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At Hiroshima, radiation victims will call for an end to nuclear industry

Fukushima Clouds Hiroshima Anniversary – IPS ipsnews.netBy Suvendrini KakuchiTOKYO, Aug 4, 2011 (IPS) – Matashichi Oishi, 78, a radiation victim from Bikini Atoll, the site of a U.S. hydrogen bomb test in 1954, will make his annual lone visit this week to commemorate the Aug. 6 anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima 66 years ago.

This year, says the former sailor, battling lung cancer from exposure to high levels of radiation at Bikini Atoll, his message at Hiroshima will go beyond a routine call to end nuclear weapons.”Against the backdrop of the disastrous Fukushima nuclear plant accident, I will speak of the absolute need for Japan to not only work to ban nuclear weapons but also to completely eradicate dependence on nuclear energy,” he told IPS. Continue reading →

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

Jesus does not love nukes – Christians and Atheists agree on this

The Christians Bryan Cones at U.S. Catholic was elated by the news. “We can be grateful today that the U.S. Air Force will no longer include biblical or Christian justifications for the use of nuclear weapons in its ethics training for officers,”

Atheists, Christians Agree: Jesus Wouldn’t Launch Nukes –  – The Atlantic Wire, John Hudson,4 Aug 11, A curious mix of vigilant atheists and devout Christians are celebrating the Air Force’s decision to suspend a Christian-themed course taught to nuclear missile launch officers at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

For almost 20 years, military chaplains presented these officers with slides filled with biblical references such as “Revelation 19:11 Jesus Christ is the mighty warrior” and Christian literature, such as St. Augustine’s Just War Theory, in an attempt to dismantle the moral and ethical qualms of annihilating human beings with nuclear weapons. Surprise! Not everyone liked it. Continue reading →

August 5, 2011 Posted by | Religion and ethics, USA | Leave a comment

Canada’s public health risk due to nuclear radiation from Fukushima

radiation from Fukushima will lead to higher rates of cancer and other diseases among Canadians….“It’s not the risk to an individual that’s the problem but how much society is at risk. When you are exposing millions of people to an insult, even if the average dose is quite small, we are going to see fatal health effects,” …..

“The authorities don’t want people to have an understanding of this. The government of Canada tends to pooh-pooh the dangers of nuclear power because it is a promoter of nuclear energy and uranium sales.”

Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe brings big radiation spikes to B.C. | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com, By Alex Roslin, August 4, 2011 Nuclear impact   Monitoring stations catch a fraction of Fukushima fallout

After Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe, Canadian government officials reassured jittery Canadians that the radioactive plume billowing from the destroyed nuclear reactors posed zero health risks in this country. Continue reading →

August 5, 2011 Posted by | Canada, environment | Leave a comment

Uranium market’s poor prospects as Cameco sinks

Cameco is the largest player in the highly volatile uranium space……Apart from causing a massive impact in Japan’s economy, as well as disrupting global supply chains, the Fukushima Daiichi incident has put the uranium industry in an existential moment.

Cameco Sinks As Sales Drop Post-Fukushima – – Forbes, 4 Aug 11, As the nuclear energy and uranium businesses recover from the crisis that was the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, Cameco posted second-quarter earnings that reveal big drops in revenue and profit. Despite hitting expectations, Cameco’s earnings sparked a sell-off given a more bearish look on their industry, ….. Continue reading →

August 5, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Irradiated fish found near Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant

Vermont finds contaminated fish as nuclear debate rages | Reuters, by Scott DiSavino  Aug 2, 2011  NEW YORK   – Vermont health regulators said on Tuesday they found a fish containing radioactive material in the Connecticut River near Entergy’s Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant which could be another setback for Entergy to keep it running.

The state said it needs to do more testing to determine the source of the Strontium-90, which can cause bone cancer and leukemia.Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin wants the 620 megawatts reactor shut in March 2012 when its original operating license was to expire.

“Today’s troubling news from the Vermont Department of Health is another example of Entergy Louisiana putting their shareholders’ profits above the welfare of Vermonters,” Shumlin said in a statement….
Entergy filed a complaint in federal court to block the state from shutting the reactor next year…..
Vermont is the only state in the nation with a say on whether a nuclear plant within its borders can operate. The state gained that right, which Entergy is now challenging in federal court, when it agreed to allow Entergy to buy the plant in 2002…..
Vermont finds contaminated fish as nuclear debate rages | Reuters

August 5, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Vermont Yankee nuclear plant – radioactive leaks over several years

Vt nuke had past radioactive releases – BostonHerald.com, 4 Aug 11, “……..an Associated Press review of Nuclear Regulatory Commission records finds that Vermont Yankee reported releasing strontium-90 into the environment several times since Entergy bought the reactor in 2002. Annual reports to the NRC show strontium-90 releases from Vermont Yankee in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005….”Vt nuke had past radioactive releases – BostonHerald.com

August 5, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Scotland’s renewable energy revolution

On-farm energy gets major boost in Scotland  Farmers Guardian, August 5, 2011 | By David Boderke, RENEWABLE projects in Scotland’s agriculture sector have been given a major boost with the announcement of a new Agri-Renewables Strategy.Announcing the strategy at the Black Isle Show, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said it will ‘ensure land managers can benefit from the renewables revolution and unlock the green energy potential of their land’.

Welcoming the announcement, NFU Scotland’s president, Nigel Miller said the Scottish Government’s commitment to develop the strategy and, in particular, to simplify the planning process, were ‘spot on’.Mr Lochhead said: “Scotland is currently experiencing a renewables revolution and I want to see farmers, crofters and land managers working with local communities to ensure they grasp the benefits for their businesses and the nation…..
He said the strategy, which he hoped would be in place by summer 2012 ‘at the latest’, will be developed in co-operation with industry representatives and will build on the Scottish Government’s existing renewables activity in the agricultural sector.
On-farm energy gets major boost in Scotland | News | Farmers Guardian

August 5, 2011 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Arrest of man building nuclear reactor in kitchen

Man Building Nuclear Reactor in Kitchen Arrested – William Pentland   Forbes,4 Aug 11, A Swedish man was arrested after asking authorities if his efforts to split an atom in his kitchen had been legal.For several months, Richard Handl has spent hours and hours and hours on the mother of all home hobbies – setting up a nuclear reaction in his kitchen. Handl’s hobby was hardly a secret. He published highly-detailed updates about his atomic ambitions on a personal blog, including a small meltdown Handl had created on his kitchen stove.Long after launching the project, it dawned on Handl that maybe his experiments were not legal. To find out, he asked Sweden’s Radiation Authority for advice. They sent the police who arrested Handl after discovering the radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium in his apartment in southern Sweden, according to The Daily Telegraph…Man Building Nuclear Reactor in Kitchen Arrested – William Pentland – Clean Beta – Forbes

August 5, 2011 Posted by | safety, Sweden | Leave a comment

Danger to migratory fish, of Fukushima radiation in ocean

Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe brings big radiation spikes to B.C. | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com, By Alex Roslin, August 4, 2011  “……..TEPCO released 11,500 tons of radioactive water from its storage tanks into the Pacific Ocean on April 4. One aspect of the fallout and seawater contamination that remains unclear is how it might affect fish stocks, especially migratory species like salmon that could pass through poisoned areas of the ocean, eat irradiated prey, or have radioactive water dumped in their home ranges by Pacific currents.

Of the five species of Pacific salmon that are native to western North America, the sockeye is the most commercially prized. It also has the most wide-ranging migration route through the North Pacific, swimming for two to three years—as far as just northeast of the top of Japan—before coming back to its natal streams in Alaska, B.C., and the U.S. Northwest…..”
Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe brings big radiation spikes to B.C. | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com

August 5, 2011 Posted by | NORTH AMERICA, oceans | Leave a comment

A ‘deeply flawed project,’ Yucca Mountain isn’t the answer for nuke waste – , Aug. 4, 2011  – Las Vegas Sun  Editorial: For years, the nuclear industry and its supporters in Congress have tried to shove through plans to make Nevada a nuclear waste dump, repeatedly ignoring scientific and safety concerns.

Their plans have been frustrated over the years because of the work of Nevada’s congressional delegation, led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Now, the plans to put waste in Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, are on the verge of being extinguished. President Barack Obama has ordered his administration to quit work on it, and he created a blue ribbon commission to study alternatives for the nation’s nuclear waste. Continue reading →

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

Record heat forces nuclear plant to half power

River temperature forces nuclear plant to 50 percent power | timesfreepress.com, by Pam Soh   4 Aug 11, Not even TVA can beat the heat.On Wednesday, the utility had to bring a third reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant down to 50 percent power to avoid environmental sanctions because the water in the Tennessee River — where the plant’s cooling water is discharged — already was at 90 degrees.”When the river’s ambient temperature reaches 90 degrees, we can’t add any heat to it,” said TVA’s nuclear spokesman Ray Golden.Similar problems last summer forced the Tennessee Valley Authority to spent $50 million for replacement power, according to Golden. The extra expense translated to something between 50 cents and $1 on most electric bills several months later, officials have said…..

Fighting the heat

Chattanooga’s July clocked in as fifth-hottest July on record, according National Weather Service meteorologist and intern Kate Guillet in Morristown, Tenn. In the Knoxvillle area, the month was the third-hottest July on record, and the Huntsville region near Browns Ferry recorded the 11th-warmest July. Weather Service records date back to 1850.

The rest of August is also going to be above normal in temperature, said Paul Barys, chief meteorologist for WRCB-TV Channel 3.……River temperature forces nuclear plant to 50 percent power | timesfreepress.com

August 5, 2011 Posted by | climate change, USA | Leave a comment

Canada’s pro nuclear govt soft pedals true effect of Fukushima radiation

“The government always downgrades the results. They want to soft-pedal the extent of the accident because it will threaten our own nuclear industry,”

Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe brings big radiation spikes to B.C. | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.comBy Alex Roslin, August 4, 2011“…….Across the Pacific Ocean, it took only a few days after the disaster for radioactive fallout to start showing up in drinking water and milk across North America. Governments in both Canada and the U.S. monitored the radioactivity, but their data is reported in such a confusing and irregular way that it’s extremely difficult to determine if maximum contamination levels have been exceeded and how public health is being impacted.

“It’s very, very difficult to interpret radiation levels detected from Fukushima and translate them into standards. It’s a nightmare,” said Arjun Makhijani, an electrical and nuclear engineer and president of the Takoma Park, Maryland–based Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, in a phone interview.

And that’s not a coincidence, said Vanier College’s Gordon Edwards. “To me, it’s a way of obscuring the impacts. It’s a smoke screen.”Dale Dewar agrees. “The government always downgrades the results. They want to soft-pedal the extent of the accident because it will threaten our own nuclear industry,” said Dewar, a family physician and the executive director of Canadian antinuclear group Physicians for Global Survival, in a phone interview from her home near Wynyard, Saskatchewan……
Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe brings big radiation spikes to B.C. | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com

August 5, 2011 Posted by | Canada, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Uranium miller wants to cease monitoring toxic waste area

Cotter asks to stop testing impoundment pond due to dangerous conditions – The Denver Post, by Bruce Finley, 4 Aug 11 Cotter Corp. managers of a uranium mill have asked state regulators to let them stop testing the acidity of a leaking toxic- and radioactive- waste impoundment pond — saying conditions have become too dangerous for workers…..

The Cotter efforts to reduce monitoring affect Colorado’s oversight of the cleanup because state regulators rely on company data instead of conducting independent tests.

Cotter is in the process of dismantling its shuttered uranium mill, located south of the Arkansas River near Cañon City.

With state permission, the company has been moving 90,000 gallons of radioactive sludge and solvents into the impoundment, although regulators know the impoundment is leaking. Liquid waste is mixed with a material resembling cat litter that renders it more solid….

Workers at the mill, built in 1958 with federal support, processed uranium for weapons and power plants. Cotter dumped waste in 11 unlined ponds, leading to contamination of groundwater, which spread to Cañon City.

Federal Environmental Protection Agency officials in 1984 declared the mill and surrounding area a Superfund environmental disaster — then entrusted state authorities with supervising the cleanup...Cotter asks to stop testing impoundment pond due to dangerous conditions – The Denver Post

August 5, 2011 Posted by | environment, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment