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Legal action – no confidence in USA’s nuclear Waste Confidence Rule

Beyond Nuclear files Nuke Waste Con Game contentions against 4 atomic reactors 12 July 12,  Beyond Nuclear has filed intervention contentions against a total of four atomic reactors (proposed new reactors at Grand Gulf Unit 3, MS and Fermi Unit 3, MIseeking construction and operating licenses, as well as degraded old reactors at Grand Gulf Unit 1, MSand Davis-Besse Unit 1, OH seeking 20 year license extensions) based on a recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling gutting the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) “Nuclear Waste Confidence Decision.”

That confidence game has been used against states, environmental groups, and concerned citizens for decades, blocking them from challening the generation of high-level radioactive waste in atomc reactor licensing proceedings, as the NRC has flippantly expressed “confidence” that storage on-site was safe for decades or even centuries, and that a geologic repository for permanently disposing of irradiated nuclear fuel was just over the horizon — despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Continue reading →

July 14, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Ski resorts taking climate change seriously, going to renewable energy

Ski resorts go renewable U.S. ski resorts tap renewable energy sources to combat climate change Action Sports  July 13, 2012,   By Jesse Huffman  As the volatility of the 2011-12 season made clear, the stake ski resort’s have in resolving climate change is a big one. Over the past three years, resorts like Bolton , Burke , Jiminy Peak  and Grouse Mountain  have installed wind turbines, while others have pursued efficiency updates, in an effort to take responsibly produce, and reduce, the power and heat involved in swinging chairs and heating lodges all winter long. Now, four more areas, from local ski hills in the Northeast to major resorts in the Rockies, have installed or invested in renewable power sources ranging from solar to biomass to coalmine methane.

Smuggler’s Notch  closed early this winter after a spring meltdown saw the highest March temperatures in Vermont’s history. The same solar energy that drove skiers and riders batty as it took away their snow is now being put to use by an array of 35 solar trackers, which collectively produce 205,000 kWh per year — around five percent of Smuggler’s total electrical use. The array provides enough juice for most of the resort’s Village Lodge. Continue reading →

July 14, 2012 Posted by | climate change, USA | Leave a comment

Police taking a tough line with Australian anti uranium protestors

“Whilst the police have publicly stated that our right to protest will be upheld, policing approaches to date have set an unreasonable precedent for depriving people of their civil liberties and their right to engage in political demonstration and communication,”

LIZARD’S REVENGE KICKS OFF AT OLYMPIC DAM  Saturday 14th July  Protestors continue to gather for the Lizards Revenge music and arts festival at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam uranium mine. The event officially begins today and is scheduled to run for the next five days. Continue reading →

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

Nuclear Plant Vogtle – escalating costs, delays, don’t augur well for nuclear industry

Most of the [USA’s nuclear power] projects have been delayed or scrapped due to the lower than expected demand for electricity, the inability to secure financing or because the utility decided a cheaper alternative, such as natural gas, was easier.

Delays, cost increases at nation’s new nuclear projects, By Kristi Swartz The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 13 July 12, Despite promises from the nuclear industry to regulators and consumers that they learned from mistakes of the past, the nation’s first two nuclear reactor projects built from scratch in 30 years are headed toward hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns and months, if not years, of delays.

Georgia Power customers currently are paying the financing costs of Plant Vogtle’s twin reactors. The impact of the early delays and budget increases at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle and South Carolina Electric & Gas’s Plant Summer will have on future nuclear projects is unclear. Continue reading →

July 14, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear capable missile tested by India

India tests nuclear-capable Agni-I missile South Asian News Agency (SANA) ⋅ July 13, 2012 ⋅  ALASORE,   India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile, with a strike range of 700 km, as part of the Army’s user trial from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast..

.. The trajectory of the missile, which has an operational strike range of 700 km, was tracked by sophisticated radars and electro-optic telemetry stations located along the sea coast and ships positioned near the impact point in the downrange area.

Weighing 12 tonnes, the 15-metre-long Agni-I, which can carry payloads up to 1000 kg, has already been inducted into the Indian Army. http://www.sananews.net/english/india-tests-nuclear-capable-agni-i-missile/

July 14, 2012 Posted by | India, weapons and war | Leave a comment

90 cancer victims bring lawsuit against nuclear power plant operators

Patricia Ameno, a plaintiff in a previous round of litigation, told Post-Gazette reporter Rich Lord that, due to health problems, “A lot of people have lost not only their entire savings but their homes.”
Families have been torn apart by illnesses and deaths, she said.

Radioactive: Revelations on nuclear plants sound a warning http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/radioactive-revelations-on-nuclear-plants-sound-a-warning-633299/#ixzz20deylWXd July 3, 2012 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Like a dark family secret long suspected but never confirmed, the shock of discovery is all the more lurid for coming into the light years later. So it is with the news of radioactive material released into the air — at levels higher than any seen in the nation — at closed nuclear fuels plants in Armstrong County.

Incredulity feeds the first reaction: Surely this could not have happened. But apparently it did, according to good authority. That would be Joseph P. Ring, a Harvard University radiation safety officer who teaches at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts. He
wrote a 37-page report that was filed Tuesday as part of federal lawsuits brought against plant operators Babcock & Wilcox Co. and Atlantic Richfield Co. by about 90 cancer victims. Continue reading →

July 14, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

USA exempting uranium mining on federal lands from environmental reviews

Republicans push through mining deregulation bill http://www.nuclearfreeplanet.org/articles/republicans-push-through-mining-deregulation-bill.html  7-13-2012   Joined by only 22 Democrats, Republicans successfully pushed through a bill allowing uranium mining on federal lands to be exempted from “formal environmental reviews. Also included in the exemption would be copper, silver, and gold. Rep. Ed Markey (Dem-MA) accused the Republicans  of “actually appear[ing] to be trying to usher in a new stone age,” saying the bill was “a pretext for gutting environmental protections relating to virtually all mining operations” and “a GOP giveaway game show here on the House floor.”
Rep. Rush Holt, Democrat- NJ joined Ed Markey in saying: “It has almost nothing to do with national strategic critical minerals production… Make no mistake, this is a giveaway… It is free mining, no royalties, no protection of public interest, exemption from royalty payments, near exemption from environmental regulations, near exemption from legal enforcement of the protections.”


LARRY MARGASAK (AP) l Seattle Times l 12 Juy 2012

Republicans pushed a bill through the House Thursday that allows the government to exempt gold, copper, silver and uranium mining on federal land from formal environmental reviews…

Read full text

July 14, 2012 Posted by | environment, politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

France stressing diplomacy in approach to Iran nuclear issue

Hollande highlights importance of dialogue about Iran nuclear issue Tehran Times, 13 July 12, TEHRAN – French President Francois Hollande has highlighted the importance of dialogue between Iran and the six major powers about the country’s nuclear issue.

Hollande made the remarks during a meeting with new Iranian ambassador to France, Ali Ahani, on Wednesday. He also said that France is closely monitoring the process of talks
between Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) while respecting the Islamic Republic’s independence.   …..
http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/99558-hollande-highlights-importance-of-dialogue-about-iran-nuclear-issue

July 14, 2012 Posted by | France, politics international | Leave a comment

Concern over move to increase permitted radiation in landfill

Residents who attended said they were concerned that the meeting was rubber-stamping the permit, which would increase the landfill’s acceptable limit from 10 microrem to as much as 140 microrem.

Permit change to raise radiation level in landfill incites foes, Trib Live News, by Stacey Feredoff, 13 july 12,  Some South Huntingdon residents oppose a permit change for a local landfill to accept a higher level of radiation in waste.  Continue reading →

July 14, 2012 Posted by | environment, USA | Leave a comment

Decentralised renewable energy is the answer to USA electricity outages

Renewable energy sources are the answer to power outages.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-power-outages-20120713,0,5572931.story  Brent Flickinger Much has been said about the power outages caused by recent storms, but one thing rarely mentioned is the importance of getting people off the electrical grid.

It’s a national security issue when so many people are rendered helpless in a neighborhoods because their electrical power all comes from the local utility. The government should continue to offer incentives for households to install solar panels, wind turbines or geothermal systems of whatever size. It would help if even one or two people on a block had an energy
source besides the grid.

Generators are one option, though they are noisy and still depend on fossil fuel. But renewable energy sources such as solar and wind give communities a measure of both energy independence and resilience. Our future depends on as swift a transition to renewables as possible.

July 14, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, USA | Leave a comment

Charges on conspiracy to sell uranium to Iran

Iranian Charged With Illegal Nuclear Shipments Via China Bloomberg, By Emily Grannis – Jul 13 An Iranian and a Chinese resident were charged with conspiring to sell uranium and cobalt to Iran, and successfully shipping lathes and alloy wire, using a Chinese company to evade U.S. export controls…..
Today’s indictment follows charges filed in federal court in Manhattan yesterday against another Iranian national accused of illegally exporting $390,000 worth of industrial parts to Dubai and sending them on to Iran. The case is U.S. v. Khaki, 12-cr-00061, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-13/iranian-charged-with-illegal-nuclear-shipments-via-china.html

July 14, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Dangerous experimental process to remove fuel rods from Fukushima’s No.4 nuclear reactor

Fuel rods to be removed from No. 4 fuel pool   Ene News — Concerns about sea water damage — Special container so fuel doesn’t going critical — Test date not revealed ‘for security reasons’ July 13th, 2012  the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will soon start test runs for removing fuel rods from a storage pool of the No. 4 reactor.

Removal Procedure A crane will be used to pull each of the 2 rods out of the pool, and then place them in a special container on the 5th floor of the reactor building.

The container will prevent the fuel from going critical.

Another crane will lower the container to the ground, where a truck will take it to a facility called a “common pool.”
Four cables will be used to prevent the container from falling.

Damage to Metal Container?   TEPCO will also check if there’s any damage to the metal container used to store the fuel rods. This is a concern because seawater was used to cool the reactor after last year’s accident.

Security Reasons TEPCO says it cannot reveal the date of the test for security reasons.
http://enenews.com/fuel-rods-to-be-removed-from-no-4-fuel-pool-concerns-about-sea-water-damage-special-container-so-fuel-doesnt-going-critical-date-not-revealed-for-security-reasons

July 13, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, Reference, safety | Leave a comment

3,400 damaged steam generator tubes in San Onofre nuclear power plant!

US nuclear plant problem worse than thought: report Google News 13 July 12 LOS ANGELES — US nuclear regulators published an update on California’s troubled San Onofre power plant Thursday, sparking an expert warning that the problem is more serious than first thought.

A reactor at the nuclear power plant near San Diego was shut down in January after a radiation leak, although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said there was no danger to the public.
Investigations found unexpected erosion on tubes that carry radioactive water, and the entire plant was shut down, forcing Californian authorities to fire up alternative power generation
facilities.
On Thursday, an update on the tube erosion, posted on an obscure part of the NRC’s website, showed the situation had worsened. “This reveals a far greater problem than has been previously disclosed, and raises serious questions about whether it is safe to restart either unit,” said Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear expert at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The new data shows that more than 3,400 steam generator tubes in the new steam generators at San Onofre have been found to be damaged — about 1,800 in Unit 3 and 1,600 in Unit 2 — he said……. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hn3SqZ5jtiFKISpfeEx8GsQRTzfA?docId=CNG.f9be015e81629b87f9e150d82ec26f2f.761

July 13, 2012 Posted by | Reference, safety, USA | Leave a comment

Time that Japan’s media covered public anti nuclear movement

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda had disregarded the will of the people when he ordered the restart of reactors at the western Oi plant the day after receiving a petition of 7.5 million names.

 Japanese media in general should be more active in covering the demonstrations, including those that have taken place outside the prime minister’s office every Friday.
“Before March 11 (last year), all the media played the role of supporting the myth of nuclear safety… It is important for media to be aware of and make known what citizens want in this movement,”

Japan govt, media colluded on nuclear: Nobel winner http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hG6h3G7rcakPrCAdnw_l90r1U6DA?docId=CNG.427d33cc188c7ac8e827e556ac125a3a.891 (AFP) – 12 July 12,  TOKYO — Nobel-winning author Kenzaburo Oe said Japan’s post-war government and media colluded to give nuclear power a stranglehold, as activists readied for what they hope will be the biggest rally in decades. Continue reading →

July 13, 2012 Posted by | Japan, media | Leave a comment

Rundown on world’s nuclear energy situation, and I do mean DOWN

India’s nuclear march of folly http://wrd.mydigitalfc.com/op-ed/india%E2%80%99s-nuclear-march-folly-012 By Praful Bidwai,  Jul 11 2012 HOLLOWMEN: Blind to the perils of nuclear reactors, India continues its ‘March of Folly’, even as it seeks untested reactors, with potentially dangerous consequences, such as the disaster in Fukushima.

All those, including Indian policymakers, who nurture the illusion that nuclear power is the energy source of the future and will flourish despite the Fukushima disaster, increasingly adverse atomic economics, and widespread social and political opposition, would do
well to read the just-released World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR) 2012 (http://www.­worldnuclearreport.org). Continue reading →

July 13, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Reference | Leave a comment

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