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BP oil spill puts safety of nuclear plants at risk

A May 12 situation report from the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability acknowledged the potential for problems.
“If water supply for these facilities becomes contaminated with oil, cooling water systems could be damaged,” it said.

Gulf Coast nuclear plants at risk from BP oil spill, FACING SOUTH, 1 July 2010, Watchdog groups are warning about the BP oil spill’s potential damage to Gulf and Atlantic coast nuclear power plants that use seawater to cool pumps and other safety equipment. Earlier this month, representatives of the nuclear watchdog groups Beyond Nuclear, Three Mile Island Alert and Unplug Salem wrote a letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking details on oil plume monitoring efforts to guard against damage to plants’ safety systems. The letter was copied to the Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Continue reading →

July 1, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AREVA hypes nuclear power as “clean” and “green”

“Their sales pitch is they’d like to build a clean, green energy park,…….New Brunswick’s existing nuclear generating station is undergoing a major refurbishment by AECL to extend the life of the reactor by another 25 years, but the project is at least 18 months behind schedule and well over budget…

(Canada) Lepreau expansion could include green energy park, Lepreau expansion could include green energy park – Nova Scotia News By KEVIN BISSETT T  Jun 29 -FREDERICTON — If a second nuclear reactor is built in New Brunswick, it would come with benefits for other energy sources in the form of an “energy park,” Energy Minister Jack Keir said Monday. Keir is in Florida for meetings with top officials of French nuclear engineering group Areva, including Jacques Besnainou, the company’s CEO.

Areva approached the province late last year with a proposal to build a reactor next to the existing Candu unit at Point Lepreau and export power to the United States.

“Their sales pitch is they’d like to build a clean, green energy park,…….New Brunswick’s existing nuclear generating station is undergoing a major refurbishment by AECL to extend the life of the reactor by another 25 years, but the project is at least 18 months behind schedule and well over budget…

July 1, 2010 Posted by | Canada, spinbuster | Leave a comment

AREVA new nuclear plant an expensive pipe-dream

Province doesn’t need another reactor, telegraphjournal.com , DAVID BEAUDIN, New Brunswick, Canada, 29 June 2010, “……..the provincial government is actively negotiating with Areva to construct Lepreau II.Considering the financial, technical and power generating debacle resulting from the attempted refurbishment of the Lepreau nuclear plant, one sincerely hoped that the government would, at least be “once bitten, twice shy.” New Brunswick has no need for the power to be produced by a second nuclear plant. It’s for export, part of the political “energy hub” pipedream. Continue reading →

July 1, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Strong opposition to nuclear power in Thailand

Green group urges Thailand to shelve nuclear plans, Google hosted news, AFP) –  1 July 2010, BANGKOK — Environmental campaigners on Wednesday urged Thailand to shelve its nuclear power proposals, warning that the cost of the project could be much greater than expected.Greenpeace said the government’s provisional plans to build five nuclear plants could face “huge cost overruns” and pressed authorities to instead focus on renewable energy…….

Thailand is exploring the feasibility of tapping atomic power to help meet its growing energy needs, but it has faced strong local opposition to the siting of reactors. Continue reading →

July 1, 2010 Posted by | ASIA, politics | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

September start for Iran’s nuclear power plant

Iran’s first nuclear power plant to run in September: atomic chief. TEHRAN, June 30 (Xinhua) — Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi said Wednesday that the country’s first nuclear power plant will run in September, the local ISNA news agency reported.”Bushehr nuclear plant is due to run by mid September,” Salehi told reporters.”We are satisfied with cooperating with Russians and now 3,000 experts from the country (Russia) are working in the plant,” he was quoted as saying……
Earlier in May, Head of Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom Sergei Kiriyenko said that the nuclear power plant in the Iranian southern city of Bushehr would be launched by August……Iran and Russia, after reaching an agreement on nuclear cooperation in 1992, signed a contract in January 1995 to finish the construction of the plant, the completion of which has been repeatedly delayed

Iran’s first nuclear power plant to run in September: atomic chief

July 1, 2010 Posted by | general | , , | Leave a comment

Cracks at Texas nuclear waste site

No room for error at radioactive waste site Dallas Morning News, 1 july 2010 Cracked asphalt provides a stark reminder of the nonexistent margin for error at a controversial radioactive waste dump in West Texas. When state inspectors visited the site in Andrews County, they found cracks up to an inch wide in asphalt near canisters of radioactive material. While cracked asphalt is fairly inconsequential – and pretty much par for the course – when it comes to our city streets, it can be a dangerous proposition at a radioactive waste dump.

A spokesman for Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists, which operates the low-level radioactive waste site, dismissed the cracks as superficial and said they have been repaired. But as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has noted, that asphalt pad is an important safeguard against ground contamination…..

Editorial: No room for error at radioactive waste site | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Opinion: Editorials

July 1, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Burma’s nuclear weapons program

IAEA to investigate Burma’s nuclear program, Radio Australia:Asia Pacific, 30 june 2010, It’s been a rumour for years but now the international nuclear watchdog has formally turned its attention to Burma. The International Atomic Energy Agency is understood to be investigating a report, written by one of its own former directors. The document draws on a new dossier of material which was smuggled out of Burma, by a Burmese weapons expert. The IAEA has approached the Burmese regime asking it to explain why it appears to be manufacturing parts for nuclear weapons.

Presenter: Jeff Waters
Speakers: Robert Kelly, former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency

Radio Australia:Asia Pacific:Story:IAEA to investigate Burma’s nuclear program

July 1, 2010 Posted by | Burma, weapons and war | , , | Leave a comment

Germany’s nuclear power industry not happy with uranium fuel tax

German Minister:Fuel-Rod Tax Tied To Nuclear Extension – WSJ.com By Jan Hromadko   BERLIN (Dow Jones), 1 July 2010, –The German government’s proposed tax on nuclear energy will be linked to a planned extension of reactor operating lives, deputy economic minister Jochen Homann said Wednesday. Continue reading →

July 1, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium mining, radiation and indigenous land

VIDEO Another Green World: McCain declares (nuclear) war on Navajo & Sioux McCain declares (nuclear) war on Navajo & Sioux, Another Green World, 1 July 2010 ‘Our Mother is suffering….’Radiation levels rising, uranium mining for ‘clean’ nuclear power is killing indigenous land in Arizona and McCain wants more, bet it would be different if his house was next to a radioactive mine.posted by Derek Wall


July 1, 2010 Posted by | indigenous issues, USA | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

International Atomic Energy Agency still hopes for deal with Iran

IRAN: Nuclear watchdog still hopeful of a deal between Tehran and the West, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2010, The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, flatly stated in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times that a once much-touted deal between Iran and the international community on Tehran’s nuclear program wasn’t going to happen without big change.
The dormant deal, dubbed the TRR (short for Tehran research reactor), involved exchanging a chunk of Iran’s low-enriched uranium stockpile for fuel to power a medical reactor.

But that’s not to say there’s no possibility of some kind of compromise between Iran and the West on the controversial nuclear program, Amano said……….

IRAN: Nuclear watchdog still hopeful of a deal between Tehran and the West | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times

July 1, 2010 Posted by | general | , , | Leave a comment

Canada’s uranium likely to help India’s nuclear weapons

Worry grows over Sask. uranium exports, CBC News 1 july 20201, – Fears that Saskatchewan uranium may be used in weapons have been triggered by a newly signed export agreement with India.Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed a nuclear co-operation agreement on Sunday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in Toronto for the G20 summit. It allows for uranium exports to India and technological exchanges that could be worth billions to Canada’s nuclear industry.Ann Coxworth, of the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, said she fears the federal deal could make it possible for Saskatchewan’s uranium to end up in weapons.”We need to very seriously consider whether exporting uranium around the world is the kind of business that we should be in,” said Coxworth………..Coxworth said the environmental society is working to raise public awareness in hopes of stopping the India deal…..Canada stopped nuclear co-operation with India in 1974 after the government used plutonium from a Canadian reactor to build an atomic bomb. CBC News – Saskatchewan – Worry grows over Sask. uranium exports

July 1, 2010 Posted by | Canada, politics international | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Investors pessimistic about uranium shares

Stalled price tanks stocks | The Energy Collective 29 June Uranium price likely to remain flat for next few years –  falling prices”…..A review of 12 Canadian uranium mining stocks – three producers and nine juniors – show a dismaying trend since December 2009.
Every quarter FCW compiles tracking information on stock prices across a selected list of producers and juniors. The trends for these companies as of June 11, 2010, is an unmistakable dive from prior values. Of the 12 stocks on our list , seven have seen their prices drop by more than 20% and three have seen their stock prices drop by more than 10%……..

“The lack of movement of uranium price is the reason investors are not active. There is no incentive to invest if there is no movement in the underlying commodity.”


July 1, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | , , | Leave a comment