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A political and economic embarrassment – France’s accident at nuclear site

France on edge after accident at nuclear site, The Independent By John Lichfield in Paris, 13 September 2011 France was yesterday quick to play down the significance of an explosion in a nuclear waste recycling plant in the south of the country which killed one man and injured four others.  Ministers said the blast, close to the Marcoule nuclear power station, near Avignon, was an “industrial accident” and not an explosion in, or near, a nuclear reactor. There had been no radioactive leak and no need to evacuate workers or local people.

The explosion at the sprawling Marcoule site on the banks of the Rhône – one of the oldest and largest nuclear facilities in France – is nonetheless a political and economic embarrassment to the French government. France is more dependent on nuclear-generated electricity – 79 per cent – than any other country in the world. It also has a powerful nuclear export industry.

Since the calamity at the Fukushima plant in Japan in March, France has been at pains to reassure its citizens, and potential foreign buyers, of the safety of its own nuclear technology. Environmental groups called yesterday on the French government, traditionally secretive on nuclear questions, to allow “total transparency” and an independent investigation of the Marcoule blast

The pressure-group France Nature Environnement (FNE), which has 3,000 member associations, said the accident “underlines the problems with control of nuclear risks in France”. The significance of nuclear accidents has sometimes been obscured by French authorities in the past, FNE pointed out.

Famously, the French government announced in 1986 that the radioactive nuclear cloud from the Chernobyl explosion in the Ukraine had “stopped at the French frontier”…. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-on-edge-after-accident-at-nuclear-site-2353692.html

September 13, 2011 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

France’s Marcoule nuclear site – doubts on its safety

the priority was to get the job done – to meet the military imperative of fuel production, to irradiate whatever needed irradiating, without much of a thought about how the facilities would eventually be rendered safe. Marcoule is now dealing with the legacy of radioactive waste that created….

The French nuclear programme does not have a stellar record of transparency…..What the incident implies for the future of the French nuclear programme is not entirely clear….

Marcoule’s long nuclear history, By Richard Black, BBC News 12 September 2011 The Marcoule site is one of the oldest in France, and played a significant role in the development of the French nuclear and thermonuclear deterrents. It opened in 1956 – well after the US began the era of nuclear armaments, at a time when France was among the nations looking to gain their own seat at the nuclear table. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

World waits for Fukushima nuclear plant to be brought under control

“The whole world is waiting for Japan to bring the nuclear accident under control,” said Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, last Thursday when he visited the plant

6 months into Japan’s cleanup, radiation a major worry, By Craig Dale, CBC News  Sep 12, 2011 “……Decontamination The Japanese government is now conducting extensive aerial surveys, from the northeast to the central part of the country, to track the spread of radiation from Fukushima Daiichi. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Virginia uranium pays expensive junket to Canada for politicians and officials

Uranium company flying Va. lawmakers to Canada will spend $3,000 per person,  Washington Post, 12 Sept 11, By  The company flying lawmakers and community leaders to Canada this month to see an active uranium mine will spend about $3,000 per person on the trip.

The three-day trip includes a visit to a mine and mill as well as meetings with Canadian officials, including the ministers of energy and natural resources, federal regulators and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, according to an itinerary released Monday in response to a request. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Anxiety in city on border of Fukushima’s no-go zone

Japan city on border of nuclear no-go zone fights for survival, By Antoni Slodkowski, Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Jonathan Thatcher, MINAMI SOMA, Japan   Sep 11, 2011  (Reuters) – A line dividing the no-go zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant and the area deemed safe from radiation cuts right across this coastal city but the “good” part is starting to look very much like the ghost town on the other side.

Six months after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami that triggered meltdowns and radiation leaks at the Tokyo Electric Power’s complex, Minami Soma, a city just a half an hour’s drive away, struggles to stay alive. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, psychology - mental health | Leave a comment

Arizona – ignorance and lies about hazards of uranium mining

When asked during the hearing if any of the panel members present were concerned about contamination to the environment, specifically the air and water, or the threat to the health and safety of people, the answer was a resounding and unanimous “no.”

Read that again. Uranium, a known radioactive element, is being presented by the panel as harmless so long as it is not processed.

Uranium mining in Arizona Strip: What would Brigham Young say?, St George Utah.com by   September 12, 2011 This past week, a public hearing was held in St. George to discuss uranium mining on the Arizona Strip, as reported in St. George News story, Uranium Mining on Arizona Strip Threatened by Federal Government. A panel from the Arizona-Utah Local Economic Coalition and concerned citizens from Arizona and Utah met to discuss and put comments on the record about the Secretary of the Interior’s moratorium on mineral extraction in the region.

The main thrust of the argument against the ban on mining permits from the perspective of the panel was its dramatic impact on local economies dependent on jobs and revenue from mining. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Electric cars go well with grids and wind energy

Drive like the wind, R & D, 12 Sept 11, In a new report, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory show how electric vehicles—increasingly available to consumers in today’s marketplace—could help operators more seamlessly add more renewable energy sources like wind into the Pacific Northwest’s energy grid. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Governor of Virginia stacks Energy Commission in interests of polluting industries

McDonnell stacks the deck, Washington Post , 11 Sept 11, By , Stacking the deck to boost business interests seems to be the modus operandi of the administration of Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell.

On Sept. 9, McDonnell announced his picks for the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission. It is an important decision because the commission will have significant influence on whether the General Assembly decides to end a decades’ long ban on uranium mining and go forward with a proposed and highly controversial operation near Chatham in Southside.

McDonnell has appointed a group of seven people with heavy ties to the energy industry. Not one is an environmental or civic activist. Not one has a scientific background. The list:……

McDonnell did not choose anyone from the Sierra Club, National Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists or any of the groups that study the impact of fossil fuel on climate change.

Nor did he select anyone from the activist groups in Southside that are concerned that Virginia Uranium’s plan to mine 119 million pounds of toxic uranium might pollute the area and threaten drinking water supplies, including those of Hampton Roads….. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/post/mcdonnell-stacks-the-deck/2011/03/10/gIQAlkrMNK_blog.html

September 13, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Japan can shut down all nuclear power by 2012

“With only 11 out of 54 reactors online at the height of summer and little impact to daily life, Japan has already proven that by conserving energy it does not need nuclear power”, 

Permanent Nuclear Shutdown in Japan Possible by 2012: Report,  September 12, 2011 Tokyo- (PanOrient News) Japan can switch off all nuclear plants permanently by 2012 and still achieve both economic recovery and its CO2 reduction goals, according to a new Greenpeace report.

Released today, the Advanced Energy Revolution report for Japan, shows how energy efficiency and rapid deployment of renewable technology can provide all the power Japan needs. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Dangers of earthquakes, floods, to nuclear plants

NRC staff: Reassess earthquake risk at nuke plants, Fox News,  September 12, 201 WASHINGTON –  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should immediately require U.S. nuclear plant operators to re-evaluate whether their facilities can withstand earthquakes and floods, the agency’s staff said.

A staff report made public Monday identified seven steps the NRC should take “without delay” as it responds to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that crippled a nuclear plant in Japan.

Most prominently, the report recommended immediate reviews of seismic and flooding risks at the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | 1 Comment

Entergy company argues that nuclear safety less important than Atomic Energy Act rules

Local resistance to the plant hardened after leaky pipes seeped radioactive material into the groundwater in 2010. If Vermont succeeds, it would be the first U.S. state to shut a nuclear power plant that had received an extended operating permit from the NRC….

“The Atomic Energy Act preempts any effort to shutdown Vermont Yankee for reasons of nuclear safety,” Entergy lawyer Kathleen Sullivan said.

Entergy, Vermont battle over nuclear plant’s fate, Sep 12, 2011, Trial to decide fate of 39-yr-old plant By Zach Howard BRATTLEBORO, Vt., Sept 12 (Reuters) – Power company Entergy faced off against the state of Vermont in U.S. court on Monday to fight a landmark effort to force the closure of its aging nuclear power plant. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

USA nuclear weapons spending contrasts with budget realities

Nuclear Plan Conflicts with New Budget Realities   Federation of American Scientists  (FAS) By Nickolas Roth, Hans M. Kristensen and Stephen Young

Note: This is the first of four posts analyzing the FY 2012 Stockpile Stewardship Management Plan, each jointly produced by the Federation of American Scientists and Union of Concerned Scientists.

A new nuclear weapons plan from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which seeks further increases in spending over the next decade for nuclear weapons and for weapons production and simulation facilities, will face real challenges in the new budget environment. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Some Idaho people keen to host nuclear wastes?

It [Blue Ribbon Copmmission]wants a new organization solely dedicated to waste management with the power and access to the funds to succeed.

It urged the U.S. to continue its leadership in international waste and nonproliferation issues. And it wants to reconsider long term geologic storage options like Yucca Mountain. But it also proposed a stable, long-term program to support research, development and demonstration of advanced reactor and fuel cycle technologies and supporting workforce development, subjects near and dear to people in eastern Idaho around the Idaho National Laboratory……

Idaho groups seek to influence nuclear waste future decisions Voices IdahoStatesman.com  by Rocky Barker , 09/12/2011 “……nationally U.S. reactors have generated 65,000 metric tons of spent fuel, of which 75 percent is stored in pools, according to Nuclear Energy Institute data. A spent fuel rod gives off enough radiation to kill people a foot away in a matter of seconds. Continue reading →

September 13, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

IAEA’s nuclear safety plan lacks teeth

Nuke agency’s safety plan irks Germany, others, Google News, By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press –13 Sept 11,  VIENNA (AP) — A post-Fukushima nuclear safety plan is putting the U.S. on the same side with Russia and China and at odds with Western nations that are usually its allies.

Ruediger Luedking, Germany’s chief IAEA representative, told the nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation board Monday that the plan “does not fully meet our expectations.”A diplomat from another IAEA member state familiar with the issue says several other EU states as well as Canada and Australia are also critical of the plan’s lack of teeth.

He says Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Argentina were chief opponents of giving the IAEA more authority to police nuclear safety. But the U.S. was also conformable with the lack of enforcement powers.

The diplomat asked for anonymity because his information was confidential  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5itby0To8xFNqpzB2hblJSK9qk97A?docId=4bacc40403324d46929ab5b077266a3d

September 13, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | Leave a comment