2010 September 14 « nuclear-news

America’s nuclear industry near death – begging for money

As renewables plummet in cost, and private financing stays nil, the nuclear industry is desperate to gouge billions from Congress for loan guarantees to build new reactors. Thus far, citizen activism has stopped them. But the industry is pouring all it has into this fall’s short session, yet again demanding massive new subsides to stay on life support

Is the “Nuclear Renaissance” Dead Yet?, HUFFINGTON POST, Harvey Wasserman: 13 Sept 2010, America’s much hyped “reactor renaissance” is facing a quadruple bypass. In actual new construction, proposed projects and overseas sales, soaring costs are killing new nukes. And the old ones are leaking like Dark Age relics on the brink of disaster. Continue reading →

September 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Moscow facing up to its nuclear radiation mess

There is also an issue of unknown radioactive dumps. Tens of them are found every year all over Moscow…People just do not know whether any nuclear waste is nearby and what the level of radiation on the surface is.

Radiation scare for Moscow parks The Moscow News, – Evgeniya Chaykovskaya – 13 Sept 10, Levels of radiation on Moscow’s streets have reached a level so high that the authorities are about to spend 4.7 billion roubles to get rid of it.The $153 million clean-up will run from 2011-2013 amid reports of no fewer than 18 dangerous radioactive objects within the capital.

And they can be found in heavily built-up areas like Kuzminki, Continue reading →

September 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Inquiry wanted into uranium mining plan for caribou country

Last spring, the regulatory process began for the $1.5-billion Kiggavik project, a uranium mine proposed for just west of Baker Lake by French uranium giant Areva. It is the first such mine to come before the Nunavut Impact Review Board and the first proposed for the wildlife-rich Thelon Basin, home to major caribou herds.

(Canada) Nunavut residents want inquiry into uranium mine – CTV News, 14 Sept 10, The tiny, remote community of Grise Fiord on the frozen shores of Ellesmere Island is nearly as far as it gets from the giant uranium mine proposed for the southern tundra near Baker Lake.

But that didn’t stop 46 people in the community from signing a petition tabled in the legislature last summer demanding a public inquiry over the project. Five other Nunavut communities tabled similar petitions. Continue reading →

September 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, opposition to nuclear | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, uranium | Leave a comment

Airport screening staff should wear radiation measurement badges

Why do dentists, doctors, med techs, etc.. who work in other x-ray environments gladly wear these exposure detectors on their clothing but TSA employees do not or cannot?

Airport Screeners: Denied radiation badges? | The Science Friday Blog. September 13, 2010 by Ira Flatow I continue to wonder why those TSA folks who stand by x-ray machines for a whole day do not know how much radiation they are exposed to. Last weekend, one of them told me she asked for a common radiation badge and was told she could not wear one. Continue reading →

September 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

USA grassroots anti-nuclear movement against massive spending by nuclear lobby

it is now clearer than ever that atomic energy cannot compete, that new construction means new rate hikes, that delays and cost overruns will always outstrip the industry’s initial public assurances,

Is the “Nuclear Renaissance” Dead Yet?, HUFFINGTON POST, Harvey Wasserman: 13 Sept 2010, “…..According to official records, the nuclear industry has spent at least $645 million in the past decade lobbying for taxpayer handouts. It got $18.5 billion in loan guarantees from the Bush Administration in 2005. Obama has asked for some $36 billion more. But so far a national grassroots movement has kept that from happening. Continue reading →

September 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

UK likely to delay expensive new Trident nuclear missiles

Trident replacement could be delayed as David Cameron looks for savings Nicholas Watt, guardian.co.uk, Monday 13 September 2010David Cameron is examining plans to delay the replacement of Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent to reduce the pressure on the public finances during the toughest spending round since the second world war, according to government sources……..

Trident replacement could be delayed as David Cameron looks for savings | Politics | The Guardian

September 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Efforts to clean up radioactive Tritium leak at Oyster Creek nuclear plant

Nuclear plant cleaning up tritium, APP.com | Asbury Park Press, By BOB VOSSELLER September 13, 2010 — The state Department of Environmental Protection on Monday announced the start of a tritium cleanup at Oyster Creek Generating Station.The first phase of a cleanup of radioactive tritium that leaked from the Forked River power plant owned by Exelon Nuclear last year was outlined by DEP Commissioner Bob Martin and Exelon officials…….The plan also calls for continued monitoring of the content of the water pulled from the ground, and observation of groundwater levels in the area near the nuclear plant. Contaminated water will be pumped into drums and transferred to a large holding tank on site, to be diluted into massive volumes of water used for cooling the power-generating process, which will bring the tritium levels below detectable standards….

Nuclear plant cleaning up tritium | APP.com | Asbury Park Press

September 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

America’s rickety old nuclear reactors becoming dangerous

As reactor owners petition to extend operating licenses for decades to come, the rickety, embrittled old plants become increasingly dangerous.

Is the “Nuclear Renaissance” Dead Yet?, HUFFINGTON POST, Harvey Wasserman: 13 Sept 2010, “……America’s aging fleet of first generation reactors is leaking profusely. Indian Point, north of Manhattan, has suffered seven unplanned shut-downs in two years. In recent months serious emissions of tritium and other radioactive substances into the air and water have been found at Vermont Yankee, Indian Point, New Jersey’s Oyster Creek and many more. Ohio’s infamous Davis-Besse, where boric acid ate virtually all the way through a reactor pressure vessel, has sprung some two dozen leaks which cannot be explained by its owner, First Energy. In Vermont, leaks from pipes the operators said did not exist have seeped contaminated water into the Connecticut River. As reactor owners petition to extend operating licenses for decades to come, the rickety, embrittled old plants become increasingly dangerous.

Harvey Wasserman: Is the “Nuclear Renaissance” Dead Yet?

September 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment