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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Uncertainty over radiation as Russia’s wildfire danger still exists

Vice President of the European Parliament Rodi Kratsa said in a letter to the chamber last week that there are “serious risks” of radiation reaching Europe and asked her fellow deputies to find out whether Russia has a “prevention plan … to avoid the release of radioactive particles into the atmosphere.”

Fallout from Russia’s Fires – the ashes of Chernobyl,   TIME, Simon Shuster ,  20 Aug 2010, – “……. On Aug. 18, it [the Russian government] organized a trip to Bryansk for observers and environmentalists. Ivan Blokov, who went on behalf of Greenpeace, says the trip left some of the most crucial questions unanswered and convinced him only that the region’s firefighting infrastructure is “in a state of collapse” and would be unable to contain a major fire in the radioactive forests. Continue reading

August 20, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In-situ uranium mining gets stringent rules to protect groundwater

Among other things, the new rules: Require uranium companies to restore groundwater quality to its pre-mining condition or better….Require baseline water quality testing for all in-situ uranium projects during the prospecting phase.

MINING: Colo. adopts strict regulations on in-situ uranium operations WaterWorld, August 19, 2010, Eryn Gable, Colorado officials have approved the nation’s most stringent water quality protections for in-situ uranium operations as part of an effort to update uranium-mining regulations that dated back to the late 1970s. Continue reading

August 20, 2010 Posted by | Uranium, USA, water | , , , , | Leave a comment

CIA steps up intelligence effort against nuclear threat

New CIA center to address nuclear, WMD threats, The Hill, By Elise Viebeck – 08/19/10 The CIA is launching a new effort devoted to nuclear and other major weapons threats.Agency Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday the effort would aim to confront “nuclear, chemical and biological” WMDs. It will be initiated by the National Counterproliferation Center, which operates beneath the head of the intelligence community……..

New CIA center to address nuclear, WMD threats – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room

August 20, 2010 Posted by | general | , , , | Leave a comment

Safety to be increased at Russia’s nuclear sites

Ecologists had warned that large quantities of radioactive dust could be released into the atmosphere if forests caught fire in the Bryansk, Kaluga and Lipetsk regions, contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Russia to boost safety at nuclear sites after fires  Aug 19, 2010 By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Reuters) Russia is to step up safety at its nuclear facilities after wildfires threatened to engulf one centre, raising fears of a radiation leak, the head of the state nuclear corporation said on Thursday. Continue reading

August 20, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , | Leave a comment

Pakistan’s 125 nuclear weapons at risk from terrorists and U.S. drones

it was a most dangerous situation for the nuclear weapons holder countries if they were dealing with terrorist activities in their territories and unfortunately, Pakistan was one of them, so such threats did exist

US drones could be harmful for Pakistan’s nuclear programme: seminar, Daily Times, 20 Aug 2010, LAHORE: Nuclear issues expert and the director of the Ali Institute of Education, Dr AH Nayyar has expressed fear that US drone attacks could prove harmful for Pakistan’s nuclear programme and its nuclear installations placed at undisclosed locations… Continue reading

August 20, 2010 Posted by | Pakistan, safety | , , | 1 Comment

USA Republicans preventing inspections of Russia’s nuclear arsenal

because of the Republican tactics, the old START agreement–which was endorsed by Republican and Democratic administrations in the years since the Cold War ended–has expired. So, for the first time in 15 years the Pentagon has lost its ability to inspect the Russian strategic nuclear bases.

On START Treaty, U.S. Suffering From Senate Republican Ignorance,  (usnews.com), By John Aloysius Farrell  August 19, 2010 Continue reading

August 20, 2010 Posted by | politics, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Security of Pakistan’s nuclear sites; OK says Pakistani Army

Pakistan Army Spokesman: Nuclear Installations Are Safe From Floods, The MEMRI Blog, 20 Aug 2010, Pakistani Army spokesman Maj.-Gen. Athar Abbas has said that Pakistan’s nuclear installations do not face any danger from the country’s worst floods, according to a Pakistani website.The website of the Dawn newspaper quoted Abbas as saying: “All our nuclear and military installations have remained safe and there is no further danger from flooding.” In recent years, Western nations have expressed concerns over the security of Pakistani nuclear sites.

The MEMRI Blog – Full Blog Entry

August 20, 2010 Posted by | environment, Pakistan | , , , | Leave a comment

Gathering opposition to renewal of nuclear plant license

Other groups that have joined the petition include Beyond Nuclear, based in Takoma Park, Md.; New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution of Brattleboro, Vt.; Seacoast Anti-Pollution League in New Hampshire; Pilgrim Watch in Duxbury, Mass.; and C-10 Research & Education Foundation in Newburyport, Mass………….

Opponents petition NH power plant license renewal,  BusinessWeek, By KATHY McCORMACK 20 Aug 2010, CONCORD, N.H.Citizens’ groups filed a petition Wednesday to protest an application from New Hampshire’s lone nuclear power plant to extend its license for 20 years. Continue reading

August 20, 2010 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Russian govt controlling information on fires and radioactivity

Shoigu changed his line about the risk of radiation and rebuked the RCFH for spreading “false information.” Hours later, the agency’s website went down, and it remained inaccessible until the morning of Aug. 18 — when it went back online with no mention of the Bryansk fires.   RCFH deputy director Nikolai Bobrinsky told TIME that the agency was just following a request from the Emergencies Ministry that it stop going public with information about the fires to avoid spreading panic.

Fallout from Russia’s Fires – the ashes of Chernobyl,   TIME, Simon Shuster ,  20 Aug 2010, Five weeks after wildfires began spreading through forests in central and western parts of the country, Russia is still burning. Continue reading

August 20, 2010 Posted by | Russia, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Japanese urged not to invest in risky new nuclear reactors

Speaking tour of Japan challenges MOX fuel use and financing for new U.S. reactors, Beyond Nuclear Aug 19 2 010 . Beyond Nuclear’s Kevin Kamps toured Japan from August 2nd to 12th, visiting Tokyo, Fukushima, Fukui, Kansai and Kyushu. Highlights included meeting with officials from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance agency, where a letter signed by 75 U.S. national and grassroots groups was delivered, urging no Japanese financing for risky new reactors in the U.S. Continue reading

August 20, 2010 Posted by | general | , , , , | Leave a comment

Radiation contamination in Russia. USA help in wildfires

Виктория Орти (ortivika) wrote, 17 August 2010, Two U.S. Air Force planes flew to Moscow , probably on board – one of the seven laboratories for nuclear weapons . Ask yourselves – what could well scare the Russians, to urgently call for help from the U.S. Air Force ?

Mayak is the most radioactive contaminated place in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Karachay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_Disaster

….”(Lake Katachay) accumulated some 4.44 exabecquerels (EBq) of radioactivity, including 3.6 EBq of Caesium- 137 and 0.74 EBq of Strontium- 90. For comparison, the Chernobyl disaster released from 5 to 12 EBq of radioactivity, but this radiation is not concentrated in one location. ” http://topbloger.ru/?http%3a%2f%2fortivika.livejournal.com%2f953720.html

August 19, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , | Leave a comment

Medical radiation a major source of human exposure

The findings are contained in the first of the two volumes of supporting evidence underpinning the UNSCEAR report for 2008 covering medical radiation exposures; the second covers exposures of the public and workers from various sources of radiation.……

UN Identifies Medical Use of Radiation as Main Source of Human Exposure, Turkish Weekly,  18 August 2010 The use of radiation in medicine accounts for most human exposure to ionizing radiation, according to a report issued on 17 August by the United Nations scientific committee on the effects of atomic radiation.  Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, health | , , , , | Leave a comment

Impact of radiation on workers ignored in India’s Nuclear Liability Bill

In its haste to introduce the N-liability bill, the government ignored the health ministry

(India) Nuclear liability bill silent on impact of radiation on plant workers, Daily News and Analysis, (DNA)  , Aug 19, 2010, By Vineeta Pandey | One basic problem with a nuclear installation is radiation, which affects the health of workers at the plant and the people living around it. Yet this factor has been completely ignored in the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill. Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | health, India | , , , , | Leave a comment

Peaceful protestors arrested in demonstration against new nuclear weapons plant

The activists condemn the plant, which will replace one nearby and will be the first new nuclear weapons plant built in the United States in over 30 years.

Anti-nuclear activists arrested during Honeywell plant protest – Kansas City News Mandy Oaklander,  Aug. 17 2010 Protesters from as far away as Florida convened at the Honeywell plant construction site yesterday in south Kansas City. The protest was the culmination of a three-day gathering for the KC Nuclear Weapons Plant Conference Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Germany struggles over question of its aging, dilapidated nuclear facilities

“There is no reason to negotiate with the nuclear power companies,” ….“A fuel tax is not needed to pay for extending the life of the plants but to keep the taxpayers from footing the bill of up to €10 billion for refurbishing old, dilapidated waste storage facilities.”….

analysts argue that the more Germany expands the renewable energy sector, whether for domestic consumption or exporting the equipment, the greater the potential for creating jobs.

Merkel Takes an ‘Energy Trip’, By JUDY DEMPSEY NYTimes.com, August 18, 2010 BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing intense pressure from nuclear power companies to extend the life of their plants, began a cross-country tour Wednesday before deciding on a long-term energy policy with far-reaching implications for Germany, which has Europe’s largest economy…… Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | Germany, politics | , , , , | Leave a comment