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USA and North Korea to resume talks

U.S. to Meet North Koreans for New Talks By STEVEN LEE MYERS NYT,  February 13, 2012  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced on Monday that it would hold its first talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program since the death of the
country’s leader, Kim Jong-il, in December.

The talks, to be held in Beijing on Feb. 23, will be the third since last summer to explore the
possibility of resuming negotiations to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear arsenal. They will offer a chance to gauge whether Mr. Kim’s son and successor as supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, is more open, to diplomacy.

The United States, along with South Korea, Japan, Russia and China, has called on North Korea to suspend activities at its nuclear sites and allow international inspectors to verify a freeze as a condition for resuming talks on a broader agreement that would provide economic
and other assistance in exchange for dismantling the weapons program…. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/world/asia/united-states-to-hold-talks-with-north-korea-on-nuclear-program.html

February 14, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

Huge expense to extend life of France’s nuclear reactors, but cheaper than new ones

France to extend life of nuclear reactors beyond 40 years, M & C, Feb 12, 2012, Paris – French President Nicolas Sarkozy has decided to extend the life of the country’s 58 nuclear reactors beyond 40 years, Industry Minister Eric Besson said Sunday. France’s nuclear reactors were built with a 40-year life span in mind, but the nuclear safety authority can decide, on a case-by-case basis, to extend the life of a reactor.
‘The decision has been taken,’ Besson said, while acknowledging that the ASN had the final say….

.. EDF says to extend the life of a reactor would cost between 680 million euros (896 million dollars) and 860 million euros, a fraction of the cost of building a new reactor.

France gets three-quarters of its electricity from nuclear plants. A number of European countries, including Germany, pulled the plug on nuclear power in the wake of last year’s nuclear disaster in Japan but Sarkozy remains a staunch champion of atomic energy..

…. The role of nuclear power in the energy mix is a subject of debate in this year’s
presidential campaign. Sarkozy’s main challenger, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, has
pledged to reduce the share of nuclear in the energy mix to 50 per cent by 2025….
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/news/article_1690615.php/France-to-extend-life-of-nuclear-reactors-beyond-40-years

February 14, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

Thorium nuclear reactors – not all they’re cracked up to be

What you then get, as well as heat energy, radiation, and fission products from the Plutonium and Uranium, is U232. U232 (and its decay products) emit very hard gamma radiation.

  will anyone really trust the nuclear lobby when it says ‘we have the answer’, as so often before?

Nuclear Problems, Environmental Research Web, 12 Feb 12,”……With uranium fired reactors out of favour after Fukushima, for the longer term, some in the nuclear lobby have been promoting thorium as an allegedly safer fuel- looking at molten flouride salt systems.

The Weinberg Foundation was launched last year to promote the Liquid Flouride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) Continue reading →

February 14, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, Reference, safety, technology, Uranium | Leave a comment

Anti nuclear campaign against Hinkley nuclear site

 Anti-nuclear campaigners set up camp at Hinkley  C site, BBC News 12 Feb 12, Protesters have set up camp in an abandoned farm on the site of the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset.

They are angry West Somerset Council has given EDF Energy the go-ahead for preparatory work before planning permission has been granted…. The South West Against Nuclear protesters arrived at the site in the early hours of Sunday……
A planning application for a new power station was submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) in October. Further public consultation is taking place and a final decision will be made by the energy secretary.

Protester Zoe Stone said: “We are concerned EDF’s preliminary works are going to destroy a protected nature reserve, a site of Special Scientific Interest and all before they even have planning permission to build a power station….. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-17002517

February 14, 2012 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

Iowa’s surplus electricity – more evidence it doesn’t need nuclear power

Opponents Question Need For Iowa Nuclear Plant, KCCI.com February 12, 2012 DES MOINES, Iowa –– Lawmakers and advocacy groups are questioning whether a nuclear energy bill is necessary to address electricity needs.
MidAmerican Energy is pursuing legislation allowing the company to recover costs related to a nuclear plant regardless of whether it’s completed. The Iowa Utilities Board would need to sign off before a plant could be built.
But data show Iowa’s electrical supply has grown more than twice as fast as consumption since 2000, and the state has gone from a net importer of electricity to a net exporter over that time…. opponentssay its further evidence that the state doesn’t need a nuclear plant.
http://www.kcci.com/news/30438803/detail.html#ixzz1mIw8TkOz

February 14, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

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