nuclear-news

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

The ‘nuclear renaissance’ just isn’t happening

“No one has ever built a nuclear plant in a liberalised electricity market,”….Mr Roderick of GE Hitachi observes that in the past five years, only a fraction of the proposed reactor projects went ahead, and he expects the same to be true in the next five years…….

Nuclear: New dawn now seems limited to the east, FT.com, By Ed Crooks: September 12 2010 The renaissance of nuclear power is a much fabled beast that is often talked about but rarely seen. Continue reading →

September 13, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | Leave a comment

Even if they go ahead, dubious profitability for Germany’s old nuclear plants

E.On: tax eats profits from nuclear extension-paper   Reuters, FRANKFURT, Sept 12 – E.On EOGn.DE says taxes will eat up between half and two thirds of all profits generated from extending the lifespan of nuclear power stations in Germany, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said on Sunday.”The state will definitely take more than half and combined with the nuclear fuel tax likely cash in two thirds,” E.On CEO Johannes Teyssen said in an interview with the paper.New tax measures are set to be introduced as part of a deal struck between the utilities and the German government earlier this month to extend the operating lifespan of 17 nuclear power plants, giving reactors an extension of about 12 years on average. …….E.On: tax eats profits from nuclear extension-paper | Energy & Oil | Reuters

September 13, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | , , , | Leave a comment

Scanner making companies design the safety tests for airport X-Ray Scanners

guess who was on the committee that developed the guidelines for the X-ray scanners? Representatives from the companies that make the machines and the Department of Homeland Security, among others. In other words, the machines passed a test developed, in part, by the companies that manufacture them and the government agency that wants to use them..….

Body scan or pat down: Decisions abound with airport security – San Jose Mercury News, By Susan Stellin, New York Times 09/12/2010 “…….The more controversial “backscatter” devices project an X-ray beam onto the body, creating an image displayed on a monitor viewed by a TSA employee in another room. The “millimeter wave” machines, considered less risky because they do not use X-rays, bounce electromagnetic waves off the body to produce a similar image. Continue reading →

September 13, 2010 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation a cancer causer in nearby, non-irradiated cells

The Bystander Effect  may be more damaging in the longer term than direct radiation exposure.

Emerging role of radiation induced bystander effects:Cell communications and carcinogenesis, 7th Space.3 Sept 10, Rajamanickam Baskar, Ionizing radiation is an invaluable diagnostic and treatment tool used in various clinical applications. On the other hand, radiation is a known cytotoxic with a potential DNA damaging and carcinogenic effects.

However, the biological effects of low and high linear energy transfer (LET) radiations are considerably more complex than previously thought. Continue reading →

September 13, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, health | , , , , , | Leave a comment

South Africa has virtually no control over its radioactive materials

The current situation is a serious indictment on the ANC-government, as it will result or has already resulted in South African citizens being exposed to unnecessary radiation and danger…..

Govt’s radiation control dept almost kaput,  Politicsweb, – DAMike Waters 12 September 2010 Mike Waters says vacancy rate at 50%, 64% inspections outstandingRadiation Control Directorate: Non-operation poses threat to public safety The Democratic Alliance (DA) is in possession of internal documents dating as far back as 2003, which reveal that the Department of Health’s Directorate for Radiation Control is almost non-operational. Continue reading →

September 13, 2010 Posted by | politics, South Africa | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

India ramping up its nuclear weapons

Strategic Command to acquire 40 nuclear capable fighters – Hindustan Times, Press Trust Of India New Delhi, September 12, 2010, With an aim of increasing its lethal power, India’s tri-services strike force is planning to acquire 40 fighter planes capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) has submitted a proposal to the Defence Ministry for setting up two dedicated squadrons of fighteraircraft which will act as “mini-Air Force”, ministry sources said.This will be the first time that SFC, which at present depends on the Indian Air Force for delivering nuclear weapons under its command, will have its own aerial assets, they said……..Strategic Command to acquire 40 nuclear capable fighters – Hindustan Times

September 13, 2010 Posted by | India, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear factory workers to be compensated for their cancers

it is reasonable to conclude workers at Blockson Chemical Co. were exposed to radiation in large enough doses from 1951 to 1960 to cause illness, even if it is impossible to determine the precise amount of radiation exposure.

Joliet workers’ path to radiation compensation eased – Chicago Tribune, September 11, 2010|By Ted Gregory, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday ended a decade-long wait and eased compensation claims for Joliet factory workers who contracted cancer while helping build and test nuclear weapons in the 1950s. Continue reading →

September 13, 2010 Posted by | health, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Britain’s nuclear missile system is unaffordable

The government is under increasing pressure to reach a consensus over the Trident replacement programme, which is costing £1 million a day in research and development.

Scrapping Trident up for debate again, gulfnews,  By Patrick Hennessy and Sean Rayment, The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2010 *   September 13, 2010 The future of Britain’s Trident nuclear missile system is again under threat as ministers draw up detailed plans for spending cuts, The Sunday Telegraph understands. Continue reading →

September 13, 2010 Posted by | politics, UK | , | Leave a comment

UK’s Ministry of Defence stalling on compensation, as nuclear veterans die

A veteran of the nuclear bomb tests in the South Pacific today told how he fears he may not live long enough to see the Government apologise for sending them there. SGClub.com Friendly Singapore Forums, 11 Sept 10, Kieran Boomer, 74, is one of hundreds of veterans of the tests on Christmas Island in the 1950s fighting for an apology and compensation. Continue reading →

September 13, 2010 Posted by | Legal, UK | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Time for Israel to own up about its nuclear weapons

Israel is believed to be the only Middle East country to possess atomic weapons. Its government neither confirms nor denies their existence

Nuclear Scrutiny to turn to Israel.  WSJ.com By JAY SOLOMON, 12 Sept 10, WASHINGTON—Arab states are preparing to press for far greater United Nations controls over Israel’s nuclear program, in a move that could complicate the Obama administration’s broader nonproliferation campaign and Middle East peace drive. Continue reading →

September 13, 2010 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, politics international | , , , , | Leave a comment

Squirrel monkeys the victims of NASA radiation experiments

NASA engineer quits over animal experiment, By Hayley Kappes,The Daily News  September 12, 2010 JOHNSON SPACE CENTER — April Evans wrestled for weeks whether to quit her dream job working for NASA’s operations with the International Space Station.She concluded in March there was no other option but to resign after learning the space agency proposed a $1.75 million experiment to irradiate 18 squirrel monkeys to determine astronauts’ ability to withstand high levels of continuous radiation in deep space……. ……NASA engineer quits over animal experiment

September 13, 2010 Posted by | general | , , | Leave a comment