Nuclear industry a greenhouse gas emitter
The nuclear industry’s oft-touted claims of a “nuclear renaissance” were never real, …. “Now that claim is absolutely dead unless governments want to foot the entire bill.
“Fukushima will have a bigger impact on the nuclear industry than Chernobyl,” …
The Nuclear Cost Shell Game, By Stephen Leahy, UXBRIDGE, Canada, May 6, 2011 (IPS)“…….The argument that nuclear power is needed to combat climate change is also incorrect. Mining uranium and processing ore into fuel and building nuclear facilities results in considerable carbon emissions. When the full life cycles are compared, the carbon emissions of nuclear on a per-kilowatt-of-power-generated basis exceeds that of wind and is about the same as solar, according to a 2008 study by the Centre for Integrated Sustainability Analysis at the University of Sydney, Australia. Continue reading
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and the al Qaeda threat
Estimates vary on the size of Pakistan’s and India’s nuclear arsenals, although analysts suggest India has 70-120 nuclear weapons while Pakistan has 60-120. These can be delivered by aircraft, or by missiles, which both countries have been developing and testing.
Factbox: Pakistan’s nuclear capability Reuters 6 May 11, Back in the 1990s, bin Laden said acquiring nuclear weapons was a “religious duty” of Muslim states and the leader of al Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2009 said the group hoped to seize and use Pakistan’s arsenal. Continue reading
Fukushima crisis: – unstable reactor, parents’ protest on new radiation rules
Tepco is still pumping nitrogen into the unstable reactor in an effort to prevent another hydrogen explosion. ….school children could be [now be legally] exposed to 20 times more radiation than the amount previously permissible.
Japan Nuclear Disaster Update, CleanEnergy Footprints May 5“……though the ensuing nuclear disaster has been superseded by other worldwide news events, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) and the Japanese government are still struggling to gain control of the severely damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
As was the case in our update from last week, emergency cooling efforts continue at reactor Units 1, 2, 3 and 4. Reactor Unit 1 remains the primary concern as temperatures and pressure continue to rise, Continue reading
Rising sea levels threaten Britain’s nuclear power plants
‘Shrinking Britain’ will force land to be abandoned to the sea, Guardian UK, by Damain Carrington, 6 May 11, Coastal erosion and UK tsunamis are a cause of concern for vulnerable nuclear power stations, says leading geologist……..
The fact that tsunamis can happen in the UK, and the idea that Britain’s coast is shrinking, is certainly relevant to the debate over nuclear power and the disposal of long-lasting nuclear waste, in my opinion. Take a look at the map of British nuclear power sites: they are all on the coast.
“It is a cause for concern, some nuclear power stations are in vulnerable positions,” said Prof Rob Duck, at Dundee University, whose new book is called This Shrinking Land: Climate Change and Britain’s Coasts…
Shrinking Britain will force land to be abandoned to the sea | Damian Carrington | Environment | guardian.co.uk
USA’s Troubling Nuclear Waste Mess
The findings of the GAO, which serves as the investigative arm of Congress, complicate the Obama administration’s position on Yucca Mountain at a time when lawmakers and regulators are scrutinizing nuclear power and waste policies in the U.S…...
Nuclear waste from power plants is currently stored on-site at dozens of locations across the country. Because the law requires the U.S. government to be responsible for the waste, the government has to compensate the power plants for the cost of storing it.
Scrapping Yucca Mountain exposes U.S. to fines, By Tennille Tracy, May 5, 2011, WASHINGTON -(MarketWatch)– The U.S. government could face fines of $75,000 a day if it fails to find a way to store or handle stockpiles of defense-related nuclear waste by 2035, according to the Government Accountability Office. Continue reading
New plutonium nuclear fuel plant, costly, delayed, and unsafe, too?
More than a decade later, the mixed oxide fuel [2] (MOX) plant is running into mounting troubles [3], including long delays, soaring costs and the lack of utilities committed to use the new fuel in their reactors
But there’s another aspect of the story that has received little attention…
Safety Reviewers Raise Questions about Construction of New Nuclear Fuel Plant, ProPublica By Donna Deedy, w ith Michael Grabell, May 5, 2011, . In the late 1990s, U.S. policymakers approved a plan to turn plutonium from nuclear weapons into fuel for commercial reactors. The first-of-its kind plant [1], now being built in South Carolina, was intended to reduce the Cold War stockpile and the threat of nuclear material theft while supplying the country’s energy needs. Continue reading
North Carolina legislature opposing ratepayer money for new nuclear plant
Duke’s Fading Nuclear Dream The Progressive Pulse May 5, 2011 by Lisa Finaldi On April 15th I questioned if Duke’s dreamto build new nuclear power plants and charge ratepayers in advance of a reactor’s operation wasn’t fading. Events of this week indicate the company’s plans may be dimming. Funny it took Duke CEO Jim Rogers this long to realize it. Continue reading
Fukushima nuclear accident could cost tax-payer $trillions
“In America, ….. the necessary insurance for nuclear operators is capped at just $375 million by law,
Ultimate costs from nuclear accidents can be difficult to predict, but many estimates place total damages, including economic loss, in the trillions.……
a severe accident at just one of Southern Company’s existing Plant Vogtle reactors in Georgia could cause up to 39,000 immediate injuries and cost over $70 billion (in 1982 dollar and Census figures).
Japan Nuclear Disaster Update, CleanEnergy Footprints May 5“…….Despite all of the concern over health, radiation and environmental hazards raised by this disaster, Tepco shockingly does not have disaster insurance. Speculations are that the company will be nationalized and that the Japanese government, which likely means taxpayers, will assume the burden of Tepco’s massive liabilities. Continue reading
Russian nuclear powered ice-breaker has radiation leak
Radioactivity leak reported on Russian icebreaker, Moscow – Monsters and Critics May 5, 2011, Moscow – A small amount of radiation escaped from a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker, officials said Thursday. …Radioactivity leak reported on Russian icebreaker – Monsters and Critics
Pop artists cancel Japan visit for fear of radiation
Justin Bieber Crew Refusing to Do Japan Shows Over Radiation Fears, GossipCop 6 May Justin Bieber’s stage crew is refusing to go to Japan for two concerts scheduled later this month over fears of radiation from the recent nuclear disaster.
The crew is apparently arguing that it’s unsafe to visit the country for the planned May 17 and May 19 shows, noting that Avril Lavigne and Slash have already cancelled their Japan concerts.…Justin Bieber Japan shows | Justin Bieber radiation | Justin Bieber crew revolt | Gossip Cop
“Independent WHO” challenges World Health Organisation’s ties to Nuclear Agency
The group, “Independent WHO” has been campaigning doggedly to raise attention for people affected by the massive radiation leak after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl 25 years ago……While tens of thousands were evacuated, fears remain about the scale of the damage to human health, especially for more than half a million rescue workers, known as liquidators, who were sent to secure the power station and decontaminate the area.
The group says a large proportion of then have died or are seriously ill, and underlines that growing children are acutely vulnerable to radiation.
UN health agency upholds research on nuclear radiation, Google News, 5 May 11, GENEVA — The World Health Organisation said Wednesday that independent research on the health impact of radiation must be pursued without being influenced by the nuclear industry. Continue reading
As the Earth heats, nuclear power plants can’t cope
the problem is only getting worse as climate change triggers prolonged heat waves, ….hot river and lake temperatures have forced power plants worldwide to decrease generating capacity.
Heat Waves Putting Pressure on Nuclear Power’s Outmoded Cooling Technologies, REUTERS By Lisa Song at SolveClimate, May 4, 2011 The scramble to cool the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex with seawater in the aftermath of Japan’s disastrous accident put a spotlight on just how much cold water an atomic reactor needs to function — and not just in a crisis. Continue reading
Afghanistan anxious about security of Pakistan’e nuclear weapons
Afghanistan questions safety of nuclear neighbour, Scotsman.com, : 05 May 2011, By Hamid Shalizi Pakistan’s spy agency should have known Osama bin Laden was hiding not far from the country’s capital, Afghanistan’s defence ministry has said, the first direct comment from Kabul about its neighbour’s apparent inability to track the al-Qaeda leader.
Defence ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said the case raised questions about Pakistan’s ability to adequately protect its nuclear weapons….. http://www.scotsman.com/news/Afghanistan-questions-safety-of-nuclear.6762700.jp
Hanford radioactive waste cleanup money diverted to storage costs
The alliance is “concerned that using cleanup funding to store and secure defense-related high-level waste and spent fuel might prevent other essential cleanup activities from being completed,”
Hanford group questions nuclear waste storage, ANNETTE CARY, Tri-City Herald, May 4, 2011, RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — The Energy Communities Alliance is asking questions about the cost of storing high-level radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel at Hanford and other Department of Energy sites in the absence of a federal repository. Continue reading
Financial and security problems in USA’s foreign owned uranium mines
Foes Highlight Companies’ Foreign Ownership in Bids to Halt Uranium Mining, New York Times, By MANUEL QUINONES, 4 may 11, Environmentalists trying to halt U.S. uranium projects are emphasizing the foreign ownership of mining companies. A key issue: Companies that mine uranium and other hardrock minerals do not pay royalties to the U.S. government. Several companies that mine or are seeking permits to mine U.S. uranium are based in Canada.
Those companies are “able to take this uranium off of U.S. soil without paying taxpayer compensations,” said Jane Danowitz, public lands director for the Pew Environment Group.
“It just goes to show,” Danowitz said, “that this is an issue that should raise concerns beyond environmental impacts.” Among the concerns being raised about foreign ownership of uranium companies is that U.S. uranium could end up in hostile hands. Republican lawmakers last year raised alarms over the Russian-owned company ARMZ taking control from Canadian interests of Uranium One Inc., which has significant U.S. operations.
“This transaction would give the Russian government control over a sizable portion of America’s uranium production capacity,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told President Obama in a letter last December. “As you know, Russia has a disturbing record of supporting nuclear programs in countries that are openly hostile to the United States.”….. http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/05/04/04greenwire-foes-highlight-companies-foreign-ownership-in-90317.html
1 This Month
of the week – Shut Down Drone Warfare!
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
Petition to revoke the licensing of the Near Surface Nuclear Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River. https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7247
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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