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Blue Ribbon nuclear waste commission has the power to not make things worse

Not making things worse would be a reasonable, responsible accomplishment for the “Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future”,…A nuclear “time out” -until technical problems are solved- is far preferable to an unaffordable, unsustainable and irrational “try it all over again” recommendation – one blind to the history of the proven negative consequences.

A blue-ribbon, “nuclear” bus ride Mountain Xpress,Ned Ryan Doyle, 21 Jan 2011 “….The members of the President’s Commission are talented, intelligent people handed a lofty mandate to address these problems. It’s unreasonable, however, to think they could really solve these intractable problems with policy recommendations, due in draft form July of 2011, especially when most of the proposals are from the industry and interests that profit from these ongoing problems. Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Cameco’s ship with uranium spill headed back to Vancouver

Uranium ship likely coming to Vancouver for spill cleanup, The Vancouver Sun, by Cassandra Kyle, 20 Jan 2011, The ship containing Cameco Corp.’s spilled uranium concentrate will likely be moved to the Port of Vancouver for cleanup, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) says.In a regular public meeting broadcast Wednesday over the Internet, CNSC staff members did not give a timeline for the transfer of the ship or say how long the cleanup could take…… Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | Canada, safety | Leave a comment

Australia’s security in S.E. Asia a sound reason for refusing to sell uranium to India

The arms control reasons for refusing uranium sales to India are serious. The first is the damage that could be done to the NPT system…..A second reason is that Australian uranium used for power generation could free other sources of uranium for use in Indian nuclear weapons, possibly fuelling a nuclear arms race with Pakistan..

We need to strengthen, not weaken, nuclear deterrent, Sydney Morning Herald, Andy Butfoy, January 21, 2011 Australia has a sovereign right to choose its customers. REPORTS that Delhi is pressuring Canberra to sell India uranium are predictable. The arguments for selling have been well rehearsed, and vested interests have long been encouraging Australia to cash in on the opportunities being dangled before it. But to understand why, one has to go beyond the spin produced by the Indian government and the nuclear industry…. Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics international, Uranium | Leave a comment

Canada’s taxpayers will cop the grand money loser of nuclear reactor

As with most of what happens in the nuclear power industry, the facts will likely never be known. One certainty, however, is that this is another battle over which level of government will assume most of the risk in building and refurbishing nuclear power plants.

The nuclear blowout over AECL  Financial Post, Terence Corcoran:, 19 Jan 2011, “…………A money loser on a grand scale, AECL was put up for sale by Ottawa almost two years ago. Few buyers emerged. Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | Leave a comment

Nuclear fuel reprocessing will leave tax-payer to pay $trillions for waste disposal

President Carter’s Executive Order banned nuclear fuel reprocessing in the 1970’s. Congress recently – and quietly – passed legislation at the behest of the nuclear industry and utilities that appears to circumvent that decision……Interestingly, by U.S. law, once nuclear waste is removed from the property of the utilities, it then becomes the problem of the federal government and tax payers, and no longer a liability for utilities and corporate shareholders…..Somewhere between two to four trillion in U.S. tax dollars has gone to the nuclear experiment, in all its forms over the decades, but now we face very real fiscal constraints.

A blue-ribbon, “nuclear” bus ride  Mountain Xpress, Ned Ryan Doyle, 21 Jan 2011 “.………It’s no secret that temporary storage facilities for high level nuclear waste at our nation’s nuclear plants are at, or beyond, design capacity. Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, reprocessing, USA | Leave a comment

Ballooning $billions cost of Uranium Processing Facility

Uranium facility’s cost leaps: Y-12 officials ‘taken aback’ but defend design increases Knoxville News Sentinel, Frank Munger, 20 Jan 2011, OAK RIDGE —A lot of folks were shocked last November when the projected cost of the Uranium Processing Facility jumped from $1.4-$3.5 billion to the current cost range of $4.2 billion to $6.5 billion. Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

The veil of secrecy over China’s nuclear developments

The veil of secrecy surrounding Chinese nuclear developments.

Chinese transparency needed on nuclear arms, The Hill, Nikita Perfilyev 20 Jan 2011, “……..China, however, has never disclosed the size of its arsenal. Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | China, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Financial and safety threats in expanding production of plutonium

Some of the intractable challenges facing the President’s Commission -and the public- include some 67,000 metric tons of highly radioactive waste in temporary storage today, the prospect of expanded production of plutonium as both a health and a national security threat, nationwide transportation of highly radioactive waste, to and from, the Savanna River Site over road, rail and waterways and the unresolved problem of finding a secure repository for the long term storage of nuclear waste.

A blue-ribbon, “nuclear” bus ride Mountain Xpress,Ned Ryan Doyle, 21 Jan 2011, How could a nuclear-energy park in South Carolina impact the people of WNC? On January 7th, a “WNC Citizen’s Delegation” chartered a bus to Augusta, GA, for the only public hearing in the Southeast held by President Obama’s appointed “Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future”… Continue reading →

January 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear reactors under the sea planned by France

France’s DCNS Plans Underwater Nuclear Plant, Echos Says,  Bloomberg, By Gregory Viscusi – Jan 20, 2011 France’s DCNS will study the possibility of building underwater nuclear power plants as part of the naval contractor’s planned diversification, Les Echos reported, citing the group’s Chief Executive Officer Patrick Boissier.The 100-meter-long (328 feet) reactor would be sunk at about 100 meters and could supply via cable a town or island of between 100,000 and 1 million people, said Boissier. DCNS builds atomic powered submarines for the French navy.

DCNS is 25 percent owned by military technology company Thales SA. France’s DCNS Plans Underwater Nuclear Plant, Echos Says – Bloomberg

January 21, 2011 Posted by | France, technology | Leave a comment

Questions on earthquake risks to nuclear plant

Is Diablo Canyon Quake Safe? – KVEC, King Harris, 20 Jan 2011, San Luis Obispo, CA — PG&E says Diablo Canyon can withstand any quake the nearby faults can deliver. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a meeting in San Luis Obispo last night to discuss the Shoreline Fault and other faults surrounding the nuclear power plant.According to the report, Diablo Canyon was designed to survive a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, and all the local faults are likely to produce a quake no stronger than magnitude 6.5. The Shoreline Fault was discovered in 2008 and has created some concern in the community, especially as the plant moves forward with its proposed license renewal.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission still needs to analyze PG&E’s report. Is Diablo Canyon Quake Safe? – KVEC

January 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment