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Virginia delegate will vote to keep ban on uranium mining

Virginia delegate to vote no on lifting uranium mining moratorium WDBJ7.com, Justin Ward, January 5, 2012 DANVILLE, Va.— The first Virginia lawmaker to announce his vote on the uranium mining ban says his colleagues should consider his decision.

Delegate Don Merricks says he will vote against lifting the ban on uranium mining.

The proposal is expected to be introduced during the upcoming general assembly. Merricks says he’s read the studies but wants another year to research more site specific studies.

“I can not in good conscience vote to life the ban on this when there’s so many unknowns. We still have to narrow down and get focused and we got to get serious about what’s going to happen,” said 16th District Delegate Don Merricks.

Three studies about the socioeconomic and environmental impacts have been released but Merricks says none of them give him concrete answers to support mining in Pittsylvania County. http://www.wdbj7.com/news/blogs/wdbj7-virginia-delegate-will-vote-no-on-lifting-moratorium-on-uranium-mining-20120105,0,2566980.story

January 6, 2012 Posted by | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

North Korea talking tough on nuclear weapons

N. Korea Vows to Reinforce Nuclear Program After South’s Offer , By Sangwon Yoon, Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) — North Korea responded to South Korean President Lee Myung Bak’s offer of “a window of opportunity” for inter-Korean dialog with a vow to “further reinforce” its status as a nuclear-weapons state……
“As long as the enemy is persistent in his moves for aggression, the DPRK will further reinforce the position of the nuclear-weapons state to protect its dignity and sovereignty,” it said. DPRK as an acronym of North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea.
The committee responded to Lee’s New Year message, which expressed the possibility of a “new era” in inter-Korean relations if the North shows sincerity in denuclearizing.

The committee statement was the North’s first message on the status of the North’s nuclear weapons program since Kim Jong Il died and his son Kim Jong Un was installed as leader……
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-05/n-korea-vows-to-reinforce-nuclear-program-after-south-s-offer.html

January 6, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

China wants dialogue with Iran, not sanctions

China Criticizes “Unilateral” US Sanctions Against Iran, Voice of America, , January 4th, 2012  China on Wednesday strongly criticized the United States for imposing fresh sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear program. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing that dialogue and negotiations – not sanctions – are the bestway to ease tensions and resolve the dispute.
“China is against one country putting their domestic laws above international law and placing unilateral sanctions on another country.”
Hong acknowledged that China has what he called “regular, open and transparent economic and energy interactions with Iran” that do not violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and will not impair third party interests. Therefore, he said, such interactions should not be
affected by the latest sanctions.
Last week, the United States imposed a new round of sanctions against financial institutions that deal with Iran’s central bank. The movecould affect Iran’s ability to sell oil on international markets….. http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/01/04/china-criticizes-unilateral-us-sanctions-against-iran/

January 6, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Anti nuclear groups challenge NRC on planned Calvert Cliffs new reactor

Calvert Cliffs reactor challenge to be aired, Atomic Licensing Board to hear from anti-nuclear groups By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, January 5, 2012 Federal regulators plan a hearing Jan. 26 on a challenge to a French company’s bid to build a third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant, and will take public comments the day before.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will air contentions by four anti-nuclear groups that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has not adequately weighed alternatives to building the facility. The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Albright Building, 205 Main St. in
Prince Frederick.

Two separate sessions for the public to comment on UniStar’s application will be held at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Calvert Marine Museum 14150 Solomons Island Road in Solomons.
Pre-registration is required to speak there. For details, see
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2012/12-002.pdf
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-calvert-cliffs-20120105,0,236951.story

January 6, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Chemical spill at Prairie Island nuclear plant

Chlorine bleach leaks at Xcel nuclear plant, CBS News,  (AP)  ST.
PAUL, Minn, 5 Jan 12, . — A two-inch break in a pipe leading to a chlorine bleach
tank caused a chemical spill Thursday at Xcel Energy Inc.’s Prairie Island nuclear plant on the Mississippi River near Red Wing, but officials said no radiological material was released…..
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57353122/chlorine-bleach-leaks-at-xcel-nuclear-plant/

January 6, 2012 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Corruption to continue in Japan’s nuclear industry?

the official who ordered the cover-up of the data is now responsible for working out safety measures at nuclear plants

Cover-up of estimated costs to dispose of radioactive waste raises serious questions, Mainichi Daily News, By Tadashi Kobayashi, Kenji Shimizu and Seiichi Ota, Mainichi Shimbun  2 Jan 2012, Revelations that officials from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy concealed the estimated costs of disposing of spent nuclear fuel highlights the distorted logic of government officials who stick to reprocessing radioactive waste even by lying.

The cover-up is essentially similar to a case in which some high-ranking government officials hid a 2002 Russian diplomatic document in which Moscow offered to accept spent nuclear fuel from Japan, in that both helped promote the reprocessing of radioactive waste at a plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture. Continue reading →

January 5, 2012 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

21 keys to closing the nuclear industry in 2012 – Harvey Wasserman

Worldwide, the industry is crumbling. The collapse of its private investment base, and the shutdowns in Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico, Israel and elsewhere are rapidly shrinking the technology’s credible reach.

 Green energy will soon constitute the world’s largest industry, financially and in terms of employment. 

Fukushima has taught us that as long as reactors operate, the apocalyptic clock is ticking….. we can make 2012 the year nuke power finally dies.

2012 Is the Year to Finally Bury Nuke Power  Huffington Post,   01/ 3/12 The year 2012 has opened with news that Fukushima’s radioactive cloud may already have killed some 14,000 Americans, according to a major study just published in the International Journal of Health Services.

Germany and Japan, the world’s third and fourth largest economies, along with numerous others countries, have definitively turned away from the “Peaceful Atom.”

But it hasn’t yet been buried. That’s up to us. And 2012 is the year to do it.

We are already very close. The mythical “Nuclear Renaissance” has been gutted by Fukushima, low gas prices and the escalating Solartopian revolution in green energy. Solar panels, wind turbines, sustainable bio-fuels, geo-thermal, ocean thermal, increased efficiency and much more have simply priced atomic energy out of the market.

There is virtually no private money to build new reactors — except where there are huge government subsidies and guarantees. In 2012 we must make those all go away.

Likewise, there are increasingly powerful grassroots movements focused on shutting reactors that still operate. Germany has shut 7, and the rest will be gone by 2022, if not earlier. In Japan, just 11 of more than 50 reactors now operate. Because local governments can prevent nukes from re-opening once they go down for refueling, Japan could emerge from 2012 without a single nuke on line.

The biggest US battle is at Vermont Yankee. March 21 is D-Day for forcing a nuclear corporation to honor a solemn contract it signed with a sovereign state, agreeing to shut down if the state doesn’t approve continued operations. The legislature wants the reactor shut, which Entergy now refuses to do.

But with some 430 reactors still operating worldwide, and with several score ostensibly on order, here are some of 2012′s keys to finally ridding the planet of this radioactive curse: Continue reading →

January 5, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, opposition to nuclear | 1 Comment

Dilemma of USA’s Nuclear Waste Confidence Rule

 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)  is part of the agency’s 2010 Waste Confidence Decision and Rule regulations,

“There has been talk of creating regional disposal sites but really there should not be any new nuclear power plants built until they can figure out what to do with the nuclear waste we have now.’’

Federal regulators seek public comment on nuclear fuel storage, Agency to review 200-year storage plan, APP.com  by Bob Vosseller, 4 Jan 12 The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public feedback on a report about the impact of storing spent fuel from the nation’s commercial nuclear power plants for as long as 200 years.

According to a release from NRC officials Tuesday, the feedback would be used for the agency’s plan to update its Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS.

The EIS is a document used for decision-making and to determine whether there are any negative environmental effects caused by a proposed action. Continue reading →

January 5, 2012 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear trafficking and the danger of a “dirty bomb”

The Seoul Nuclear Summit, The National Interest,   issue Miles A. Pomper, Michelle E. Dover , January 4, 2012 “

“……….3. Illicit trafficking. Over the past two decades, the IAEA’s Illicit Trafficking Database has recorded hundreds of cases of criminal activity involving radioactive materials, including well over a dozen involving HEU or plutonium. Since illicit nuclear trafficking often makes use of the same tactics as do other black markets in humans, arms and drugs, it is considered imperative that law enforcement and border security are trained in what to look for in nuclear smuggling. The South Caucasus and Central Asia are of particular concern, in part because they are situated between the “supply” in Russia and potential buyers; these regions already have established networks for drugs, humans and arms, and all these could be used for nuclear trafficking as well. Officials could blunt the threat of nuclear smuggling by raising the level of border security in these countries and by providing training, detection equipment and response plans…..

for most countries, particularly those without fissile material, the threat of a dirty bomb is greater than that of the detonation of a nuclear device. One possibility could be making the current voluntary IAEA Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources a legally binding measure. Another might be to launch a broad, international scientific effort to look for technological alternatives to the most high-risk radioactive sources. Securing radioactive sources is not limited to on-site measures; it also requires a comprehensive tracking system and police training on how to respond to stolen nuclear material. …. http://nationalinterest.org/article/the-seoul-nuclear-summit-6284

January 5, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

USA helped Japan in the criminal sources of its nuclear industry

The criminal roots of Japan’s nuclear industry as facilitated by the United States of America  Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, 5 Jan 12   http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/japans-nuclear-history-perspective-eisenhower-and-atoms-war-and-peace

Japan’s nuclear history in perspective: Eisenhower and atoms for war and peace….. http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/the-criminal-roots-of-japans-nuclear-industry-as-facilitated-by-the-united-states-of-america/

January 5, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

France turning against nuclear energy, as its costs soar

to fulfill its safety recommendations will cost over $13 billion, no small sum considering French operators were already planning to spend $52 billion over the next three decades to consolidate or upgrade existing infrastructure. As always when adversity hits business in the pocketbook, the final cost will be passed all the way down to the French consumer’s monthly electricity bill—

 62% of French respondents supporting a gradual phasing out of nuclear power—over 20 to 30 years—and 15% calling for a rapid halt. 

The Fukushima Effect: France Starts to Turn Against Its Much Vaunted Nuclear Industry TIME, By BRUCE CRUMLEY | January 4, 2012 “……..The recent French introspection about the merits of nuclear power is posing some serious questions about the nation’s energy independence, industrial future, and role as one of the world’s biggest business proponents of civil nuclear technology.

The newest development in France’s post-Fukushima mulling came Tuesday, when the country’s independent watchdog agency delivered a government-commissioned audit of the nation’s 58 nuclear power plants, calling for significant safety upgrades. Continue reading →

January 5, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

74% of Japanese want to close nuclear power, but govt tied to nuclear industry

 Japanese Don’t Want a Nuclear Future: The Ticker, Bloomberg, William Pesek, 5 Jan “……..In a June Asahi newspaper poll, 74 percent favored Japan over time decommissioning all 54 reactors. Actions by the government, reinforced by Prime MinisterYoshihiko Noda‘s press conference today, suggest the opposite is afoot. Japanese want a nuclear-free future, and yet the government is back to coddling the power industry.

Why the disconnect? Japan’s nuclear-industrial complex is every bit as powerful as the nexus of business and the military in the U.S. There’s just too much money involved, and Japan’s “nuclear village” is circling the wagons. The moment Noda’s predecessor, Naoto Kan, announced plans to rein in the industry’s incestuous ties with government bureaucrats, his premiership was over. Continue reading →

January 5, 2012 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Virginia Uranium seeks public subsidy to cover long term damage

Virginia Uranium is seeking a public subsidy to cover the risks associated with their venture. This could result in a scenario not unlike the recent public bailout that covered the sub-prime loan risks taken by mortgage banks.

Uranium offers short-term boost, long-term risks, Star-Tribune Peter Hairston  January 4,   The long-awaited National Research Council, or NRC, report on uranium mining in Virginia concludes, as one could expect, that there are benefits and risks to uranium mining.

The potential public benefits to the Pittsylvania County region have been estimated and extensively publicized. What has not been given due attention in the NRC report or in public discourse is the allocation of the public risks in relation to the potential private benefits.

When this is considered in light of the basic, conservative principles of free market economics, it is clear that current uranium mining plans will result in the public bearing the principal risks, while the mining company gains the principal profits. Continue reading →

January 5, 2012 Posted by | Uranium | Leave a comment

Security failings at Delaware nuclear reactor

Nuclear plants investigated Security shortcomings found at Salem/Hope Creek complex  by Delaware Onliner, JEFF MONTGOMERY  The News Journal, 4 Jan 12 Federal regulators are investigating undisclosed security failings at PSEG Nuclear’s big Salem/Hope Creek reactor site along the Delaware River, and warning of possible sanctions and additional citations against the company.

The action at PSEG’s complex in New Jersey, southeast of Augustine Beach, was one of several security-related shortcomings reported at nuclear plants around the country in recent months.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials on Tuesday declined to release details of inspection findings leading to the security citation at Salem/Hope Creek, relayed to PSEG in mid-December but made public only recently….. http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120104/NEWS08/201040345/Nuclear-plants-investigated?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CHome

January 5, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Iran’s latest nuclear claim does not mean it is closer to the bomb

Analysis: Nuclear fuel test won’t hasten Iran bomb: experts By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA  Jan 4, 2012   (Reuters) – Iran’s latest claim of a breakthrough in its nuclear program seems unlikely to bring it any closer to having atomic bombs soon, but serves rather as another defiant message to the West. This week’s announcement that Iran has successfully made and tested fuel rods for use in nuclear power plants appeared designed to show that sanctions are failing to halt its technical advances and to strengthen its hand in any renewed negotiations with the major powers.

Spent fuel can be reprocessed to make plutonium, potential bomb material, but Western worries about Iran’s nuclear program are focused on its enrichment of uranium, which can also provide the core of nuclear weapons if refined much more.

“The (fuel rod) development itself doesn’t put them any closer to producing weapons,” said Peter Crail of the Arms Control Association, a U.S.-based research and advocacy group.

It could be a way of telling Tehran’s foes that time is running out if they want to revive an atomic fuel swap deal that collapsed two years ago but is still seen by some experts as offering the best chance to start building badly needed trust.

Diplomats believe Iran has in the past overstated its nuclear progress to gain leverage in its standoff with Western capitals, and the testing of domestically made fuel does not mean the country is about to start using it to run reactors…….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/04/us-nuclear-iran-fuel-idUSTRE8030ND20120104

January 5, 2012 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

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