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Germany maps the way for Europe’s renewable energy and smart grid

Germany Can Do Without Nuclear Power, In energy policy as elsewhere, we need more Europe, not less. WSJ, By GUIDO WESTERWELLE,  foreign minister of Germany. Civilian nuclear power has been the subject of highly charged debate in German politics and society for many years. The tragedy in Fukushima triggered a further profound reassessment in Germany of the risks of nuclear power. Ultimately, Fukushima accelerated our change of direction. Five months after the accident, Germany decided by law that nuclear energy will be phased out by 2022.

The broad, democratic consensus we have reached in Germany, founded on wide-ranging deliberations with engineers, planners and economists, is that this change of track on energy policy is possible—technically, conceptually and economically. Our intention now is to map out our long-term progress along that road, heading for energy provision that is clean, affordable and safe. Continue reading →

September 22, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Radioactive pollution from rare earths processing in China

China Re-Nationalizes Rare Earths – Part One, Metal Miner by STUART on SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 That China has suffered severe and widespread pollution from the mining and refining of rare earth elements (REE) is not in doubt —

The New York Times reported this week that China had largely shut down its rare earth industry for three months to address pollution problems. Officials confirm evidence visible by satellite that large tracks around both legal and illegal mine sites have become wastelands…….

Although the illicit operation was finally closed down,  pollution nightmares continue to haunt residents as toxic water from waste heaps and the makeshift mine finds its way into creeks and ultimately to the drinking water supply system. Nor is drinking water the only medium affected; REE are found in association with thorium, making waste from the refining process radioactive…..
Apparently the government also plans to consolidate 80 percent of the production from southern China — which produces the rest of China’s rare earths — into three companies within the next year or two. All three of these companies are former ministries of the Chinese government that were spun out as corporations, and the central government still owns most of the shares. These actions will at least ensure Beijing achieves control of mining and refining; if pollution remains a problem, they only have themselves to blame.http://agmetalminer.com/2011/09/19/china-re-nationalizes-rare-earths-part-one/

September 22, 2011 Posted by | China, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Lynas’ rare earths processing plan for Malaysia fraught with dangers

Rare earths mining and processing is difficult, expensive and rarely ecologically friendly. It produces enormous quantities of wastewater, requires vast amounts of energy, uses toxic materials in the refining process and can produce radioactive materials with half-lives of hundreds of years. 

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and other government officials have continued to insist the plant won’t open until all safety and environmental concerns are met. …

Rare Earth Plant in Malaysia May be Closer to Opening, Asia Sentinel 22 Sept 11“.….An Australian-owned rare earths processing facility in Malaysia that is reported to be the world’s biggest outside China, which has been delayed by environmentalists and opposition political leaders, may well be gathering enough steam to open by the end of the year, say several sources in Kuala Lumpur…..The facility is to be operated by Lynas Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of the publicly traded Lynas Corp of Australia…. Continue reading →

September 22, 2011 Posted by | ASIA, Uranium | 2 Comments

Typhoon and Fukushima’s leaking radioactive water

Typhoon Roke Hits Japan on Track for Leaking Nuclear Power Plant, SF Gate, Tsuyoshi Inajima and Yuriy Humber,   September 20, 2011 (Bloomberg) — Typhoon Roke brought evacuation orders, downpours and fears of floods to southern Japan today as it began to traverse the country on a course towards the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant……….. Continue reading →

September 22, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

State requests halt to Koodankulam nuclear project; protestors call off hunger strike

Koodankulam nuclear project: Protestors call off fast,  Indian Express  Sep 21 2011, Chennai: The 11-day-old fast by locals demanding scrapping of the Koodankulam nuclear power project was on Wednesday called off after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa agreed for a cabinet resolution to request the Centre to halt the project. Continue reading →

September 22, 2011 Posted by | India, politics | Leave a comment

Rossing uranium mine first hit by rains, now by union strike

Namibia mine union readies for strike at Rossing Reuters 21 Sept 11,  – Namibia’s Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) on Wednesday served Rio Tinto’s Rossing uranium mine with a strike notice after failing to reach a deal in talks over output incentives, with a stoppage expected to start on Friday. Continue reading →

September 22, 2011 Posted by | employment, Namibia, Uranium | Leave a comment

India aiming for global leadership in renewable eneergy

India will be global leader in solar energy: Minister of New And Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, 21 SEP, 2011,  CHICAGO: Minister of New And Renewable EnergyFarooq Abdullah today discussed ways to reduce the cost of producing solar power and said the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission aims to establish India as a leader in the field.  Continue reading →

September 22, 2011 Posted by | India, renewable | Leave a comment

Nuclear power plant company a victim of cyber attacks

Japanese defence contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which builds submarines, missiles and nuclear power plants, is the first publicly named victim….

Nuclear plant and missile maker Mitsubishi breached in latest cyber attacks, Security Watchdog, 21 Sept 11, Security experts at Trend Micro have uncovered another large-scale, co-ordinated campaign of targeted attacks, this time focused on compromising data at a series of defence industry companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan. Continue reading →

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

USA’s endless wrangle over its mounting nuclear waste

Yucca Nuclear Waste Wars, Aol Energy, By , September 19, 2011“………Utility commissioners renewed their request to an appeals court to force the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make a decision on whether spent nuclear fuel can be safely stored at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Continue reading →

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Murder and mayhem aboard nuclear submarine

Sailor jailed for nuclear submarine murder, Google News, (AFP) 20 Sept 11,    LONDON — A sailor was jailed for 25 years on Monday for shooting dead an officer in a rampage on a nuclear-powered submarine that only came to an end when council officials overpowered him.

Able Seaman Ryan Samuel Donovan, 23, pleaded guilty to killing Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux, 36, with an assault rifle when the HMS Astute was docked in Southampton on April 8.

Donovan also admitted the attempted murders of Petty Officer Christopher Brown, 36, Chief Petty Officer David McCoy, 37, and Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hodge, 45….

Prosecutor Nigel Lickley told the court Donovan had told a colleague more than a year earlier that he was planning a “massacre” in the submarine’s control room…..

HMS Astute made headlines in October when it ran aground off the coast of Scotland and had to be towed home….
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jHeQNnZN70p9-pbvv8z_tNljkXbw?docId=CNG.c9efc9bacaca268a95e91a3cec35f36e.381

September 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear Reprocessing not looking good, following France’s nuclear accident

French Nuke Accident Leads India To Reexamine Its Nuclear Ambitions, Forbes, Erica Giles, 20 Sept 11,  “……..reprocessing is no silver bullet; in fact, it has created a bitter divide among nuclear experts – and not just because it can be a gateway to proliferation, as India itself so aptly demonstrated in 1974. “At this point, it’s like creationism versus evolution,” said Edwin Lyman, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, indicating that in his view, the anti-reprocessing camp has science on its side.

Reprocessing via the current commercial-scale process used in France, called PUREX, recovers only a small amount of additional energy and is more expensive than using virgin uranium, he said. And instead of reducing waste, it merely changes its form. “There’s no feasible, practical way to take material from the waste and use it in a nuclear power system so you could get rid of it over any kind of reasonable time frame,” he said.

Many Indians are protesting their country’s rapid nuclear expansion, most recently exemplified by a mass fast in Tamil Nadu state against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project. But neither their concerns nor nuclear accidents are likely to alter India’s plans…. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericagies/2011/09/19/french-nuclear-explosion-causes-india-to-think-hard-about-its-nuclear-ambitions/

September 21, 2011 Posted by | France, reprocessing | Leave a comment

USA Department of Energy predicts surge in renewable energy

Renewable energy expected to surge, DOE says, September 19, 2011,Charleston Gaxette By Ken Ward Jr. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Renewable energy is projected to be the fastest growing source of energy worldwide over the next quarter-century, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s annual international outlook report released Monday. Continue reading →

September 21, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

According to France an explosion in its nuclear re-processing plant was not a nuclear accident!

The IAEA does not appear particularly inclined to bow to French demands to classify Monday’s fatal blast as a non-nuclear industrial accident.

France in damage-limitation mode,THE HINDU,  PARIS, September 13, 2011 VAIJU NARAVANE France went into damage-limitation mode following a blast at a nuclear re-processing plant on Monday which killed one person and injured four….

France is one of the world’s leading exporters of nuclear technology and authorities were quick to minimise the seriousness of the explosion. Industry Minister Eric Besson speaking to journalists described the event as “an industrial accident and not a nuclear incident”. Continue reading →

September 21, 2011 Posted by | France, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Russian atomic company loses in Siemens exit from nuclear industry

Siemens partner biggest loser in nuclear exit, By Marilyn Gerlach, FRANKFURT, Sept 19 | 2011 (Reuters) – Siemens’  exit from its nuclear partnership with Rosatom robs the Russian player of a famous brand name it badly needs to compete with the likes of Areva NP , General Electric and Toshiba …. Continue reading →

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Russia | Leave a comment

Iran nuclear experts subjected to spying and assassinations

Iran nuclear chief says UK spies shadowed him, By Fredrik Dahl, VIENNA   Sep 20, 2011 (Reuters) – Iran’s nuclear energy chief accused British spies on Monday of shadowing him around the world — even to the “back door” of his university office — to gather information ahead of a failed assassination attempt on him last year. Continue reading →

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Iran, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

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