2012 July 06 « nuclear-news

Laser enrichment technology can promote the spread of nuclear weapons

a tension between the United States’ goal of safely commercializing nuclear-power technology and its efforts to control the proliferation of nuclear materials. ”When there’s a conflict, generally speaking, the policy to spread nuclear technology overrides the non-proliferation policy.”

Laser-based uranium enrichment plant sparks controversy 07/05/2012 Laser Focus World by Gail Overton Senior Editor Washington, DC–A July 4 Nature news story from Sharon Weinberger says that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to open a plant that uses laser-based uranium enrichment will be considered in private. Although the controversial laser uranium-enrichment technology is on the cusp of making it cheaper to create fuel for nuclear power plants, some non-proliferation experts are concerned that the efficiency of the laser-based technology will also smooth the path for bomb makers. Continue reading →

July 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Reference, technology, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Report points to earthquake as cause of Fukushima nuclear catastrophe

The 641-page report criticized Tepco as being too quick to dismiss earthquake damage as a cause of the fuel meltdowns at three of the plant’s six reactors, which overheated when the site lost power.

Inquiry Declares Fukushima Crisis a Man-Made Disaster, NYT, By HIROKO TABUCHI, July 5, 2012 TOKYO — The nuclear accident at Fukushima was a preventable disaster rooted in government-industry collusion and the worst conformist conventions of Japanese culture, a parliamentary inquiry concluded Thursday. Kyodo News, via Associated Press
The report, released by the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, challenged some of the main story lines that the government and the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have put forward. Most notably, the report said the plant’s crucial cooling systems might have been damaged in the earthquake on
March 11, 2011, not only in the ensuing tsunami.

That possibility raises doubts about the safety of all the quake-prone country’s nuclear plants just as they begin to restart after a pause ordered in the wake of the Fukushima crisis…… Continue reading →

July 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2012, Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Court judgment makes USA, not Australia, the leader in cutting carbon emissions

Three judges –two Democrats and one Republican – upheld the EPA’s right to regulate greenhouse emissions under the Clean Air Act.

Result? No new coal-fired power stations! Under the Clean Air Act, carbon emissions are limited to 1,000 pounds of CO₂per MW hour of power produced.

the United States has pledged a much more responsible cut of 17 per cent by 2020,

EPA Clean Air to end coal in the US http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/politics/epa-clean-air-to-end-coal-in-the-us/ 4 July, 2012 Last week, in a milestone announcement that went largely unreported in Australia, the US Court of Appeals upheld the EPA’s right to regulate greenhouse emissions under the Clean Air Act. Today is the 4th July and Independent Australia believes this decision is cause to celebrate. Environment editor Sandi Keane reports. Continue reading →

July 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, Legal, USA | Leave a comment

The fight to shut down San Onofre nuclear power plant goes mainstream

it’s not just Helen Caldicott and the local no-nukes activists. They have now been joined by powerful mainstream voices, including the Los Angeles Times editorial page

Leading the fight to shut down San Clemente have been locals Gary Headrick of San Clemente Green, Gene Stone of Residents Organized for a Safe Environment and Donna Gilmore of San Onofre Safety, along with Dan Hirsch of the Committee to Bridge the Gap. They’ve gotten help from Arnie Gundersen and Friends of the Earth and of course Helen Caldicott. Activists have held rallies, spoken at official meetings and petitioned the NRC and Congress.

It’s hard to disagree with the conclusion of LA Times editorial: “Now is the perfect time for Edison, and the state as a whole, to begin the planning for a non-nuclear future.”

‘Shut Down San Onofre’: The New Front Line in the Fight Against Nuclear Power http://www.thenation.com/blog/168746/shut-down-san-onofre-new-front-line-fight-against-nuclear-power# Jon Wiener on July 5, 2012 Not long after the meltdown at Fukushima, workers at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, north of San Diego, discovered radioactive steam leaking into the air. Hundreds of steam tubes had been banging together and vibrating, until one of them sprung a leak, investigators said. And the tubes had been installed less than two years ago. Continue reading →

July 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, USA | Leave a comment

USA experiencing ‘brutal’, unprecedented heat wave

the center of the country will experience high temperatures for the next several weeks, possibly into August.

More than 2,000 heat records matched or broken http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/65842 5 July 12, Joseph O’Leary More than 2,000 temperature records have been matched or broken in the past week as a brutal heat wave baked much of the United States, and June saw more than 3,200 records topped, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Monday. Continue reading →

July 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, USA | Leave a comment

Gregory Jaczko urges Nuclear Regulatory Commission to put safety ahead of costs

Mr. Jaczko said the [nuclear safety] changes were necessary for safety and the NRC should require operators to make them, regardless of cost

U.S. Nuclear Regulator: Agency Divided on Japan Response By RYAN TRACY 5 July 12 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303684004577509021876463962.html WASHINGTON—The departing chief U.S. nuclear regulator said U.S. officials still can’t agree on a response to Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi accident and urged his successor to “keep the pressure on” the nuclear industry. Continue reading →

July 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Uranium mine danger to world heritage park in Tanzania

Tanzania gets U.N. nod for uranium mine in game park DAR ES SALAAM, July 5 (Reuters) – Tanzania has received U.N. approval for Australia-based miner Mantra Resources to build a $400 million uranium mine in a world heritage game reserve despite pressure from environmental groups opposed to the project, it said on Thursday.

Green groups have warned that toxic mining activities at the plant would harm the ecologically sensitive Selous Game Reserve in the east African country… http://af.reuters.com/article/tanzaniaNews/idAFL6E8I57YN20120705

July 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AFRICA, environment, Uranium | Leave a comment