2010 July « nuclear-news

Water leak shuts down nuclear reactor

Surry nuclear reactor shut down for water-leak repair By Cindy Clayton The Virginian-Pilot July 12, 2010 SURRY COUNTY One of two nuclear reactors at Dominion Virginia Power’s plant in Surry was shut down Sunday night after a water leak was discovered, the company said.Shortly before 9 p.m. a plant employee spotted a leak in a 96-inch pipe that carries James River water to a condenser that cools steam at the plant, said Jim Norvelle, director of media relations for Dominion……

Surry nuclear reactor shut down for water-leak repair | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

July 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, water | Leave a comment

Opposition to nuclear steam generators in Canadian harbour

“The idea of having 16 steam generator sitting on the harbour wall for five weeks is not acceptable to me. They do emit radiation,” she said.

Mayor concerned about nuclear steam generators – Bruce Power officials at council tonight Owen Sound Sun Times – Ontario, CA By Denis Langlois 12 July 2010, A plan by nuclear generator Bruce Power to ship 16 radioactive steam generators out of Owen Sound Harbour to Sweden has run into opposition by the city’s mayor. Ruth Lovell Stanners said storing the school bus-sized, decommissioned generators, considered intermediate-level nuclear waste, next to the harbour and then shipping them on the Great Lakes poses too much of a public health and safety risk to ignore…………. Continue reading →

July 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

The anti nuclear cause – a form of preventive medicine

Dr. Caldicott gives lectures and hosts a weekly radio show called If You Love This Planet, which covers issues such as global warming, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, toxic pollution, hunger and poverty, and species extinction in an hour-long, in-depth format.

Heroes of Sustainability: Dr. Helen Caldicott and The Ultimate Form of Preventive Medicine Dolphinblueinc’s Blog, 12 July 2010 “She showed me what one set-on-fire human being can do to shift the consciousness of the world.” –Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking Continue reading →

July 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Atomic veterans die as UK govt uses delaying tractics on compensation

A legal battle is now ensuing while the Ministry of Defence attempts to avoid paying out to the veterans, who are thought to be dying at the rate of three a month.

Newspaper in compensation bid for nuclear veterans, Holdthefrontpage.co.uk 12 July 2010, by Helen LambourneA regional daily newspaper has launched a campaign calling for compensation for veterans of nuclear testing.The Derby Telegraph is urging the Ministry of Defence to compensate those affected by the tests, which took place during the Cold War. Continue reading →

July 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, UK | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Nuclear power getting more costly than solar

proposed new nuclear plants would generate power at a cost of 14 to 18 cents per kilowatt-hour. But commercial-scale solar developers are already offering utilities electricity at 14 cents or less per kWh.

(USA) Solar power now cheaper than nuclear in North Carolina FACING SOUTH 12 July 2010, While the price of solar photovoltaic systems has been falling for decades, the cost of new nuclear plants has been climbing — and a historic crossover point has been reached in North Carolina, where solar power is now cheaper than nuclear. Continue reading →

July 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, renewable energy, renewables, solar | 1 Comment

Nuclear radiation risk in highly populated Delaware

they [NRC officials] also have acknowledged in public documents that it is “virtually certain” that radiation exposures will occur more than 150 miles from big reactors in a serious accident…………….

(USA) Nuclear growth puts region at risk The Daily Times, By Jeff Montgomery • July 11, 2010 Port Penn resident Julie L. Harrington is surrounded by nuclear reactors. So is Dae Y. Kwak in Hockessin and Carl Cook in Middletown. Continue reading →

July 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

World’s planned biggest uranium mine getting too costly

The recent softening prices for Olympic Dam’s key minerals, especially uranium, and a significant increase in the required capital is also understood to be weighing on BHP,

BHP’s Olympic Dam expansion under pressure, Business Spectator 12 Jul 2010 BHP Billiton Ltd’s $US20 billion Olympic Dam expansion in Australia may be delayed by a protracted environmental assessment and cost, Continue reading →

July 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, business and costs | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

World remembers tragedy of Rainbow Warrior

Rainbow Warrior fallout still felt, 25 years on * Rowan Callick, The Australian * July 10, 2010 “…….Around the world, the blowing up of the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior in Auckland, 25 years ago today, still reverberates. Continue reading →

July 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | AUSTRALIA, nuclear | Leave a comment

Online films recall New Zealand’s Anti Nuclear Battle

Today (Saturday 10 July) is the 15th anniversary of the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior bombing by French agents. To mark the date, New Zealand On Screen has launched four titles exploring anti-nuclear protest and the politics of New Zealand’s ‘no nukes’ stand.

The movies can be watched online, for free.

When a Warrior Dies – a documentary on the aftermath of the bombing and the efforts by Greenpeace and sculptor Chris Booth to create a remembrance monument.

http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/when-a-warrior-dies-1991

Fallout – excerpts from award-winning Tom Scott and Greg McGee-scripted mini series dramatising events leading to NZ’s 80s ‘No Nukes’ stand

http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/fallout-1994/series

Mururoa 1973 – a landmark Alister Barry doco about protest flotilla who risked their lives travelling to French nuclear testing zone at Mururoa.

http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/mururoa-1973

A Nuclear Free Pacific – documentary on the long struggle for a treaty to declare the South Pacific free of nuclear arms.
http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/a-nuclear-free-pacific–niuklia-fri-pasifik-1988

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | New Zealand, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

The planet’s hottest year – 2010

2010 on track to be hottest year , ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Sarah Clarke 10 July 2010 By , Last year was the second warmest on record, and this year could be the planet’s hottest, according to a forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology, which says uncharacteristically warm conditions are being felt across the northern hemisphere.The northern hemisphere is experiencing record high temperatures.

China has now issued a fresh heatwave alert after a week of soaring temperatures.

Parts of Northern Africa, the United States and the Middle East are also experiencing scorching heat, with some regions recording above 50 degrees celsius….. 2010 on track to be hottest year – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, climate change | climate change, global warming | Leave a comment

Nevada to export solar energy, not import nuclear wastes

“Nevadans are well positioned to use their world-class natural resources and talented workforce to be an exporter of clean solar energy rather than an importer of hazardous nuclear waste and polluting fossil fuels,”

Nevada Nuclear Test Site to Host Solar Demonstration Zone, Environment News Service, LAS VEGAS, Nevada, July 9, 2010 (ENS) – Advanced utility-scale solar energy technologies soon will be tested at a sprawling federal site in the Nevada desert where nuclear weapons were tested 60 years ago. Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, renewable energy, renewables, solar | Leave a comment

AREVA’s financial problems with new nuclear reactors

Finnish delays headache for French nuclear firm PARIS (AFP) 28 June 2010, – Standard & Poor’s said on Monday it had lowered its rating on French nuclear group Areva by two notches because of delays to the construction of a reactor in Finland.The agency downgraded Areva to BBB+/A-2 from A/A-1, citing the company’s announcement of an additional provision of 400 million euros (493 million dollars) for the Finnish European Pressurised Reactor project…… Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | AREVA, AUSTRALIA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

AREVA’s untested nuclear reactors not likely to go ahead in Canada

.…they do not believe the Areva-New Brunswick project will see the light of day.New Brunswick is too small for such an expensive nuclear reactor and does not need the power to meet its own power usage, they argued. “The designs Areva is proposing are untested prototypes so I doubt the private sector would ever assume the risks,”….(CAnada) N.B. overhaul attracts skeptics, Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post · , Jul. 8, 2010 Paris-based Areva SA, the world’s biggest builder of nuclear reactors, said it will study the feasibility of building a second nuclear generating station in New Brunswick and of creating a new “clean energy” park on the same site. Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Canada | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear test veterans die as the law delays

it has been estimated that hundreds of veterans would have passed away and the legal costs will have risen to more than £30 million.

(UK) Test vets may be forced to wait another four years, Burton News , by ROB SMYTH, 9 July 2010, NUCLEAR test veterans may have to wait more than four years for their case to be heard, even if an appeal by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) fails……….. Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, UK | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors | 1 Comment

New Colorado clean-up law could put the brakes on uranium industry

The new Colorado law requires Cotter to restore polluted groundwater to safe levels before restarting operations. ….Ripple effects of the Colorado law could reach beyond state lines.

Mopping up uranium’s mess, High Country News, States push to clean up mine and mill sites, July 09, 2010 by Nathan Rice When Sharyn Cunningham moved to Cañon City, Colorado in 1994, no one told her the groundwater was contaminated – not her real estate agent, not the county health department, not state regulators. Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, uranium, water | Leave a comment