2011 July « nuclear-news

Uranium mining gets an unlikely enemy, American hunters!

Elk, not uranium, Salt Lake Tribune, John Pollard Co-chair, Utah Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, 7 July Sportsmen from Utah and across the American West know about the prized elk hunting near the Grand Canyon. Field and Stream magazine named its “monster elk” among the nation’s top hunts on public lands.

These elk, and our hunting and fishing heritage, survive thanks to volunteer labor, an uncontaminated water supply and public access. Now we can add to that list Ken Salazar. The secretary of the Interior has signaled his intention to halt new uranium mining on these public lands near the Grand Canyon for another 20 years.

Let’s hope that is the case. Uranium can be found elsewhere; the “monster elk” cannot, http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/52146664-82/elk-public-uranium-canyon.html.csp

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July 9, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | Leave a comment

USA taxpayers to pay Xcel for temporary nuclear waste storage

A proposed permanent storage site for U.S. nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada was dropped from consideration last year by the Obama administration. The blue ribbon commission has been studying what to do next……..

U.S. to pay Xcel $100M for nuclear waste storage: DAN BROWNING and NEAL ST. ANTHONY , Star Tribune , July 8, 2011 In the latest in a series of settlements with the nation’s electric utilities, the government agreed to bear the cost of storing waste……Xcel announced Friday that the government will pay $100 million to settle a lawsuit it filed in 1998. The payment is reimbursement for 10 years of storage costs incurred by the utility and its customers,…… Continue reading →

July 9, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Honolulu’s new law to help consumers get renewable energy

New law focuses on energy financing, Legislation provides for a study on renewable energy for consumers, Honolulu Star Advertiser, By Derrick DePledge , Jul 09, 2011

Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed into law Friday a bill directing the state Public Utilities Commission to study a program to encourage more consumers to move to renewable energy.

The so-called on-bill financing, if deemed viable and implemented by the PUC, would allow consumers to finance renewable energy systems over time through their electricity bills…..http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110709_New_law_focuses_on_energy_financing.html

July 9, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Uranium mining in Virginia opposed by Halifax Council

Halifax Council to step up opposition to uranium mining The Gazette Virginian 8 July 11, Halifax Town Council is set to take a firm stand opposing uranium mining in nearby Pittsylvania County.

At its monthly work session Wednesday night at Halifax Town Hall, council discussed possible strategies to get out the word on the hazards uranium mining presents to the county’s water sources.

Council had requested the county to include the Virginia Beach study, “A Preliminary Assessment of Potential Impacts of Uranium Mining in Virginia on Drinking Water Sources,” in the regional water supply plan. The county board of supervisors approved the regional supply plan at its June 20 meeting with the Virginia Beach study included.

A number of councilmen attended the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors’ meeting Tuesday night that featured Tom Leahy, Virginia Beach director of public works, speaking on how the water system downstream from the uranium mining operation would be affected in the event of a disaster resulting in a spill at the mining site.
Councilman Jack Dunavant, chairman of the Current Affairs Committee, said Leahy has agreed to come to Halifax County to speak to citizens on the impact of uranium mining. ……http://www.gazettevirginian.com/index.php/news/34-news/3486-halifax-council-to-step-up-opposition-to-uranium-mining

July 9, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Worldwide increasing popularity of renewable energy, especially wind

With transparency, consumers prepared to pay for wind energy, Reve, July 09, 2011, More than 50 percent of 31,000 people surveyed worldwide say they would pay more for products made with clean energy. In addition, 90 percent want more renewable energy and 79 percent have a more positive perception of brands produced using wind power.

More than 90 percent want more renewable energy and 79 percent have a more positive perception of brands produced using wind power. The poll, conducted in May 2011 by TNS Gallup and commissioned by wind turbines manufacturer Vestas, points to the importance ordinary people place on finding solutions to climate change – a full “53 percent of Chinese consumers rank climate change as the world’s greatest single challenge”, according to the poll.

One way to mitigate climate change is renewable energy, and this is obvious to a majority of people polled. They are prepared to pay more and make an effort to protect the environment. “The citizen and the consumer is coming together as a new stakeholder that is engaged in development and one that knows it can influence societal development through buying habits,” ……http://www.evwind.es/noticias.php?id_not=12361

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July 9, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Allegations of corruption against Pakistan’s nuclear scientist Khan

Pakistani nuclear scientist Khan accused of graft, The National, Tom Hussain, Jul 9, 2011 ISLAMABAD The disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, allegedly embezzled money from the country’s clandestine programme, and sought to sabotage technology acquisition deals for personal financial interest, a former chief diplomat said.

“He siphoned off a lot of money from every deal,” said Akram Zaki, the secretary general to Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs from 1992 to 1993, and a former senator.

“And the deals in which he didn’t get his finger, he tried to scuttle … even if they were national-interest [projects].”

His comments, in a recent interview with The National, were made before a Washington Post report on Thursday saying Mr Khan had leaked 1998 documents purporting to show Pakistani generals accepted more than $3.5 million (Dh12.9m) in bribes to allow the export of nuclear weapons technology to North Korea.

Mr Khan, the founding father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme, was arrested in December 2003 after a shipment of nuclear weapons-making equipment, bound for Libya, was seized off the coast of Egypt. He was pardoned after making a televised apology to Pakistanis, but kept under house arrest until 2009.

International investigators and Pakistani officials have said Mr Khan had illegally exported some 200 uranium enrichment centrifuges to Iran and North Korea…….http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/south-asia/pakistani-nuclear-scientist-khan-accused-of-graft.

July 9, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Pakistan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Climate change and nuclear power – a lethal mix?

The mix of extreme climate changes around the planet plus nuclear weapons, nuclear waste and nuclear power could very easily be a lethal mix.

Fires and floods, We need more information from governments about nuclear power, By Judith Mohling e Colorado Daily 07/07/2011 , Aweek ago, 700 miles apart, evacuations of heavily populated areas took place as people moved to safety from possible nuclear disasters — two flooded nuclear power plants in Nebraska, Fort Calhoun and Cooper, and a raging wildfire near the nuclear lab at Los Alamos, New Mexico.

………….Today, the dangers to the Los Alamos labs and the flooded nuclear power plants have subsided and many people have been able to sleep in their own beds again. ……..

As climate change worsens, extreme, yet unpredictable weather may befall the earth. Continue reading →

July 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Atomic Energy Society of Japan critical of govt’s lack of transparency on Fukushima

Japan nuclear group says vital info still has not been released, such as temperatures of the molten nuclear fuel and lower section of pressure vessels, ENE News July 8th, 2011 , Nuclear accident disclosure, Japan Times, July 8, 2011:

The Atomic Energy Society of Japan […] issued a statement criticizing the government, Tokyo Electric Power Co. and other related institutions for delays and insufficiency in their disclosure of information concerning the accidents at Tepco’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant […]

Since the Atomic Energy Society of Japan is regarded as close to Japan’s nuclear power establishment, the criticism bears importance all the more. […]

The following point is especially important. The society notes that there is the possibility that the damage to people’s health from radiation exposure has increased because the government, Tepco and other related institutions did not properly disclose information on the status of the nuclear accidents and the environmental contamination by radioactive substances. […]

The society notes that such vital information as the temperature of the lower section of the pressure vessels, the volume and temperature of the coolant water in the lower part of the pressure vessels, and the temperature of the molten nuclear fuel have yet to be released. […]http://enenews.com/japan-nuclear-group-vital-info-released-temperatures-molten-nuclear-fuel-lower-section-pressure-vessels

July 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

France will consider exiting from nuclear power

An energy ministry official told Reuters one scenario would consider a total exit from nuclear by 2050, or even 2040……A poll last month showed three quarters of the French people interviewed wanted to withdraw from nuclear energy,

France includes nuclear power exit among options, Reuters, Jul 8, 2011 Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, Writing by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Anthony Barker)

* France mulls full exit by 2040-2050, not govt’s choice

* Option part of wider study on French future energy mix

* Poll showed three quarters of French want full exit

PARIS, – France raised the possibility for the first time of pulling out of nuclear power Continue reading →

July 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, politics | Leave a comment

Japanese government far too involved in nuclear industry

Too Much Government Support Distorted Nuclear Industry: Inquiry Panel Member, FOX Business News, By Mitsuru Obe, July 08, 2011, Dow Jones Newswires

— Government continues to play overbearing role in nuclear industry, inquiry panel member says

— Generous state assistance, protection encouraged exaggerated move by power companies into nuclear power

— Power plant operators failed to learn lessons from Chernobyl disaster

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- The Japanese government’s heavy involvement in the nuclear power business has distorted the decision-making of plant operators and led to the construction of nuclear plants without regard to real economic costs, indirectly contributing to the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi complex, a member of a fact-finding committee said Friday……

“This has distorted the economic incentives and risk profile of nuclear power. Without massive government assistance, utilities would never have gotten into nuclear power so heavily,” Yoshioka said at the second meeting of the committee, which was set up to investigate the causes of the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

The 10-person panel was launched early last month and is set to produce an interim report by the end of the year and a final report by next summer……..http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/07/08/too-much-government-support-distorted-nuclear-industry-inquiry-panel-member/

July 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

The end of nuclear, an economic boon for Germany

a shift to a renewable energy powered economy comes with costs. However, this price tag is modest in comparison to the heavy burden that nuclear brings. Over the last 40 years, the German nuclear industry has been pampered with more than 200 billion Euros in subsidies. In comparison, renewable energy technologies have been incentivized by about 4.8 billion Euros in 2010. By replacing fossil fuel imports and avoiding health costs, renewables already pay off today.

Auf Wiedersehen! Germany’s goodbye to nuclear power will accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon economy, THE HILL, By Arne Jungjohann: Director for the Environment Program of the Heinrich Böll Foundation-07/08/11 ……….A decade ago, Germany started transitioning towards a low carbon economy. The share of renewable power has tripled. Wind farms, solar modules, biogas, and hydro power provide 18 percent of Germany’s power supply. Today, renewables are a reliable and indispensable pillar of Germany’s power supply that keep trains running and factories humming. The sector is fast growing and provides 370,000 good-paying jobs – much more than the 22,000 jobs in Germany’s lignite coal industry. Many of these jobs are within traditional industries, such as steel workers, farmers and the ceramic and glass industries. Continue reading →

July 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Germany | Leave a comment

German Parliament seals nuclear exit plan

German parliament backs nuclear exit by 2022, Google News, (AFP) 8 July 11, BERLIN — The German parliament sealed plans Friday to phase out nuclear energy by 2022, making the country the first major industrial power to take the step in the wake of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant.

The nuclear exit scheme cleared its final hurdle in the Bundesrat upper house, which represents the 16 regional states, after the legislation passed the Bundestag lower house with an overwhelming majority last week.

Germany’s seven oldest reactors were already switched off after Japan’s massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing reactors to overheat and radiation to leak.

A further reactor has been shut for years because of technical problems.

The nine reactors currently on line are due to be turned off between 2015 and 2022, an even faster pace than envisaged when Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the decision in May.

Polls indicate a large majority of Germans oppose nuclear power due to fears of a reactor catastrophe and unresolved issues on the long-term storage of highly radioactive atomic waste……http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gnJH-sZ9D1lD39l-ekmBrnx2xuyg?docId=CNG.789d47896547d432d46c547221e2b880.461

July 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, politics | Leave a comment

Too late for a well-managed shutdown of Indian Point nuclear plant?

Three options to replace Indian Point stand out. One, local fossil fuel sources such as natural gas could generate more electricity. Two, excess hydroelectric power or wind power generated upstate or in Canada could be transported downstate. And three, consumers could drastically cut their electricity use.

All appear relatively simple and, together, offer promise. But closer inspection shows there is a great deal of complexity involved……

Has Time Run Out to Replace Indian Point’s Nuclear Power? Reuters, 8 July 11, By Alice Kenny, SolveClimate News Editor’s Note: In this three-part series, SolveClimate News examines the feasibility of closing the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, N.Y. The plant, now up for relicensing, faces demands for a shutdown by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and many environmental groups. This is part two.

Renewed backlash against New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant in the wake of Japan’s disaster has forced politicians and energy experts in the state to again confront tough questions about how to permanently replace the facility’s electricity.

Now, with the plant up for relicensing, some observers warn that time may have run out for a well-managed and gradual shutdown of the complex, located just 24 miles from America’s most populous city…… Continue reading →

July 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | technology, USA | Leave a comment

Australia sets up new renewable energy agency

Global green energy investments up as Australia consolidates action, Voxy News, NZ, 8 July, 2011 , Investments in renewable energy globally are up 32% increase in in 2010, according to a new United Nations report. Significantly, developing nations spent more on renewable energy utility projects, $72 billion, than developed ones, at $70 billion.

China led all nations with $49.8 billion in investments in 2010, ahead of German spending of $41 billion and U.S. spending of $29.6 billion.

The report has been released at the same time Australia has announced new independent statutory body, to be named the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), to lead the Australian Government’s investments in renewable energy…. http://www.voxy.co.nz/business/global-green-energy-investments-australia-consolidates-action/5/94521

July 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, renewable | Leave a comment

Pros and cons of moving nuclear wastes from pools to casks

Haste vs. Procrastination on Nuclear Waste, NYT By MATTHEW L. WALD 7 July 11 “…….safety concerns arise in moving the fuel to casks, too. The details, pro and con, get interesting. Continue reading →