AREVA’s loss making uranium projects halted, in Africa and USA
Areva halts Trekkopje uranium development, The Namibian, By: JO-MARÉ DUDDY, 14 Dec 11 AREVA yesterday said it was putting its investment in the US$1 billion Trekkopje uranium project on hold as the French nuclear fuel and services giant braced itself for a worldwide loss of up to US$2 billion for 2011.
Central to Areva’s financial woes is a provision for an asset write-down of US$1,97 billion for property and equipment at its UraMin operations, which include Trekoppje as well as Bakouma in the Central African Republic and Ryst Kuil in South Africa.
In addition, state-owned Areva slashed its uranium resource estimates at Trekkopje by nearly 42 per cent. ….
The company’s investment freeze also includes shelving a controversial nuclear enrichment plant project in Idaho in the US. Areva would cut its total investments by 34 per cent over the 2012-16 period, compared to the period 2007-11, Oursel said.
Russia’s global nuclear ambitions
A new ARMZ race, Asia Times, 14 Dec 11 By Peter Lee The people who brought about Chernobyl are pressing to become the world’s leading source for nuclear power equipment, materials, and services.
Russia’s quasi-state nuclear power authority, Rosatom, has ambitions of becoming the world’s one-stop shop for nuclear plants, uranium fuel and spent fuel services. Currently accounting for 20% of the world’s nuclear power stations and 17% of global nuclear fuel fabrication, Rosatom wants to double in size and become the dominant player in uranium ore and spent fuel in the process.
In places like Kazakhstan, Canada, Niger, Australia, the United States and Mongolia, Rosatom’s (AtomRedMetZoloto) Uranium Holding Co, or ARMZ, is seeking to dominate worldwide uranium production. Over the past two decades, Russia has aggressively leveraged the nuclear legacy of the Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the nuclear arms race with the United States, the USSR always opted for quantity and size rather than quality….
Secrecy caused delay in dealing with Fukushima nuclear disaster
Secret Weapons Program Inside Fukushima Nuclear Plant? U.S.-Japan security treaty fatally delayed nuclear workers’ fight against meltdown Global Research, 12/4/11 by Yoichi Shimatsu “….Death of Deterrence …. in 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a muted warning on Japan’s heightened drive for a nuclear bomb— and promptly did nothing. The White House has to turn a blind eye to the radiation streaming through American skies or risk exposure of a blatant double standard on nuclear proliferation by an ally. Besides, Washington’s quiet approval for a Japanese bomb doesn’t quite sit well with the memory of either Pearl Harbor or Hiroshima.
In and of itself, a nuclear deterrence capability would be neither objectionable nor illegal— in the unlikely event that the majority of Japanese voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to Article 9. Legalized possession would require safety inspections, strict controls and transparency of the sort that could have hastened the Fukushima emergency response. Covert weapons development, in contrast, is rife with problems. In the event of an emergency, like the one happening at this moment, secrecy must be enforced at all cost— even if it means countless more hibakusha, or nuclear victims.
Instead of enabling a regional deterrence system and a return to great-power status, the Manchurian deal planted the time bombs now spewing radiation around the world. The nihilism at the heart of this nuclear threat to humanity lies not inside Fukushima 1, but within the national security mindset. The specter of self-destruction can be ended only with the abrogation of the U.S.-Japan security treaty, the root cause of the secrecy that fatally delayed the nuclear workers’ fight against meltdown. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24275
Effects of a nuclear explosion just above the atmosphere
High-Altitude Nuclear Explosions Dangerous, but not for Reasons Gingrich Cites Scientific American By Michael Moyer | December 14, 2011 | “………In the June 2004 issue of Scientific American, the national security journalist Daniel G. Dupont wrote “Nuclear Explosions in Orbit” [subscription required], a story that details the sequence of events that would follow a nuclear detonation just above the atmosphere. Continue reading
USA has a Nuclear Party, as well as Republicans and Democratss
this isn’t just about Republicans vs. Democrats….”There is a sort of nuclear party that transcends Republican and Democratic labels,” …… “The four signers of the letter are all very much in the nuclear party, and the chairman is not.”
U.S. Nuclear Agency Suffers Leadership Meltdown NPR, by CHRISTOPHER JOYCE December 14, 2011 The government organization charged with keeping nuclear power safe is
having a meltdown. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission consists of five commissioners who direct the work of hundreds of nuclear engineers and other experts. They write the rules for how nuclear reactors operate.
Now four of those commissioners say the chairman of the NRC is a bully who’s destroying their ability to do their job. Continue reading
Fort Calhoun nuclear plant to stay closed, as new problems found
Regulators up scrutiny of Fort Calhoun nuclear plant after finding more problems Washington Post, 13 Dec OMAHA, Neb. — Several new problems have been found at a Nebraska power plant that suffered flood damage earlier this year, federal regulators said Tuesday, so inspectors will be watching the plant north of Omaha even more closely as repairs from flooding are made.
The tougher oversight for the Omaha Public Power District plant in Fort Calhoun will likely further delay its restart from early next year until sometime in the spring as it makes repairs from the summer flooding. Continue reading
Arnie Gundersen on the state of the Fukushima nuclear fuel cores
Fukushima – Could it Have a China Syndrome? FAIREWINDS ASSOCIATES, Arnie Gundersen, 14 Dec 11 “…….the good news is I do not think a China Syndrome can happen. I do not think this core can keep melting into the bottom of the earth. And I do not think there will be a steam explosion either. That is the good news.
Here is the bad news.
That nuclear core is in direct contact with tons of water. And that containment, while not leaking down, is leaking out the sides. That contaminated water is going into every other building on site. And there is literally thousands and thousands of tons of water in other buildings. That water contains radioactive cesium, radioactive strontium, and it also contains nuclear fuel. There will be uranium in that water and plutonium in that water as well. We know for sure that that water is leaking into the ground water and into the Pacific Ocean. So while it is important to know that we are not going to release the nuclear core directly into the center of the earth, the problem is not over. And as a matter of fact, the problem will last for tens, perhaps even as long as 30 years because this contaminated water is in the basements of all the buildings on site. And not only does it contain cesium (that hangs around for 300 years), strontium (hangs around for 300 years), but it also contains plutonium and uranium and they have half lives of tens of thousands of years.
So the problem is, what do we do with all that water that is contaminated? It is already leaking into the groundwater. It is already leaking into the ocean. TEPCO is frantically catching it and putting it into tanks. But just today, TEPCO announced that they are running out of tank space on site, and eventually they are going to have to release those tanks into the Pacific Ocean. Now they will try to clean up some of the isotopes like cesium. But they have been unable to capture all the strontium. Strontium is a bone seeker that causes leukemia… http://fairewinds.com/content/fukushima-could-it-have-china-syndrome
Problems of foreign ownership hamper USA’s nuclear power expansion
Nuclear expansion review halted over foreign ownership worries Chron.com, By TRACY IDELL HAMILTON, December 14, 2011 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has suspended its review of the foreign ownership portion of the application to expand the South Texas Project nuclear plant over concerns that the owners haven’t done enough to ensure domestic control of the plant.
Toshiba Corp., based in Japan, could obtain an 85 percent ownership stake in the two nuclear plants proposed for the site outside of Bay City, the NRC found, meaning the company could have “the power to exercise ownership, control or domination over NINA,” or Nuclear
Innovation North America.
NINA is a partnership between Toshiba and NRG Energy, which shares ownership of STP’s existing nuclear plants with CPS Energy and Austin Energy…..
The commission asked NRG for more information on its “foreign ownership Negation Action Plan,” in late summer and fall, but that information appears to be insufficient…..http://www.chron.com/business/article/Nuclear-expansion-review-halted-over-foreign-2403395.php
Secrecy in Fukushima reports raise possibility of hidden nuclear weapons program
Secret Weapons Program Inside Fukushima Nuclear Plant? U.S.-Japan security treaty fatally delayed nuclear workers’ fight against meltdown Global Research, 12/4/11 by Yoichi Shimatsu Confused and often conflicting reports out of Fukushima 1 nuclear plant cannot be solely the result of tsunami-caused breakdowns, bungling or miscommunication. Inexplicable delays and half-baked explanations from Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) seem to be driven by some unspoken factor.
The smoke and mirrors at Fukushima 1 seem to obscure a steady purpose, an iron will and a grim task unknown to outsiders. The most logical explanation: The nuclear industry and government agencies are scrambling to prevent the discovery of atomic-bomb research facilities hidden inside Japan’s civilian nuclear power plants.
A secret nuclear weapons program is a ghost in the machine, detectable only when the system of information control momentarily lapses or breaks down. A close look must be taken at the gap between the official account and unexpected events.
Conflicting Reports TEPCO, Japan’s nuclear power operator, initially reported three reactors were operating at the time of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Then a hydrogen explosion ripped Unit 3, run on plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (or MOX). Unit 6 immediately disappeared from the list of operational reactors, as highly lethal particles of plutonium billowed out of Unit 3. Plutonium is the stuff of smaller, more easily delivered warheads.
A fire ignited inside the damaged housing of the Unit 4 reactor, reportedly due to overheating of spent uranium fuel rods in a dry cooling pool. But the size of the fire indicates that this reactor was running hot for some purpose other than electricity generation. Its omission from the list of electricity-generating operations raises the question of whether Unit 4 was being used to enrich uranium, the first step of the process leading to extraction of weapons-grade fissionable material.
The bloom of irradiated seawater across the Pacific comprises another piece of the puzzle, because its underground source is untraceable (or, perhaps, unmentionable). The flooded labyrinth of pipes, where the bodies of two missing nuclear workers—never before disclosed to the press— were found, could well contain the answer to the mystery: a lab that none dare name.
Political Warfare In reaction to Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s demand for prompt reporting of problems, the pro-nuclear lobby has closed ranks, fencing off and freezing out the prime minister’s office from vital information. A grand alliance of nuclear proponents now includes TEPCO, plant designer General Electric, METI, the former ruling Liberal Democratic Party and, by all signs, the White House.
Cabinet ministers in charge of communication and national emergencies recently lambasted METI head Banri Kaeda for acting as both nuclear promoter and regulator in charge of the now-muzzled Nuclear and Industrial Safety Commission. ….
The Manchurian Deal The chain of events behind this vast fabrication goes back many decades……. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24275
USA must cut spending on outdated and ineffective nuclear weapons systems
The most pressing security threats we face today, such as terrorism and cyber attack, simply cannot be addressed with nuclear weapons.
Time to rethink nuclear weapons spending The Hill, By Tom Z. Collina and Daryl G. Kimball, Arms Control Association, 13 Dec 11 The supercommittee’s failure to reach agreement on a deficit reduction plan may trigger deep, automatic reductions in future U.S. defense spending. At the same time, some in Congress are finally beginning to examine how much the United States plans to spend on nuclear weapons in the years ahead.The automatic reductions, known as “sequestration,” would double the amount of money the Pentagon must cut from its projected budget growth, from about $450 billion to roughly $1 trillion, over the next decade. Continue reading
Nuclear sabotage likely, as Iran suffers third explosion
Third explosion fuels talk of nuclear sabotage, N.Z. Herald, By Abraham Rabinovich Dec 14, 2011 Another mysterious explosion in Iran this week, the third in a month, has stirred speculation that a mysterious hand was once again striking at Iran’s nuclear programme.
The blast on Sunday occurred at a steel plant in the city of Yazd, killing seven people and seriously wounding 12 others. A number of the victims were foreigners, according to Iranian officials….
Ron Ben-Ishai, an Israeli military analyst, wrote yesterday in the newspaper Yediot Achronot that the explosion might have been a simple accident, but in view of the other recent explosions “it is hard toreject the possibility that this was intentional sabotage”.
Ben-Ishai noted that Sunday’s blast had happened at a time not usually considered a work hour and that the mention of foreigners among the dead could have been a reference to North Korean experts who had come to train Iranians in processing the steel.
Ben-Ishai suggested that sophisticated American unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as the one which fell into Iranian hands last week, might be closely tracking all aspects of the Iranian nuclear programme, including this.
A huge explosion at a missile testing base near Tehran on November 12 killed 17 people, including the general heading Iran’s missile
programme….http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10773027
Disappearance of secret files on Australia’s nuclear weapons plans
Treasures of Australia’s past lost from the National Archives by:Herald Sun Patrick Lion From:The Daily Telegraph December 13, 2011 HUNDREDS of rare files – including secret plans for nuclear weapons and personal files of prime ministers – have gone missing from the library responsible for preserving Australia’s history.
Over the past two decades the National Archives has lost at least 748 historic items, some dating back more than 150 years, from its official collection of documents, government files, letters, recordings and photographs.
Among the missing files on nuclear weapons and uranium from the middle of last century is a 1956 report, The Clandestine Introduction Of Nuclear Weapons In Australia…… http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/treasures-of-australias-past-lost-rare-items-missing-from-the-national-archives/story-fn7x8me2-1226220439496
Shrinking nuclear and uranium markets add to AREVA’s woes
The company has lost contracts worth hundreds of millions of euros….The company says its earnings will be
hit by a reduction in the number of new reactors being built, which will also depress the price of uranium…
.. the market is now shrinking. Areva said it expects to make an operating loss of between 1.4 and 1.6 billion euros (1.9 and 2.1 billion dollars) in 2011 mainly due to the depreciation of African mining assets…..
all activities in Namibia are to be suspended….
Fukushima hits French nuclear giant hard, Monsters and Critics, By Ralf E Krueger Dec 13, 2011“……….Areva’s new chief executive Luc Oursel announced the suspension of a planned nuclear enrichment plant project in Idaho in the United States, as well as several projects in Africa. Areva has also suspended plans to expand capacity at its reprocessing plant in La Hague, northern France. Continue reading
Nuclear Energy Institute spends up on lobbying USA governmnet
NEI, based in Washington, lobbied the government on measures designed to ensure the nation’s 104 commercial reactors can withstand natural disasters, cyber attacks, and on a proposal that would require the president to issue guidance on a federal response to a large-scale nuclear disaster. It also lobbied on a measure that would require nuclear operators to transfer radioactive spent nuclear fuel from cooling pools inside or near reactor cores to dry casks further fromthe reactors….
NEI also lobbied the government over environmental regulations….
Nuclear group spent $540,000 lobbying in 3Q. CBS News, 12 Dec 11(AP) NEW YORK — The main trade group for the nuclear power industry, the Nuclear Energy Institute, spent $540,000 in the third quarter lobbying federal officials about financial support for new reactors, safety regulations and other issues, according to a disclosure report. Continue reading
High radiation exposure of Fukushima residents. Internal radiation not measured
Exposure levels were higher for residents who worked at nuclear facilities.
The survey didn’t look at so-called internal exposure, or radiation taken into human body from contaminated air, water or food.
Local Japan Survey Shows High Radiation Exposure WSJ, By YUKA HAYASHI, 14 Dec 11 TOKYO—Hundreds of Fukushima residents were exposed to radiation well above the level permitted for the general public following the March nuclear disaster, according to an official survey released Tuesday, confirming the accident’s broad impact on local communities. Continue reading
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