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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Old Russian nuclear warheads to become fuel for U.S. commercial nuclear reactors

Nuclear twist sees Russian warheads warming US homes Herald Sun  AFP , April 13, 2010, IN A strange twist of Cold War enmity on the melt, uranium from what once were Russian nuclear warheads is used to heat and light American homes, thanks to the Megatons to Megawatts Program – a successful example of nuclear non-proliferation. Continue reading →

April 13, 2010 Posted by | politics international, Russia | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ukraine will get rid of its Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)

Ukraine to dispose of enriched uranium, Sydney Morning Herald April 13, 2010 –  AFP Ukraine pledged on Monday to dispose of its stocks of highly enriched uranium by 2012, as the United States vowed to work with the nation still haunted by the Chernobyl accident over two decades ago….

Ukraine to dispose of enriched uranium

April 13, 2010 Posted by | politics international, Ukraine | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear near misses

Nuclear near misses,The Age, by Daniel Flitton, April 13, 2010. Nuclear near misses- THE most infamous accident involved a US Air Force B-52 bomber colliding with a refuelling aircraft at high-altitude above Palomares, Spain, in 1966. The bomber dropped two nuclear weapons – one fell to the ground, another into the Mediterranean, setting off what was described as ”the most expensive, intensive, harrowing and feverish underwater search for a man-made object in world history”. The other bomb exploded on impact. No nuclear detonation occurred, but radioactive plutonium was scattered across a wide area. Continue reading →

April 13, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kazakhstan has paid a high price for hosting nuclear weapons

Why Kazakhstan Is Front and Center at the Global Nuclear Security Summit THE HUFFINGTON POST, Al Eisele, 11 April 2010, “………..The radioactive fallout from all the above ground and atmospheric tests left Mrs. Koloskova with health problems and occasional nightmares. “I don’t know what happened with me, but from that moment, I felt headaches and nervous disorders, and I imagined it many times,” she said.

But she was one of the lucky ones. Still vigorous and able to walk with aid of a cane, she was not afflicted with any of the horrific tumors or the radiation-caused genetic mutilations and birth defects that affected many residents of Semey and other settlements near the 7,000-square-mile test site known as the Polygon, Russian for “firing range.”

Her story, and those of thousands of others like her, is the reason why Kazakhstan, a Central Asia country unknown to most Americans, is standing front and center among the 47 nations represented at the two-day Global Nuclear Security Summit beginning Monday in Washington…….

[Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev]  was the first foreign leader to renounce the possession and use of nuclear weapons. Al Eisele: Why Kazakhstan Is Front and Center at the Global Nuclear Security Summit

April 13, 2010 Posted by | Kazakhstan, politics international | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Women, young people, more opposed to nuclear weapons

Public divided on eliminating all nuclear weapons . Washington (CNN) 12 April2010, – Americans are split on President Obama’s goal of eliminating all of the world’s nuclear weapons, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday. But the survey also indicates the public overwhelmingly agrees with the mission of the president’s nuclear summit this week to keep those weapons out of the hands of terrorists…..
“Fifty-eight percent of women favor the elimination of all nuclear weapons, but most men don’t share that view,” says Holland. “People under 50 also call for the elimination of all nuclear weapons, but people over 50 – who are more likely to remember the Cold War – think that the U.S. and a few other countries should retain their nuclear arms.” CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive – CNN Poll: Public divided on eliminating all nuclear weapons « – Blogs from CNN.com

April 13, 2010 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | , , , | Leave a comment

International “nuclear fuel bank” a part of nuclear security strategy?

President Obama intends for American to bankroll an international nuclear fuel bank to dissuade countries from building their own uranium enrichment facilities.

President Obama’s Next Nuclear Disarmament Move? Enriched Uranium Handouts – Big Government, by Marinka Peschmann 13 April 2010, President Obama is convening a Global Nuclear Security Summit in Washington beginning on Monday. “The purpose… would be to achieve the highest levels of nuclear security, which the president believes is essential for enhanced international security and for the peaceful development and the global expansion of nuclear energy…” (italics mine) Continue reading →

April 13, 2010 Posted by | politics international, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear ships not allowed in New Zealand waters

US Navy ship visits not on the cards – PM, The National Business Review  April 13, 2010 – Visits of US Navy ships into New Zealand waters were not discussed when Prime Minister John Key met United States Vice-President Joe Biden today and Mr Key said it was not a burning issue for either country…….Under that legislation, the prime minister has to approve that any warship that comes in is not carrying any nuclear explosive device, and is not nuclear-powered…..Mr Key is in Washington attending a nuclear security summit. US Navy ship visits not on the cards – PM | The National Business Review – New Zealand – business, markets, finance, politics, property, technology and more

April 13, 2010 Posted by | New Zealand, politics | , , , , | Leave a comment