2010 August 21 « nuclear-news

How low doses of ionising radiation can cause cancer

Apoptosis is the study of programmed cell death….the body’s natural cell-suicide program can fuel tumour development.”….this could happen if cellular DNA was damaged, say, by repeated exposure to low doses of radiation

Cells’ demise provides clues about cancer | The Australian, 21 Aug 2010, Research into apoptosis is taking place worldwide, with several large drug companies pouring money into the area, but critical work is being undertaken in Australia. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, health | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Radioactive impact of Chernobyl still affecting Europe

24 Years After Chernobyl, Radioactive Boars Still Roam Germany | Discover Magazine, 21 Aug 2010, A quarter-century after the catastrophe, Chernobyl can’t stay out of the news.When fires broke out in Russia this month, people worried that the flames would spread to areas still affected by the radiation, with unknown consequences. And this week, we learned that Chernobyl-related radiation is actually on the rise somewhere else: in German boars. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Renewable energy growth outpaces coal, gas and nuclear

Both the US and Europe added more renewable power capacity in 2009 than they added coal, gas, and nuclear capacity. Globally, 80,000 megawatts of renewable capacity was added, with China adding nearly half the total

Renewable Energy Investment is Growing – 24/7 Wall St., Paul Ausick, 21 Aug 2010, An international policy network called the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, or REN21, has released its global status report for 2010. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, renewable | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, renewable energy, renewables, solar, wind | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste problem has not been solved

the problem of radioactive waste storage has not been solved. Today, some 60,000 tons of high-level waste has accumulated in the United States without a successful waste-disposal program.

U.S. Nuclear Waste Panel Slammed for Ignoring Public Fears, Environment News Service, WASHINGTON, DC, August 20, 2010 (ENS) – The Obama administration’s effort to fix the nation’s stalled nuclear waste program is focusing so much on technological issues that it fails to address the public mistrust hampering storage and disposal efforts, say 16 social science researchers from across the country. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

AREVA postpones USA nuclear component making to unspecified date

Areva nuclear component manufacturing facility delayed to 2013, Washington (Platts) Steven Dolley, -20Aug 2010 Areva will delay until 2013 the start of manufacturing nuclear power reactor components at a facility being built in Virginia, a company spokesman said Friday…..Areva spokesman Jarret Adams said Friday in an interview that the start-up date for the Newport News facility was postponed because of reduced economic growth and other factors that have “caused some of our customers to slow plans” to build new power reactors. Adams would not name those customers and declined to provide more specific expected dates for completion of construction or the start of manufacturing. Platts: RSS Feed Detailed News

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Nuclear Waste – Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future

Globally, each year, nuclear power reactors create enough spent fuel to fill a football field to a depth of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet), with a weight of about 10,500 tons.

U.S. Nuclear Waste Panel Slammed for Ignoring Public Fears, Environment News Service, WASHINGTON, DC, August 20, 2010 (ENS) “…….The Commission is made up of 15 members who have a range of expertise and experience in nuclear issues, including scientists, industry representatives, and respected former elected officials. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Chewonki meeting – stop nuclear power development until waste problem solved

If there could be said to be a consensus that emerged from the public comments that were made at Chewonki, it was that Congress should and must forbid any further development of nuclear power unless or until this intractable problem has been resolved.

Not at any price, The Times Record, Mid-Coast Maine, Betty King, August 20, 2010, “…..the meeting at Chewonki with the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the Storage and Transportation of Nuclear Waste… Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

USA political problem – no State wants nuclear wastes

The timeline for removing Hanford’s nuclear waste could be extended by decades if Obama’s decision to terminate the Yucca Mountain project stands

Nuke waste dump influences races outside Nevada, Google hosted news, By KEVIN FREKING (AP) – 21 Aug 2010, WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s decision to bypass Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository should give Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a boost in his bid for a fifth term…….

Washington and South Carolina are plaintiffs in a lawsuit designed to keep Yucca Mountain as an option for stockpiling the nation’s nuclear waste. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

BHP Billiton, starts with potash – then on to uranium mining.

by Christina Macpherson, 21 Aug 2010. International mining giant BHP Billiton has an agenda for world-wide uranium mining leadership, as well as a history of world-wide inadequate treatment of indigenous people.

Unable to convince Australian Aborigines of the value to them of uranium mining, and radioactive waste tailings on their land, BHP still hopes to convince Canadian indigenous peoples of their bounty to them – promising jobs (mining) etc.

BHP Billiton touts city Mining firm sees Saskatoon as potash centre By Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix August 20, 2010 The world’s biggest mining company will work to make Saskatoon an international potash hub if it wins its bid to acquire Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., BHP Billiton said Thursday…..
Mackenzie acknowledged in the telephone interview that while potash is BHP Billiton’s priority, it has “not ruled out” the development of any of Saskatchewan’s other resources, which include uranium, diamonds, gold, coal and rare earth elements. “We obviously play in many commodities and I think from time to time we do look in a small way at uranium,” he said…
BHP Billiton is starting an advertising program today in an attempt to convince PotashCorp shareholders to accept its takeover offer.

BHP Billiton touts city

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, indigenous issues, Uranium | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, uranium | 1 Comment

Goldman Sachs going into uranium

Goldman’s glowing – NYPOST.com, By MARK DeCAMBRE , August 20, 2010 Goldman Sachs is about to go nuclear.The gold-plated investment bank, run by CEO Lloyd Blankfein, is making a concerted push into the delivery of uranium for the first time, adding to its high-powered commodities platform….. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, uranium | Leave a comment

India gets nuclear submarine from Russia

Russian nuclear submarine leased to India -reports, MOSCOW, Aug 20 (Reuters) by Dmitry Solovyov – Russia has handed a new nuclear-powered submarine over to India for a 10-year lease, Russian news agencies reported on Friday, two years after an accident during testing killed 20 people.The Nerpa, under the command of an Indian crew, left its base on Russia’s Pacific coast earlier this week, bound for an Indian naval base, Interfax news agency quoted a source in Russia’s military-industrial complex as saying.Citing a source in Russia’s Pacific Fleet, RIA news agency said the submarine was manned by a mixed Russian-Indian crew…………India, Russia’s close economic and political partner since Soviet days, accounted for a quarter of Moscow’s arms exports last year, according to estimates by the Centre for Analysts of Strategies and Technologies, a Moscow-based defence think-tank. Russian nuclear submarine leased to India -reports | Reuters

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Iran seeking to deflect international pressure

Ahmadinejad: give Iran uranium supplies and we’ll stop enriching President’s remarks appear designed to deflect international pressure over country’s nuclear programme Ian Black, guardian.co.uk, 20 August 2010 Iran would stop enriching uranium to a high grade if it was assured of the supplies it needed for a research reactor, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on the eve of the inauguration of the country’s first nuclear power plant. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | AUSTRALIA, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Time for diplomacy with Iran

Defusing nuclear tension with Tehran. Behind warlike rhetoric, the signs are that sanctions have been effective: the time is ripe for renewed diplomacy with Iran Johan Bergenäs guardian.co.uk, 19 August 2010 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said Wednesday that talks about his country’s nuclear programme will not take place “under the shadow” of threats. The United States and other countries should grasp this opportunity, rein in the rhetoric of military action and return to talks with Iran without delay. The time is ripe to take steps towards a negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear conundrum. Continue reading →

August 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment