together….. Continue reading →

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, renewable | antinuclear, energy efficiency, nuclear, renewable energy | Leave a comment

Safety check required for U.S. Nuclear Plants

US Nuclear Power Plants To Undergo Safety Check By Madhuri Dey
Washington,March 12th, 2010, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received an appeal from Entergy Nuclear Operations to be granted some more time to upgrade the security systems in the Pilgrim Station Nuclear Power Plant.
The upgradation of the security systems have been a measure that has been approved by the administration of President Barack Obama, after it came to light that there are enormous loopholes in the security systems of the power plants. The recommendation was issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with the aim of safeguarding the materials contained in the plants, and in turn protect the plants as well. In fact, it is not only the Pilgrim Station Nuclear Power Plant, but a number of other plants too that has given a petition for an extension.

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Wisconsin urged to keep ban on new nuclear plants

Lawmakers Urged Not To Dump Ban On New Nuclear Power Plants MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) 12 March 2010, – Anti-nuclear groups are telling legislators not to trash Wisconsin’s long-running ban on new nuclear power plants. A relaxing of that ban is a major part of the clean energy package that tries to fight global warming. Supporters say nuclear power is the cleanest there is. But Jennifer Nordstrom of the Carbon-Free Nuclear-Free Coalition says there’s still the issue of dumping radioactive waste. And she says the Wisconsin bill would give the nuclear power industry more leeway in handling that waste.

Lawmakers Urged Not To Dump Ban On New Nuclear Power Plants – 1330 WHBL

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Nobody knows the future of USA’s nuclear wastes

“I would like to address an “elephant in the room” –What about the Blue Ribbon Commission? The Energy Collective 12 March 2010,

blue_ribbonSolutions to the issue of spent nuclear fuel won’t be decided solely at the NRC, nor with or without funding or a license application to review. A Blue Ribbon Commission, appointed by Energy Sec. Chu, will hold its first meeting March 25 & 26 in Washington, DC, to hash out policy alternatives. It will take them 18 months to produce a draft report. Alternatives include finding another geologic repository for spent fuel, reprocessing, use of fast reactors, and a lot of other ideas. No one has a lock on the future of what this body does.

A tale of two speeches

March 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Stalemate on U.S. Russia’s nuclear arms reduction talks

Russia U.S. Arms Deal stalled, Fox News, March 11, 2010 – by: Dana Lewis, A high level Russian government source tells me an nuclear arms agreement to replace the expired START Treaty, (Strategic Reduction Arms Treaty) which was “weeks away” from being finalized in November, and “days away” from a final draft in Dcember, and “close to being finished” in January, is “still not done and not being done for a reason”, “stalled”, “threatened”, and “going sideways” in March.

The source says Russia is disappointed and frusturated with the Obama adminstration because it is “being run now by the hawks”…..The Russians are angry America is now talking about locating a missle defense shield in Romania and Bulgaria. And the source says Russia, now firmly see’s nuclear talks and discussion of a missile defense shield firmly linked.

Russia U.S. Arms Deal stalled « Liveshots

March 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Smuggling of nuclear materials continues

Nuclear Smugglers Still At Work, National Journal Online, By James Kitfield, March 11, 2010 The world is fast approaching a nuclear tipping point, many experts warn. And one key reason is a global smuggling network that traffics in nuclear technologies, materials, and know-how. National Journal spoke recently with David Albright, founder of the Institute for Science and International Security and a former weapons inspector in Iraq, about this network and what it means to the world’s stability and safety… Continue reading →

March 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Nuclear power company settles lawsuit over radiation leaks

Exelon to pay $1 million to settle lawsuits Breaking Business News, March 11, 2010 By Michael Hawthorne | Exelon agreed today to pay more than $1 million to settle lawsuits filed by Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan after the company allowed radioactive tritium to leak outside three of its nuclear plants.The settlement involves leaks of tritium-contaminated water that seeped into the ground around the company’s Braidwood, Byron and Dresden plants. The penalties include $628,000 in fines and $538,000 to fund environmental projects in Will, Ogle and Grundy counties.

Exelon to pay $1 million to settle lawsuits – Chicago Breaking Business

March 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive, reactor, reactors | Leave a comment

Russia joins the rush to sell nuclear reactors to India

Putin Visits India in Race With U.S. for Arms, Nuclear Deals, BusinessWeek, March 11, 2010, By Lucian Kim and Bibhudatta PradhanMarch 11 (Bloomberg) –– Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi tonight to fend off competition from the U.S. and Europe to supply arms and nuclear energy to India.Putin is set to meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh tomorrow to oversee the signing of more than $10 billion in deals, including a refurbished aircraft carrier, MiG-29 fighter jets and two nuclear reactors.

Putin Visits India in Race With U.S. for Arms, Nuclear Deals – BusinessWeek

March 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Middle Eastern countries being sold short on nuclear disarmament

Israel which is strongly suspected of having a nuclear arsenal has refused to sign the NPT, as have both India and Pakistan, which have carried out weapons tests.

Mideast feels ‘tricked’ by nuclear arms treaty, (AFP) – Google News 11 March 2010, GENEVA — Middle Eastern countries feel tricked by the 40-year-old nuclear non proliferation treaty, an Egyptian diplomat warned on Wednesday, less than two months before crucial talks on the arms control deal. Continue reading →

March 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | MIDDLE EAST, weapons and war | cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

New U.S buildup of nuclear-armed cruise missiles?

Air Force requests funds for new nuclear armed cruise missile. POLITICO.com, Laura Rozen, 11 March 2010, The U.S. Air Force “plans to spend more than $800 million to build a new nuclear-armed cruise missile for its bomber aircraft,” National Journal/Global Security Newswire’s Elaine Grossman reports, digging into the Obama administration’s FY 2011 Pentagon budget request: Continue reading →

March 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

UK concerns about safety of French European Pressurised Reactor (EPR).

“the design of the EPR presents a serious risk of a major nuclear accident – a risk deliberately taken by EDF to increase its profitability.”

Design flaws in new nuclear reactors ‘could lead to UK’s Chernobyl’ | Ekklesia, 9 March 2010, Local authorities have written to the nuclear watchdog following new concerns over the design safety of nuclear reactors planned for the UK and of fears about a Chernobyl-type accident. Continue reading →

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK | antinuclear, EDF, France, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, reactor | Leave a comment