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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

“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 →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | Leave a comment

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 →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change | Leave a comment

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

May 5, 2011 Posted by | Pakistan, safety | Leave a comment

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 →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

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

May 5, 2011 Posted by | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear reactors are the biggest water guzzler

Heat Waves Putting Pressure on Nuclear Power’s Outmoded Cooling Technologies, REUTERS By Lisa Song at SolveClimate,  May 4, 2011 “……Climate change studies published in research journals such as Science and the Journal of Climate project longer and more intense heat waves over the next century worldwide, adding constraints to water-intensive power systems.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, thermoelectric generation in the U.S. from coal, natural gas and nuclear withdraws more freshwater per year than the entire agricultural sector. Overall, nuclear plants consume up to 25 percent more water than fossil fuel plants…..http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/idUS163919996420110504

May 5, 2011 Posted by | USA, water | Leave a comment

France and Britain want to water down new nuclear safety requirements

 France and Britain have been pushing for the tests to be as watered-down as possible. As Europe’s most prolific nuclear power producers, these countries are said to be concerned that the plane-related stress tests could force the closure of plants 

EU nuclear stress tests could prove less strenuous than expected, Deutsche Welle, By Mark Hallam, May 4 Europe is preparing new stress tests designed to put nuclear power stations through their paces. It’s a response primarily to the problems at Japan’s Fukushima plant. But will the tests be as rigorous as promised? Continue reading →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | Leave a comment

US Nuclear REgulatory Commission voted on Yucca Mt – but which way?

The commissioners did not reveal the direction of their votes, leaving it unclear whether the commission was divided on the issue

US Nuclear Commissioners Have Voted On Fate Of Yucca Mountain, NASDAQ, By Tennille Tracy, WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- 5 May 11,  U.S. nuclear commissioners said Wednesday that they have voted on the Obama administration’s request to abandon a nuclear waste project at Yucca Mountain, Nev., appearing to contradict recent statements by the chairman of the U.S. nuclear agency suggesting the commissioners were still debating the issue. Continue reading →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Potential of renewable energy to outstrip global need – UN report

“Scenarios are largely consistent in indicating widespread growth in renewable energy deployment around the globe,” 

UN Renewables ‘Bible’ Says Clean Energy Can Outstrip Demand, Bloomberg, By Alex Morales – May 4, 2011  Wind and solar power are among six renewable energy options that have the potential to outstrip total world energy needs and may grow as much as 20-fold over the next four decades, a draft United Nations report said. Continue reading →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Courageous battle to save Fukushima’s abandoned animals

The Hachiko Coalition is calling for the organized, and immediate evacuation of all uncontaminated domestic animals and livestock inside the exclusion zone.

Tens of thousands of concerned people have signed on to multiple petitions requesting evacuation on the Internet..

Hachiko Coalition: Animal Rescuers Defy Orders, Enter TEPCO Radiation Exclusion Zone to Rescue Starving Pets  SF Gate, May 04, 2011 The Hachiko Coalition calls attention to the plight of pets left inside the evacuation zone in Japan. Continue reading →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Containers from Japan exceed EU radiation limits

Belgium finds radiation on containers from Japan,  * Containers discovered by staff in port of Zeebrugge * Radiation levels surpass EU limits on some rust spots

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) – Belgium’s radiation safety regulator has discovered radiation levels surpassing European Union limits on a shipping container from Japan, the agency said on Wednesday.The agency is decontaminating the container after it found radiation from Cesium-137 being emitted at a level of 0.5 microsieverts per hour in two rust spots.This exceeds a limit of 0.2 microsieverts per hour suggested by European officials. ..http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE7432CI20110504

May 5, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Action on Climate Change will at last have a Canadian political advocate

Elisabeth May will help ensure that climate change and clean energy issues are a prominent part of the national conversation over the next four years

Canada’s Green party looks to bright future following Elizabeth May victory, Guardian UK 4 May 11,  The environment may finally play a part in Canada’s political debate now the Green party has its first seat • Canada elects its first Green MP

Green party leader Elizabeth May added to Canada‘s psephological earthquake on Monday night by winning her party’s first seat in British Columbia, just as Canada swept Stephen Harper’s government to its first majority. Continue reading →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

Global warming resulting in faster sea level rise

Sea levels rising higher and faster, Sydney Morning Herald, Ben Cubby, May 5, 2011 SEA levels will rise higher and faster than the United Nations predicted just four years ago, a major international study has found.

The new data suggests that, on average, the seas will rise by up to 1.6 metres by the year 2100 – a finding that has serious implications for Australian governments grappling with coastal planning.

…… The rate is expected to accelerate as the world warms this century and the process will be compounded as more ice cover is lost. White ice fields reflect sunlight away from the Earth’s surface, whereas the darker oceans absorb more of the sun’s heat, amplifying global warming.
……: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/sea-levels-rising-higher-and-faster-20110504-1e8j7.html#ixzz1LVj077J2

May 5, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change | 5 Comments