2010 June 09 « nuclear-news

Nuclear waste casks, pools, piles, are ticking time bombs

(USA) Ticking time bombs: what should we do with nuclear waste?, SmartPlanet, By Andrew Nusca | Jun 8, 2010 “……..the WSJ report outlines some scary figures:

More than 800 filled casks await a final destination, holding 14,000 metric tons of waste.
Another 49,000 metric tons is being held in spent-fuel pools, waiting to be placed in vessels.
A further 2,000 metric tons of nuclear reactor waste is created every year.

The problem is that the next wave of nuclear reactors are already on the drawing board.

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation | Leave a comment

The full story on the health effects of nuclear energy

I recommend that you download, print off, and study at your leisure, the complete article – from
Evatt Foundation: Publication: Nuclear power & public health – 31 May 2010

Nuclear power & public health, Evatt Foundation:, By Peter Karamoskos, 31 May 2010“… there is a linear dose-response relationship between exposure to ionizing radiation and the development of solid cancers in humans. It is unlikely that there is a threshold below which cancers are not induced.” – National Academy of Science, BEIR VII report, 2006

“We need to develop a very firm commitment to the elimination of nuclear power as a source of energy on the earth.” – Russell Train, former US Environmental Protection Agency administrator, 1977″

[t]he [economic] failure of the U.S. nuclear power program ranks as the largest managerial disaster in business history, a disaster on a monumental scale.” – Forbes, 1985

Introduction
The public health implications for a resurgence of nuclear power appear to have taken a subordinate position to the economic and global warming arguments that the industry has advanced to justify its expansion. The purpose of this essay therefore is several-fold: to review the scientific evidence for public health impacts of nuclear power, to assess occupational hazards faced by nuclear industry workers involved in the nuclear fuel cycle, to assess the evidence for nuclear reactor safety and critically challenge the underlying assumptions which may be less than adequate. It will also examine the public health risks of spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. The common thread linking these safety issues is the risk posed to public health by ionising radiation and in particular the cancer risk. The nuclear industry and our understanding of radioactive health hazards, developed in tandem during the twentieth century, however, the relationship to this day has always been uneasy and often in conflict. A brief historical narrative of this joint evolution is reviewed as it is essential to understanding the context and scope of the public health issues at the heart of the nuclear power debate.

If we are to believe the nuclear industry, nuclear power is both safe and vital to our future, yet over half a century of nuclear power has proven both contentions as false……

Evatt Foundation: Publication: Nuclear power & public health – 31 May 2010

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

A nuclear disaster next? -Bhopal gas disaster company escapes justice

..in case of a nuclear accident, while providing complete immunity to a foreign nuclear reactor builder from any victim-initiated civil suit or a criminal proceedings both in an Indian court or in a court in its home country.

Bhopal judgment symbolises decayed justice in a deficient democracy(June 08, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission The recent judgment delivered by a court in the Bhopal Gas disaster case convicting all the seven accused could have been a welcome one and could have gone a long way in ensuring people’s faith in the country’s judiciary and the rule of law, but for the features of a failing justice regime the investigation and trial exhibits…….. Continue reading →

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

New U.S. renewable energy office for Eastern States

Renewable energy office to be in Va. – baltimoresun.com, 8 June 2010 RICHMOND, Va. —Virginia will be the home of a new regional renewable energy office.The news was contained in an announcement Tuesday that Gov. Bob McDonnell and governors of nine other East Coast states have joined to form a federal consortium to promote the development of offshore wind energy. Renewable energy office to be in Va. – baltimoresun.com

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, renewable energy, renewables, solar, wind | Leave a comment

USA legislators promoting nuclear, playing down climate change

Dems’ Energy Legislation Will Likely Downplay Global Warming AlterNet, SpeakEasy, 7 June 2010, “…………….if Schumer’s assessment is correct, Democrats will pursue a bill on energy policy — new industry regulations, nuclear permits, some alternative energy investments — not climate policy.The legislation, then, will be anything but comprehensive. And barring an electoral miracle in November, cap-and-trade won’t even be considered in Congress again until 2013, at the very earliest.The oil spill crisis was enough to capture the nation’s attention, but it wasn’t enough to generate 60 votes for a modest, common-sense climate bill.

Dems’ Energy Legislation Will Likely Downplay Global Warming « SpeakEasy

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, climate change, global warming, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Far from being deterrence, nuclear weapons are a lethal liability

The George W. Bush administration was the first to admit nuclear deterrence would not work against terrorists, now perceived to be the greatest threat to Americans…The key is to see nuclear disarmament as a security-building process, moving from an outdated adversarial mindset to a co-operative one where nuclear weapons are recognized as a lethal liability….

Nuclear Deterrence Scam Blocking Progress to a Safer World, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Green, 7 June 2010, “……………The nuclear weapon states’ blocking of any serious moves towards honoring their obligation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to get rid of their nuclear arsenals is driven by their uncritical acceptance of nuclear deterrence. Yet my carefully considered conclusion is that nuclear deterrence is a huge confidence trick – an outrageous scam cooked up fifty years ago by the US military industrial monster created by the Manhattan Project and now dominating US politics. Continue reading →

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

radiation cancer risk with repeated dental X-rays

Repeated Dental X-Rays Increase Thyroid Cancer Risk TopNews United Kingdom, by Rasik Sharma on Mon, 06/07/2010 – It has been stated by the researchers from Brighton, Cambridge (England) and Kuwait that thyroid cancer risk elevates with an increase in the number of dental x-rays. This finding was cited in the medical journal Acta Oncologica.According to the reports, rates of thyroid cancer have doubled from 1.4 per 100,000 in 1975 to 2.9 per 100,000 in 2006 in the UK, as the patients take up more and more number of dental x-rays……

The research was headed by Dr. Anjum Memon, Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Public Health Medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

This was a combined research conducted by Brighton and Sussex universities and NHS (National Health Service) Brighton and Hove.

It is known that the thyroid gland gets exposed to radiation from many dental x-rays. Thyroid gland is sensitive to ionizing radiation in children especially. The research points out to the potential risks that dental radiography often causes to thyroid gland.

Repeated Dental X-Rays Increase Thyroid Cancer Risk | TopNews United Kingdom

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Stockpiles of nuclear weapons form increasing terrorist risk

Forward Observer: Nuclear Time Bomb, GovExec.com, By George C. Wilson, CongressDaily June 7, 2010Standing up like a red lighthouse of warning above the otherwise murky prose in President Obama’s new National Security Strategy document is this statement: “The American people face no greater or more urgent danger than a terrorist attack with a nuclear weapon.”……
“Indeed,” continues the white paper, “since the end of the Cold War the risk of a nuclear attack has increased. Excessive Cold War stockpiles remain. More nations have acquired nuclear weapons. Testing has continued. Black markets trade in nuclear secrets and materials. Terrorists are determined to buy, build or steal a nuclear weapon. Our efforts to contain these dangers are centered in a global nonproliferation regime that has frayed as more people and nations break the rules.”………….If nothing else can inspire a bipartisan response this election year, that presidential warning should.

Forward Observer: Nuclear Time Bomb (6/7/10) — GovExec.com

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Radioactive leaks continue to plague nuclear industry

An Old Nuclear Problem Creeps Back, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD June 7, 2010 The American nuclear industry, primed to begin new construction projects for the first time in 30 years, is about as eager for an operating problem at an old reactor as the oil industry was for a well blowout on the eve of opening the Atlantic coast to oil drilling.Nonetheless, a nuclear reactor where a hidden leak caused near-catastrophic corrosion in 2002 has experienced a second bout of the same problem……recently the new vessel head showed the same leakage pattern…..

The reactor has 69 nozzles, and the utility has modified 24 of them in preparation for starting up again in a few weeks. The long-term fix is yet another vessel head, with nozzles of a sturdier alloy, to be installed in 2014.

In the interim, the company said, it will opt for a shorter production run

An Old Nuclear Problem Creeps Back – Green Blog – NYTimes.com

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment