nuclear-news

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

Fukushima radiation twice as bad as previously estimated

Radiation Understated After Quake, Japan Says New York Times, By   June 6, 2011 TOKYO — Japan said Monday that radioactive emissions from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the early days of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster might have been more than twice as large as a previous estimate, suggesting the accident was more grave than the government had publicly acknowledged.It is unclear whether a more accurate reading of emissions levels would have promoted a swifter or wider evacuation from around the plant. Still, the lag in reporting the true extent of the emissions added to what some critics have called a litany of confusing and contradictory data and analysis from the Japanese authorities, putting officials on the defensive about whether they delayed, or even blocked, the release of information to the public.

Last month the government acknowledged that three of the plant’s reactors had probably suffered fuel meltdowns, after having denied that possibility.

On Monday, Japan’s nuclear regulator, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said that the reactor pressure vessel at one of the plant’s reactors appeared to have been compromised as early as five hours after the quake.

The agency also said it now estimated that the radioactive release from the plant totaled 770,000 terabecquerels in the first week after March 11. The agency had previously estimated 370,000 terabecquerels released in the first month…….http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/world/asia/07japan.html

June 7, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

USA holds largest amount of concentrated radioactivity – time bombs!

The U.S. government should promptly take steps to reduce these risks by placing all spent nuclear fuel older than five years in dry, hardened storage casks like Germany did 25 years ago. …..

After more than 50 years, the quest for permanent nuclear waste disposal remains illusory. One thing, however, is clear, whether we like it or not: the largest concentrations of radioactivity on the planet will remain in storage at U.S. reactor sites for the indefinite future. 

America’s Nuclear Spent-Fuel Time Bombs HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Alvarez, : 06/ 6/11 Japan’s nuclear disaster should serve as a wake-up call for the United States.

Now that many Americans have stopped paying attention to Japan’s nuclear catastrophe, shocking new details about its severity are finally coming to light. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

A matter of time before TEPCO goes bankrupt, despite Japanese govt support

“Speculation that it’s just a matter of time before Tepco goes bankrupt has been dominating the stock market, in stark contrast with the government’s efforts to keep it alive,” 

Tepco’s State Support at Odds With Market Seeing Bankruptcy, June 06, 2011,  by Shigeru Sato and Takahiko Hyuga, June 7 (Bloomberg) — The Japanese government’s commitment to support Tokyo Electric Power Co. contrasts with investors selling its shares at a record pace and betting on a 59 percent likelihood the utility will default on its debt in five years. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | Japan | Leave a comment

Egypt could prosper with solar energy, not nuclear

why is there this insistence on neglecting calls that we should depend more on solar energy for producing electricity, which could be the base for the country’s development, not only for producing the requisite amount of electricity for local consumption but also for having surplus for export? 
   It seems silly to hear some officials justify dropping this option because of its initially high expenses, forgetting the enormous costs of creating and maintaining a nuclear power plant. 
   Furthermore, a solar energy project in particular could be set up through partnership deals between Egypt and some European countries, such as Germany, to produce sufficient electricity for the two countries’ needs that could be transferred via a unified grid.

The costs of nuclear energy By Manal Abdul Aziz – The Egyptian Gazette, June 6, 2011  CAIRO – The difference between humankind, homo sapiens, and other animals is that human beings have experience and learn from their mistakes, while other animals behave according to instinct. For this reason, human beings are the only creatures that have a civilisation.

Therefore, if we come today to seek the development of Egypt, we should review the experience of other nations and learn from them, beginning where they ended and not following the same path from its start to its finish.
   Accordingly, when we consider establishing a nuclear project for generating energy, we should review the nuclear programmes of other countries and clearly assess their positive and negative aspects. …. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | Egypt, renewable | Leave a comment

Iran’s nuclear program still a nuclear weapons concern

Goldberg: Iran Wants the Bomb, and It’s Well on Its Way Bloomberg, By Jeffrey Goldberg Jun 7, 2011 The Iranian government, which is known neither for transparency nor candor, has insisted for many years that the goal of its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. And for many years, the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose motto is “Atoms for Peace,” has tended to give the ayatollahs the benefit of the doubt on this question.

The agency’s former chairman, Mohamed ElBaradei, now a candidate for the presidency of Egypt, seemed to take the attitude that anxiety about Iran’s nuclear objectives was motivated by the strategic self-interest, even the paranoia, of the U.S., Israel and the Arab states near Iran, rather than by the reality-based worry that bloody-minded mullahs bent on dominating the Middle East aren’t the sort of people who should have the bomb.

The new chairman of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano of Japan, seems more skeptical of Iran’s claim of nuclear virginity. He is, by many accounts, preparing a comprehensive indictment of Iran’s nuclear program to be issued later this year. As an interim step, his agency recently issued a report on Iran’s nuclear activities that might help concentrate the attention of a world that has lately been preoccupied by the revolutions in Libya, Yemen and Syria………http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-06/iran-wants-the-bomb-and-it-s-well-on-its-way-jeffrey-goldberg.html

June 7, 2011 Posted by | Iran, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Problems in assessing health effects of Fukushima radiation

some of the radiation to which people are being exposed around Fukushima is inside the body; it comes from radioactive materials that contaminated their food or water.

Radiation’s Unknowns Weigh on Japan, New York Times, By  June 6, 2011 As officials in Japan agonize over what constitutes a safe radiation dose for people who live near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, the state of the science has been a daunting problem. Studies on the effects of exposure are based mostly on large doses delivered quickly by atomic bombs, while radiation from the Fukushima disaster would more likely result in small doses delivered over many years. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

UK’s Liberal Democrats put on the spot: new poll shows opposition to nuclear power

Voters to Lib Dems: live up to your nuclear promise! Greenpeace UK  by Niall Sookoo – 6 June 2011 On  the eve of a vital vote on taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power, we’ve published the results of an exclusive opinion poll which shows that the majority of people – 46 per cent – oppose any future subsidy for the nuclear power industry Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Sick former uranium miners face hurdles in seeking compensation

Efforts to document Corral’s work history and exposure levels have turned into endless rounds of paperwork for him and volunteer advocate Sandra Belvail. They’ve had to track down decades-old payroll records and medical reports..

Former co-workers who started the claims process gave up.

“If they drag this process out, these guys will be gone,” Belvail said.

Chico Corral blames uranium industry for failing health But as others before him have learned, compensation is elusive The Spokesman Review, Becky Kramer 6 June 11, “….Now 79, Corral’s lungs show signs of scarring. Minor exertion leaves him short of breath. He believes his lung problems resulted from the two decades he spent in the uranium industry. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | health, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Australian uranium miner ERA pushing on despite climate extremes, and Aboriginal opposition

 Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been called on by the organisation representing Mirrar people to put a stop to all plans to expand uranium mining in the national park.

The Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation has called for mining to be banned at the Ranger uranium mine as it is a part of their traditional land.

 – AUSTRALIAN MINING ERA MISLEADING ABOUT RANGER URANIUM PLANS: ENVIRONMENTALISTS Mining Australia, By Jessica Burke   6 June 2011 Environmentalists have accused Energy Resources Australia (ERA) of ulterior motives over plans to expand its uranium mine in the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, indigenous issues, Uranium | Leave a comment

Little hope for disarmament as states increase nuclear weapons

“nuclear weapons states are modernising and are investing in their nuclear weapons establishments (it) seems unlikely that there will be any real nuclear weapon disarmament within the forseeable future.”.
Nuclear weapons threat not decreasing, study says, Google News, 7 June 11 STOCKHOLM — More than 5,000 nuclear weapons are deployed around the world and nuclear powers continue investing in new weapon systems, making meaningful disarmament in the near future unlikely, a report published Tuesday said. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

USA nuclear plants unprepared for disaster

U.S. raises concern about nuclear disaster plans June 6, 2011(CNN) — U.S. nuclear power plants keep plans for dealing with a severe accident close at hand, but many of them need updating and nearly half the plants don’t include them in regular drills, regulators said Monday.

Those findings are part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s safety review of U.S. reactors launched after the triple meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant in March…..http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/06/nuclear.safety/

June 7, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

AREVA pushing for nuclear reprocessing in USA

Areva sees nuclear waste recycling planning by 2015 (Reuters) By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON | Mon Jun 6, 2011– Areva hopes that by 2015, it can start planning construction of a facility for recycling nuclear waste in the United States, an executive for the French nuclear power company said on Monday.

Jacques Besnainou, head of Areva’s North American unit, said the company was in discussions with several utilities about forming an alliance to advocate for a recycling center……Areva has said it would cost about $25 billion to build a recycling center in the United States. Besnainou suggested part of the funding for the project could come from the federal government’s Nuclear Waste Fund, which brings in about $750 million in fees annually from U.S. ratepayers….

June 7, 2011 Posted by | reprocessing, USA | Leave a comment