2010 July « nuclear-news

Gulf oil disaster highlights need for nuclear reactor regulation

Lessons from the Gulf for nuclear reactors – The Hill, By Dr. Jeffery Patterson, 07/16/10 One crucial lesson from the BP oil spill is that measures to speed licensing, cut corners on safety and undermine regulation can lead to tragic consequences. Yet Congress appears on the verge of repeating mistakes that led to the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf. Continue reading →

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Another holdup to UK nuclear industry – should community opposition be ignored?

UK nuclear industry: energy minister orders “re-consultation” Industrial Fuels and Power, July 16th, 2010 by Charles Hendry, the UK’s energy minister, has ordered a reassessment of the national policy statements governing the planning permission system responsible for large infrastructure developments. The review is a response to concerns that in their current form, the rules could mean that opposition from local communities to new nuclear build could be ignored.….

UK nuclear industry: energy minister orders “re-consultation” | Industrial Fuels and Power

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Despite public opposition, Turkish govt opts for uneconomic nuclear reactors

the economics of the deal are pitiful. Tetas, the Turkish grid company, is committed to a 15-year deal to buy electricity from the reactors at a price of US$124 per megawatt hour. That, unbelievably, is more than double the market prices for electricity across the EU right now. So much for nuclear power being affordable and competitive.

Turkish Parliament votes for nuclear madness | Greenpeace International, 17 July 2010, Well, they did it. Despite 170,000 people expressing their opposition, the Turkish Parliament yesterday voted in favour of the agreement between Turkey and Russia to build four nuclear reactors at Akkuyu on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Continue reading →

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Turkey | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Castro warns on USA and Israel sparking a nuclear war

The Cuban leader also emphasised that India, Pakistan and Israel are the three nuclear powers who have refused to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

“The control that Israel has over the United States is enormous.”

Fidel Castro returns to TV with dire warning of nuclear conflict, The Arab American News, 16 July 2010, HAVANA – The Middle East is on the verge of a nuclear war triggered by a U.S. attack on Iran in the name of preventing the country from developing its own weapons, according to ageing Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro. Continue reading →

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | MIDDLE EAST, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Arab nations likely to develop nuclear weapons

This is causing unease in Washington …….The Americans have sought to ensure that none of the Arab states will seek to enrich uranium to weapons-grade level.

Ready to Churn out Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Weapons: Arab States « international environmental law, 17 July 2010, Saudi Arabia’s decision last week to sign a nuclear cooperation pact with France marks a major step forward for a pan-Arab drive toward nuclear power, even as the United States strives to rein in Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Continue reading →

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | MIDDLE EAST, politics international | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

UK govt using “cooked books” to discredit nuclear veterans

accusing them of “misusing” science in their study and branding their conclusions as “deficient”.

New Zealand nuclear study at odds with British, This Is Derbyshire, 16 July 2010, Former Armed Forces Minister Kevan Jones told the House of Commons last December that studies had ruled out a link between veterans’ cancer and the nuclear tests.. Continue reading →

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Olympic Dam uranium mine a threat to Australia’s groundwater

“Not only is the expansion at Olympic Dam going ahead without the consent of traditional owners, but tens of thousands of gigalitres of water per day is being sucked out of the Artesian Basin on Arabunna land to service the mine,”

Protesters gather at mine site, Sydney Morning Herald, July 16, 2010 –An anti-nuclear protester has chained himself to a four-wheel-drive blocking the road to BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia’s far north. Continue reading →

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, climate change, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium, water | Leave a comment

Surfers rally to save beaches from nuclear power

Surfers in South Africa to march against nuclear project, Outdoors, action and adventure, Pete Thomas Jul 16, 2010 Some of the world’s top pro surfers will participate in a protest march Saturday against the proposed construction in South Africa of a nuclear power station that threatens to jeopardize some of the region’s premier surf spots. Continue reading →

July 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, South Africa | antinuclear, nuclear, reactors | Leave a comment

U.S. nuclear loans – govt favouritism to an uneconomic industry

If the DOE gets its way, US loan guarantees between 2008 and 2011 for nuclear will be triple those for renewables and energy efficiency (see page 4 of the GAO report). Yet the nuclear ‘renaissance’ is struggling to get off the ground while renewables are positively thriving. You do the math.

Nuclear favouritism, Greenpeace International, by jmckeati – July 15, 2010, ……… On Monday it was the International Energy Agency’s Energy Technology Perspectives with its bad news for the nuclear ‘renaissance’. Yesterday it was the EUROTOM Supply Agency and its figures that show that nuclear power isn’t bringing – and can’t bring – energy security to Europe.

Today it’s a report released this week by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) which demonstrates the bias and favouritism shown to the nuclear industry by government and politicians. The GAO has been looking at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) loan guarantee program (LGP). Continue reading →

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

Iranian nuclear scientist – a spy for USA or for Iran?

Was Iranian Nuclear Scientist a Double Agent? | The Atlantic Wire, By Max Fisher July 15, 2010, Alleged Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri has returned to Iran after 13 months in the U.S. It’s still unclear what happened during his stay and why he returned home. We may never know the full truth, but several new reports point to the possibility that he was an Iranian double agent all along. Under this theory, Amiri would have faked his defection to the U.S. (or allowed himself to be abducted, depending on whose story you believe), where he either fed the U.S. false information or acquired information to send back to Iran or both. Here’s what we know…….

Was Iranian Nuclear Scientist a Double Agent? | The Atlantic Wire

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

Youth-led anti nuclear movement to launch in August

Think Outside the Bomb to launch “Disarmament Summer”, Beyond Nuclear! 16 July 2010, The youth-led anti-nuclear weapons movement Think Outside the Bomb is set to launch its “Disarmament Summer” (July 30 to August 9) campaign in New Mexico. TOTB will create a permaculture encampment installing gardens and energy efficiency and renewable energy systems that will serve the community of Chimayo, New Mexico long after this summer’s activities have ended. “Disarmament Summer” will culminate with actions at the Los Alamos nuclear weapons lab on Nagasaki Day on August 9th.

Beyond Nuclear – NUCLEAR WEAPONS – Think Outside the Bomb to launch “Disarmament Summer”!

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

USA nuclear energy – no future without a solution to nuclear waste

Commission on America’s Nuclear Future co-chairman Brent Scowcroft says the future of American nuclear energy depends on whether the U.S. can figure out how to treat and dispose of the resulting waste.

Presidential commission: dealing with waste key to nuclear future – KHQ Right Now Associated Press – July 15, 2010 Continue reading →

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

CIA paid Iranian nuclear scientist $5 million

denied he knew any secrets or even that he was a nuclear scientist at all. However, the US officials told The Washington Post that the money would not have been paid for nothing.

Iranian scientist was ‘paid $5 million by CIA’ for nuclear secrets, Telegraph, 15 July 2010, The scientist who claims he was abducted by US spies was paid $5 million by the CIA to disclose Iran’s nuclear secrets, American officials have said. Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent Continue reading →

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

VIDEO: USA’s need to move to truly clean energy

VIDEO Repower America | Video: Join Michael’s fight for clean energy Repower America, 16 July 2010, “……….The tragedy unfolding in the Gulf underscores the need for America to end our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels, and only a comprehensive bill that sets clear limits on carbon pollution will break the cycle of addiction. We must take aggressive steps to deal with the immediate consequences of the oil disaster, but we must also use this opportunity to address the underlying causes and prevent future disasters like this one.Clean energy will create jobs, strengthen our national security, and ensure America’s prosperity and leadership in the 21st century………..

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Resources -audiovicual | renewable energy | Leave a comment

Obama to India to push USA’s commercial nuclear sales

India, US flesh out agenda for Obama visit, Sify News, 2010-07-15, “…. US National Security Adviser James Jones wrapped up his two-day visit here, aimed at firming up deliverables for Obama’s state visit in November…..The visit saw India making a renewed push for the easing of exports of dual use technologies, widely seen in India as a potential deliverable during Obama’s maiden visit here in November. The two sides also reviewed steps that remain to be completed to implement their nuclear deal…