nuclear-news

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

The political realities of Iran and the nuclear issue

Concerns built around the fiery anti-western and anti-Israeli rhetoric of Ahmadinejad and his clerical contemporaries again seem to be purposefully ignoring the realities of political theatre,

 US troops have been deployed along two of its major borders for more than a decade. Perhaps it is because, despite assisting coalition forces against the Taliban in 2001, Iran was singled out as one of the major targets of George W Bush’s infamous 2002 ‘Axis of Evil’ speech. Perhaps, with an unrivalled number of American-backed and led regime changes in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa over the past 10 years, Tehran is getting even more wary of the impact of US exceptionalism in the region. Perhaps Tehran knows that, had Saddam actually possessed nuclear weapons in 2003 there is no way in hell the US would have pulled a blitzkrieg on Baghdad.

Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear arsenal makes perfect sense from a defensive and deterrence standpoint. 

Stop worrying and learn to love the Iranian bomb, The Drum,  Ben Rich   28 Dec 11,  Prominent figures within the Israeli and US governments are beating the war drum over the issue of Iran’s progress towards nuclearisation. Regardless of whether or not Iran will actually seek to weaponise its nuclear program, the chances of it utilising WMDs for anything more than posturing remain next to zero.

Critics of Iran’s nuclear program loudly contend that Tehran is irrational and will not operate within the accepted nuclear paradigm of modern states. This claim is at best, obtuse conjecture, and in all likelihood, purposeful disinformation.
Iranian foreign policy has traditionally been cautious, and post-revolutionary Iran has never initiated a conventional conflict. Claims that Tehran’s willingness to engage in clandestine operations demonstrate an inherent irrationality and hold little credibility when held up against the plethora of other states, many of them Western, who engage in the same activities and are still considered wholly rational. Continue reading →

December 28, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

The disaster that is Japan’s Fukushima area

No-man’s land attests to Japan’s nuclear nightmare NewsDay,  December 27, 2011  By The Associated Press  DAVID GUTTENFELDER , ERIC TALMADGE   “……In the ghost towns around Fukushima Dai-ichi, vines have overtaken streets, feral cows and owner-less dogs roam the fields. Dead chickens rot in their coops.
The tens of thousands of people who once lived around the plant have fled. They are now huddling in gymnasiums, elementary school classrooms, bunking with friends, sometimes just sleeping in their cars, moving from place to place as they search for alternatives.
For those who lived on the perimeter of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, fliers used to come in the mail every so often explaining that someday this might happen. Most recipients saw them as junk mail, and threw them away without a second glance. For those who did read them, the fliers were always worded to be reassuring — suggesting that although a catastrophic nuclear accident was extremely unlikely, it could require evacuating the area.
Never was it even hinted that the evacuation could last years, or decades.
At most of the shelters, food is doled out military-style, at set times. Personal space is extremely limited, often just big enough to fit a futon and the collective snoring at night makes sleep fitful, at best. Baths are public, cramped, dark.
The total amount of radiation released from the plant is still unknown, and the impact of chronic low-dose radiation exposures in and around Fukushima is a matter of scientific debate.
Recent studies also suggest Japan continues to significantly underestimate the scale of the disaster — which could have health and safety implications far into the future.

According to a study led by Andreas Stohl the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, twice as much radioactive cesium-137 — a cancer-causing agent — was pumped into the atmosphere than Japan had announced, reaching 40 percent of the total from Chernobyl. The French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety found 30 times more cesium-137 was released into the Pacific than the plant’s owner has acknowledged.

Under a detailed roadmap, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. will remove the melted nuclear fuel, most of which is believed to have fallen to the bottom of the core or even down to the bottom of the larger, beaker-shaped containment vessel, a process that is expected to begin in 10 years. http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/no-man-s-land-attests-to-japan-s-nuclear-nightmare-1.3413018

December 28, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear company AREVA failing in nuclear and uranium sales

Tough times for French nuclear giant Areva, Daily Press, Virginia, 27 Dec 11 These are difficult days for French nuclear giant Areva. The company announced earlier this month it would shed 1,500 jobs in Germany and suspend a controversial nuclear enrichment plant project in Idaho. It is trying to offset losses this year that could exceed $2 billion, the Associated Press reported.

Areva partnered with Newport News Shipbuilding to build a $363 million plant that would manufacture nuclear power plant components. Located off Huntington Avenue in Newport News, the plant is stalled indefinitely due to a lack of new nuclear projects in the U.S.

Another pertinent detail about Areva: the company said its earnings could be hurt by the drop in new reactors being built worldwide — fallout from the nuclear disaster in Japan. The company said this will also depress the price of uranium….. http://www.dailypress.com/news/science/dead-rise-blog/dp-tough-times-for-french-nuclear-giant-areva-20111227,0,2218239.story?track=rss

December 28, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, France | 1 Comment

Australian Senator wants to stop uranium sales to India, on safety concerns

Australian senator slams India’s nuclear sector,  Australia network news, 27 Dec 2011  An Australian Greens Senator has said India’s nuclear sector is set to become more irresponsible, and wants Australia to rethink its policy to sell uranium to the country. Senator Scott Ludlum made his comments after India announced plans to replace its independent nuclear regulator with a government-controlled body.

The decision comes just weeks after Australia announced it would begin selling uranium to India’s civilian nuclear program.  Senator Ludlum told Connect Asia after Japan’s nuclear disaster in March this year, governments around the world were having second thoughts about how to regulate uranium.

“Because the technology is so unforgiving, and when things go wrong they go so seriously wrong, you need to have an exquisite safety culture to maintain this equipment,” the Western Australian Senator said.

Corruption risk  The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board will be replaced with a safety authority answerable to government ministers, which Senator Ludlum said could suffer from government interference. ”On a day to day basis they will actually have the ability, from the prime minister down, to direct the regulator, force it to investigate or not investigate certain kinds of activities and, I think, quite improper use of national interest tests to decide what the regulator should do.

“Not just in India, but everywhere around the world where this technology is used, you need to be completely at arms length and you need have a fiercely independent regulator to stick its nose in wherever it thinks it’s appropriate,” he said.

“The last thing you want is something that’s just a puppet of the top tiers of government and that’s what the Indian movement and Indian officials are telling us is occurring here,” the senator said. http://australianetworknews.com/stories/201112/3398569.htm?desktop

December 28, 2011 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

India’s Left parties want to tighten up Nuclear Liability Bill

The initial licence period is five years. But the Left argues that this “either or” provision is aimed at helping the foreign suppliers, and that the nuclear accidents can happen after the initial licence period which can still be the fault of the suppliers.

Trouble for govt on nuclear liability rules Jayanth Jacob, Hindustan Times New Delhi, December 28, 2011 In a move that could bring fresh troubles for the government, the Left parties have moved amendments to the rules of the nuclear liability bill that deals with limiting of supplier liability.
The foreign suppliers have been maintaining that Indian liability law is not consistent with international norms owing to the stringent supplier liability of provisions. The amendments moved by the CPI(M) pertain to the rule 24 that deals with supplier liability.

The first amendment is for omitting the words “or the value of the contract itself, whichever is less” that aimed at limiting the compensation. Continue reading →

December 28, 2011 Posted by | India, politics | Leave a comment

Public unaware of serious risks in Virginia uranium mining experiment

Leave Virginia’s uranium mining ban in place, Washington Post, Joy M. Oakes, 27 Dec 11, Few people I’ve spoken with were aware of the threat uranium development poses to Virginia. This is a reflection of the would-be developers’ political savvy, and it’s deeply troubling, given the risky nature of this experimental development scheme by Virginia Uranium. Plenty is at risk from operations on the proposed Pittsylvania County site, including potential contamination of drinking water that would affect more than a million residents of Hampton Roads and North Carolina communities; Virginia’s $18 billion tourism industry; and markets for local agricultural products, including wine, milk and the grass-fed beef raised in Pittsylvania County by my family, among others.

No one has identified successful uranium operations in wet, severe climates comparable to that of Southside Virginia. The National Academy of Sciences study on uranium mining at the site leaves too many unknowns. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and state legislators must reject this risky experiment with Virginia’s future and leave the state’s moratorium on uranium mining in place. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/leave-virginias-uranium-mining-ban-in-place/2011/12/22/gIQAHWgHJP_story.html

December 28, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Secrecy as Canada transports weapons grade uranium to USA

Canada shipping bomb-grade uranium to U.S.: memo Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press, 27 Dec 11 MONTREAL — Weapons-grade uranium is quietly being transported within Canada, and into the United States, in shipments the country’s nuclear watchdog wants to keep cloaked in secrecy. Continue reading →

December 28, 2011 Posted by | Canada, safety, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium | Leave a comment

Jan’s govt suggests nationalising Tepco, at least temporarily

Tepco asked to consider temporary state control, BBC News 27 Dec 11 Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which operates Japan’s disaster-hit nuclear plant, has been asked to consider temporary state control. Energy minister Yukio Edano suggested it as one possible way to try to strengthen its financial position. Continue reading →

December 28, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Tepco asks Japan’s government for additional 6 billion pounds

Fukushima nuclear disaster firm asks for extra £6bn to compensate victims Tokyo Electric Power Co fears de facto nationalisation as costs mount, guardian.co.uk,   27 December Tokyo Electric Power Co – the vast Japanese energy business that owns and operated the Fukushima nuclear power plant – has asked a government-backed bailout body for an additional £6bn to help compensate victims of the nuclear crisis that followed the March tsunami.

Japan‘s biggest utility, known as Tepco, faces costs of trillions of yen for compensation and cleanup, and the Japanese government agreed only two months ago to provide £7bn through a bailout fund. Continue reading →

December 28, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Pakistani and Indian experts co-operate in nuclear weapons safety talks

Pakistan, India Call for Extending Agreement on Preventing Nuclear Accidents Voice of America,  December 27th, 2011 Pakistan and India say officials from both sides have called for
extending an agreement on reducing the risk of nuclear accidents relating to their countries’ atomic weapon stockpiles. Pakistani and Indian government experts discussed nuclear confidence-building measures in Islamabad on Tuesday, the second day of a two-day dialogue between the nuclear-armed rivals. The talks are part of a peace process that resumed in February following a two-year break.

In a joint statement, Pakistan and India said the experts agreed to advise their foreign ministries to prolong the existing agreement on preventing nuclear weapon-related accidents by five years. The statement described the talks as “cordial” and “constructive.”
In Monday’s talks, Pakistan proposed that both sides relocate their heavy weaponry at least 30 kilometers away from the Line of Control, a de facto border that divides Pakistani- and Indian-controlled Kashmir. India made no immediate public response to the idea of demilitarizing the Line of Control….. http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/12/27/pakistan-india-call-for-extending-agreement-on-preventing-nuclear-accidents/

December 28, 2011 Posted by | India, Pakistan, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Another safety problem shuts down Pilgrim nuclear power plant

Pilgrim nuclear plant shut down because of safety relief valve leak By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Boston Globe , 27 Dec 11 The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth was shut down early this morning because of a leak detected in one of four safety relief valve systems. The steam leak was slightly radioactive and contained inside the plant. It posed no threat to the public or to plant workers, according to a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission….. Last spring, safety issues and an emergency shutdown at Pilgrim occurred. In November, the NRC officially required a yearlong review of safety procedures because of the problems, which occurred as control room operators as were restarting the reactor after it had been refueled.  …. http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2011/12/pilgrim-nuclear-plant-shut-down-because-safety-relief-valve-leak/iGrt6XDLKSsJAem1djJ3aJ/index.html

December 28, 2011 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment