2010 April 15 « nuclear-news

Recycling nuclear fuel, dangerous and dirty

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by Christina Macpherson 15 April 2010, It all sounded so good – removing stockpiles of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) and plutonium from international sites, and using them to provide fuel for nuclear reactors in USA and Russia.

And one part is good. This program would end the dirty, dangerous, uranium mining industry.

However, nobody’s talked about :

1. the dangers of transporting this stuff, – risk of accident, as in the movement of HEU from Chile, theft, terrorist attack

2. what to do with the final resulting highly radioactive waste from this process of recycling . It all still ends up with even more toxic, dangerous nuclear wastes. Still a risk of theft. still a target for terrorists, still extremely long-lasting wastes, and no-one has found a way to safely dispose of nuclear wastes.

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes, spinbuster | antinuclear, enriched, fast breeder, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear Summit kept quiet about dangers of recycling nuclear fuel

Recycling fuel should end: Evans, Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2010, WASHINGTON: A former Australian foreign minister, Gareth Evans, was at the centre of a dispute over reactor suppliers recycling nuclear fuel even as US officials sought to skirt the issue during a summit in Washington organised by the President, Barack Obama.

Mr Evans is co-chairman of the Australian government’s international non-proliferation and disarmament commission. On Monday, at a conference of experts which is being held in parallel with Mr Obama’s nuclear security summit, he called for an end to fuel recycling.Mr Evans and a former US ambassador-at-large, Robert Gallucci, said recycling created stockpiles of dangerous materials ripe for theft………
The issue was not among those central to the Obama summit. Administration officials said last week they had deliberately avoided some of the more contentious issues that would not have won support from all participants. Gareth Evans

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, enriched, fast breeder, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Earthquake danger for transporting Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)

Quake rattles Chilean-U.S. uranium move , SANTIAGO, Chile, April 14 (UPI) — A Chilean-U.S. nuclear waste disposal arrangement was nearly derailed, with dangerous consequences for North and South America, when a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile Feb. 27, interfering with deliveries of radioactive waste to U.S. processing plants. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

France’s Feed-In Tariff – 50% Renewables by 2015

Revised Feed-in Tariff in France: To Drive Sustainable Renewable Market Development, WORLD WIDE POSTS, 13 April 2010 GlobalData Renewable energy sources offer viable options to address the energy security concerns of a country. France has been making consistent efforts to increase the presence of renewables in the country’s energy basket. France has set a target of a 21% share of renewable energy in the electricity consumption of energy by 2010 and 50% by 2015. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, renewable | antinuclear, energy efficiency, France, renewable energy, solar, water, wind | Leave a comment

Desert solar energy in Ontario could provide immense electrical power

“Nuclear power for all of the United States is about 100 gigawatts. We can produce 90 on barren land with just solar in this tiny region

Solar Power in Ontario Could Produce Almost as Much Power as All U.S. Nuclear Reactors, Studies Find ScienceDaily (Apr. 14, 2010) — Solar power in southeastern Ontario has the potential to produce almost the same amount of power as all the nuclear reactors in the United States, according to two studies conducted by the Queen’s University Applied Sustainability Research Group located in Kingston, Canada. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, renewable | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, nuclear spin, renewable energy, renewables, solar | 2 Comments

Uranium ivestors – bleak outlook following Nuclear Security Summit plan to recycle nuclear fuel

Nuclear Summit Changes Uranium Outlook ninemsn 14/04/2010 By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck US President Obama’s success in convincing world leaders the best way forward is through the conversion of hundreds of thousands of tons of weapons-usable nuclear fuel into non-military fuel for power stations might be good news for world peace, but probably not so for investors in uranium companies.

This week’s nuclear summit in Washington has ended with a general pledge by participants from all over the globe to convert hundreds of thousands of tons of weapons-usable nuclear fuel by 2014, plus an intention to set a 2012 summit in South Korea to measure progress.This inevitably means the supply-outlook has dramatically changed for the sector this week. Nuclear Summit Changes Uranium Outlook

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, recycling, uranium | Leave a comment

Obama wants Israel to sign Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Obama: Israel should sign nuclear non-proliferation treaty – Haaretz – Israel News, By Natasha Mozgovaya and Agencies 14 April 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged all countries, including Israel, to sign the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT.
“Whether we’re talking about Israel or any other country, we think that becoming part of the NPT is important,” Obama said. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

UK to upgrade expensive Trident nuclear weapons

The world unites against nuclear danger: so why is Gordon Brown upgrading Trident? Telegraph UK By Mary Riddell World April 14th, 2010 “…….While Mr Netanyahu is a prime obstacle to global security, Britain cannot claim nearly as much credit as it would like. Gordon Brown, who is pledged, like Obama, to creating a nuclear free world, is going an odd way about it. Labour’s manifesto, like the Tories’, commits to maintaining our nuclear weapons. The planned replacement of Trident, which may cost £76 billion, is not even to be included in the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Burma trying to buy nuclear weapons technology from North Korea

The Next Nuclear Nightmare – The Daily Beast, by Philip Shenon, 15 April 2010, As Obama calls for reduced nukes, a surprising new rogue state looms. Philip Shenon reports U.S. spy agencies fear Burma is trying to buy nuclear weapons technology from North Korea.Even as President Obama won agreement from world leaders this week to block the spread of nuclear weapons, the United States is facing a new—and unexpected—nuclear foe: Burma.

National-security officials tell The Daily Beast that U.S. spy agencies and their Asian counterparts have stepped up surveillance of potential nuclear sites in Burma in recent weeks in light of evidence that suggests the country’s brutal junta is trying to buy nuclear-weapons technology from North Korea. The Next Nuclear Nightmare – Page 1 – The Daily Beast

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Iran has produced Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)

Iran announces batch of higher enriched uranium, Google News Hosting, (AP) – 15 April 2010, TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says his country has produced five kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium, a move in open defiance of the U.N. demands to halt the controversial program.

Iran says it needs the material for a medical research reactor, and the level of enrichment is far below the more than 90 percent pure uranium needed to build a nuclear weapon. But U.S. officials have expressed concern the process could be a step toward greater enrichment.The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon, a claim Iran denies. The Associated Press: Iran announces batch of higher enriched uranium

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear spin, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

New Zealand makes a practical contribution to nuclear security

Call in while Down Under, Obama told | Stuff.co.nz NZ contributes to anti-nuclear fund By TRACY WATKINS in Ottawa 15 April 2010, ANTI-NUCLEAR PROJECT FUNDING New Zealand will contribute $685,000 to a Canadian-led project which aims to help prevent the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radiological materials.The money will fund radiation detection equipment for a major Russian nuclear facility.The project was part of the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The funding was announced during a trip to Canada by Prime Minister John Key on his way home from President Obama’s two-day nuclear security summit.In a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mr Key said the project was a practical way for New Zealand to reduce the risk of nuclear materials ending up in the wrong hands.New Zealand has committed almost $6 million to G8 Global Partnership projects since 2004. Call in while Down Under, Obama told | Stuff.co.nz

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | New Zealand, safety | antinuclear, depleted, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Russia doesn’t count depleted uranium as ‘nuclear wastes’

The Russian state-media report adds the uranium isn’t considered waste material because it can be reprocessed. Depleted uranium, however, has severe health consequences from long-term exposure.

Greenpeace irked by Russia’s uranium, ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, April 14 (UPI) –– A ship from the environmental group Greenpeace arrived Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Russia, to protest nuclear fuel waste shipments from France. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, spinbuster | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, uranium | 1 Comment

Ukraine’s enriched uranium to go to Russia

“We are receiving money for the recycling (of the uranium) and the recycling will take place, chiefly, in Russia,”

Russia is likely to take Ukraine enriched uranium, Arab News By REUTERS Apr 14, 2010

KIEV: Russia will take the highly enriched uranium which Ukraine has announced it is giving up, senior officials on both sides said. Ukraine announced on Monday, at a 47-nation summit in Washington on prevention of nuclear terrorism, that it would get rid of a stockpile of highly enriched material by 2012. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Ukraine | antinuclear, enriched, fast breeder, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment