Nuclear ‘renaissance’ looking sicker than ever
Unraveling the Nuclear Renaissance http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/unraveling-the-nuclear-renaissance/?smid=tw-shareBy MATTHEW L. WALD Power plants are a bit like insect eggs. At the start, there are huge numbers, but few of them make it to adulthood.
The last few days may have seen the demise of two reactor projects that had looked promising a few years ago, when the economy was strong and people worried about the high price of natural gas and the possibility of a price on carbon emissions. But natural gas is at historic lows, carbon charges seem unlikely, and lately neither reactor project has looked likely.
On Wednesday, Exelon Corporation, the nation’s largest nuclear operator,threw in the towel on a planned twin-reactor project in Victoria County in Texas.
Texas is short of generating capacity, but it has vast amounts of natural gas and a highly competitive electric market, both of which make it hard to build a reactor.Exelon had not said exactly when it would build, but it took advantage of a provision in a reformed nuclear licensing system to seek early approval of a 11,500-acre site southeast of the city of Victoria. The licensing system now allows companies to get “early site permits” and “bank” the sites, and later match the preapproved site with a preapproved reactor design, potentially shortening the time between deciding to build a reactor and getting it into operation. Exelon was one of the first to try it out.
The company faced opposition from people who said there was not enough water in the area and that the ground was subject to subsidence that could wreck a cooling pond. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission might well have approved the site over these objections, but the company said the economics were not favorable.
On Thursday, a panel of administrative law judges ruled that Electricite de France could not proceed with a plant in Maryland, Calvert Cliffs 3.
That plant was originally a joint venture between Constellation Energy, which owned the adjacent Calvert Cliffs 1 & 2, and the French. But two years ago that consortium, called Unistar, fell apart when it could not obtain a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy on terms that Constellation found acceptable. (Constellation was later bought by Exelon.) Under an American law from the cold war era, reactors must be controlled by American entities. One purpose of the law was to keep American secrets in American hands, which may be inappropriate now since Electricite de France has more recent experience building power reactors than American companies do, and was seeking to build one of a French design.
The judges gave Electricite de France 60 days to show evidence that it was bringing in an American partner. After that, if it wanted to proceed it would have to redo some steps in the application process. But, like Texas, the economics in Maryland are similarly awful.
Two projects, each with two reactors, are under way, one in Georgia and one in South Carolina, but no additional groundbreakings seem very likely soon.
Uranium mining from the oceans doesn’t make financial sense
“…….. Ocean-mined uranium feasible, but not economical The Street By Resource Investing News 08/29/12 – If uranium buyers can’t find enough U308 on land, perhaps they can turn to the sea; or so say scientists from the University of Alabama and the American Chemical Society. “The ocean actually contains more uranium, although very dilute, than you can find in any land source in total,” said chemist Robin Rogers in a recent news conference, “which means we have a wonderful resource; it’s just always been very expensive to get it out.”
On and off over the past half century, scientists have been researching ways to extract uranium from seawater, but the process has always proved so costly and laborious that no one in the industry took it seriously. The US Department of Energy recently funded a project to develop a more cost-efficient process, and as a result researchers were able to decrease the cost estimate for ocean-mined uranium by over 46 percent to $300 per pound. Unfortunately, that’s five times costlier than traditional mining and a far cry from economical.
No sensible reason for Israel to attack Iran, following new nuclear report
New Iran Nuclear Report Should Not Be Signal to Attack Bloomberg, By the Editors Aug 31, 2012 The latest report on Iran’s nuclear program from the International Atomic Energy Agency gives ample ammunition to Israeli leaders who argue that they need to bomb now. The report confirms what we have long understood, that Iran is working to build a nuclear weapons capability.
But that’s all. The report doesn’t change the calculus about whether Israeli airstrikes would be the best way to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons effort, and it doesn’t say Iran is building a weapon. Continue reading
Analysts report on Non-Aligned summit in Iran
UN nuclear report wrongfoots Iran summit: analysts Google News 1 Sept 12, By Marc Burleigh (AFP) 1 Sept 12, TEHRAN — Iran’s hopes of boosting its international prestige by hosting a Non-Aligned summit this week were tripped up by a critical new UN nuclear watchdog report, analysts said.
The event, however, “enabled Iran to show it still has friends and trade partners despite international efforts to isolate it,” one analyst, Dina Esfandiary of Britain’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, told AFP.
Iranian officials and state media had hailed the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit on Thursday and Friday, with its 120 member states, as a diplomatic coup over the United States and its Western allies which have imposed economic sanctions and been leaning on other nations to treat Iran as a pariah.
Smack in the middle of it though, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its latest report on Iran that recorded an increase in the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges.
And it said a clean-up at a suspect military base in Parchin had “hampered” IAEA inspectors’ ability to determine whether explosives tests for warheads had taken place.
That paired with UN chief Ban Ki-moon in Tehran telling summit delegates and Iranian leaders that they had to comply with IAEA and UN resolutions, or else Iran faced being excluded from the international community and even risked war from Israel or the United States……. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hKRKsJf37BgV-AiY8yb-kuadC2og?docId=CNG.b86ceb10fe79b0a989936925ba7b5be2.701
Japanese renewable energy plan to eliminate nuclear power
Renewable energy plan sees no nukes Japan Times Sep. 1, 2012 Kyodo, Jiji Environment Minister Goshi Hosono released a new strategy Friday to boost power generation capacity by more than sixfold for four renewable energy categories by 2030 to make it possible to eliminate all nuclear power plants.
Announcing the promotion strategy after the day’s Cabinet meeting, Hosono said his ministry plans to increase the combined annual capacity of electricity generation using offshore wind, geothermal, biomass and tidal power sources to as much as 19.41 million kw by 2030, compared with 2.96 million kw in fiscal 2010.
Specific targets were set at 8.03 million kw for offshore wind power, 3.88 million kw for geothermal power, 6 million kw for biomass power, and 1.5 million kw for tidal power.
In fiscal 2010, offshore wind power generation totaled 30,000 kw, geothermal power 530,000 kw, biomass power 2.4 million kw and tidal power zero.
While the government is studying options to cut nuclear energy’s share of total power generation to zero, 15 percent, or 20 to 25 percent by 2030 in light of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the strategy is designed to allow for the zero percent option.
Hosono said floating ocean wind power generators should be developed by 2020 to achieve the target of generating the same output as eight nuclear reactors. … http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120901a1.html
Clean up Marshall Islands radioactive mess, Pacific leaders tell USA
Pacific leaders urge US on nuclear mess, Herald Sun, 31 Aug 12, PACIFIC leaders have used a joint communique to urge the US to clean up the mess left by nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands ….. A meeting of the 15-nation Pacific Island Forum (PIF) in the Cook Islands issued the communique after a leaders’ retreat, saying the United States, which tested 67 nuclear weapons in the Marshalls from 1946-1958, had a “special responsibility” on the issue.
The communique said radioactive contaminants were still present in the Marshalls and Washington should “live up to its full obligations” to remove them and compensate affected populations.
“(There is) a special responsibility by the United States of America towards the people of the Marshall Islands, who have been and continue to be, adversely affected as a direct result of nuclear weapons tests,” it said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in the Cook Islands later on Thursday and PIF leaders will have a chance to voice their concerns to her first-hand on Friday, when she meets them in the capital Avarua….
The communique also called for action on climate change, which threatens many of the low-lying island states, and marine conservation…….
They agreed that next year’s forum will be held in the Marshall Islands, which is set to place more pressure on the United States over its nuclear legacy.
A UN fact-finding mission to the northern Pacific nation found in March that test-affected islanders “feel like nomads in their own country” and had suffered long-term health problems for the Cold War-era nuclear program. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/pacific-leaders-urge-us-on-nuclear-mess/story-e6frf7k6-1226462698540
Who is going to pay up for Vogtle nuclear plant’s ballooning costs?
Georgia Power reports costs, challenges of Vogtle expansion Augusta Chronicle, By Rob Pavey , Aug 31, 2012 Plant Vogtle’s primary owner acknowledged Friday that many factors could increase the nuclear expansion’s $14 billion price tag but did not ask Georgia’s Public Service Commission to amend the project’s certified cost. Plant Vogtle’s primary owner acknowledged Friday that many factors could increase the nuclear expansion’s $14 billion price tag but did not ask Georgia’s Public Service Commission to amend the project’s certified cost….. Other future cost increases, the report said, could be driven by changes to the reactor design approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, taxes, additional backfill work at the site, and governmental mandates such as increased cyber security and physical security.
The owners also remain in a dispute with the contractor consortium, Stone & Webster and Westinghouse, over who is responsible for additional costs that could add as much as $425 million to Georgia Power’s share of the project. Georgia Power, which owns 45.7 percent of Plant Vogtle, has not accepted responsibility for those costs. … http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/local-business/2012-08-31/georgia-power-reports-costs-challenges-vogtle-expansion
Memorial to the nuclear workers whose job caused their deaths
Memorial to nuclear workers taking shape The Associated Press, Aug. 31, 2012 PADUCAH, Ky. — A memorial to nuclear industry workers during the Cold War is beginning to take shape in Paducah…. Nearly 81,000 nuclear industry workers became ill after working in hazardous environments between the end of World War II and the collapse of the former Soviet Union. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/31/4775563/memorial-to-nuclear-workers-taking.html#storylink=cpy
Secrecy and poor radiation monitoring in Japan’s, (and France’s) nuclear industry
Faced with an ongoing radioactivity which is contaminating Japan’s food and water supply, what should be done? The Nuclear Mafia’s ethos is silken sewn into the socio-political Kabuki theater of a post modern Japanese society, which seems helpless to save itself. Maybe Ambassador Matsumura, with his international political connections of good will, and the Skilled Veterans for Fukushima would be good people to turn to for advice.
The Nuclear Mafia Derails Democracy in Japan Dissident Voice, by Richard Wilcox / August 31st, 2012 “….The Nuclear Workforce French sociologist, Paul Jobin, “began research on Japanese and Taiwanese nuclear plant workers in 2002, mainly at Fukushima Daiichi,” and he did follow up interviews after the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
Jobin notes that:
* Subcontracting labor at nuclear plants in Japan began shortly after their creation, in the mid-1970s. “In France, this trend would develop after 1988, reaching a rate of 80% by 1992.”
* “According to NISA’s data, in 2009, Japan’s nuclear industry recruited more than 80,000 contract workers against 10,000 regular employees.”
* Part time employment is carried out in order to limit labor costs “whether in France or Japan, the nuclear industry nurtures a heavy culture of secrecy concerning the number of irradiated workers.” Continue reading
Nuclear power plants and weapons sites eminently suitable for terrorists
Rent-a-cops Guarding Nuclear Weapons http://lifeboat.com/blog/2012/08/rent-a-cops-guarding-nuclear-weapons by Gary Michael Church We spend hundreds of billions of dollars, a truly mind boggling amount of money, on defense.
Yet we guard the most dangerous material on Earth with faulty electronic devices and poorly trained private security guards.
Do we imagine that other nuclear nations are doing a better job than we are? Do we, as citizens of the U.S., realize what would happen if terrorist bombs began destroying our cities?
“Thomas D’Agostino, the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Energy Department branch responsible for U.S. nuclear weapons, said changes were underway after the incident.”
I am surprised he still has his job. If a natural disaster can cause a catastrophe like Fukushima, what could be accomplished intentionally? Nuclear power plants, with their
pools of spent fuel rods, are prime targets for nuclear terrorism.
Destroying a Nuclear power plant with a nuclear weapon would give you two for the price of one. Pick the right day with the wind strong and headed inland and thousands of square miles become uninhabitable.
Several major cities are sited downwind of nuclear power plants.
Activist nun has highlighted poor security at USA nuclear bomb plant
“Troubling ineptitude” in security at nuclear bomb plant By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON | Fri Aug 31, 2012 (Reuters) – Guards at a government plant for storing weapons-grade uranium failed to spot activists, including an 82-year-old nun, who cut through its fences until they walked up to an officer’s car and surrendered, an official report said on Friday.
The report from the Energy Department’s inspector general, Gregory Friedman, criticized multiple failures of sophisticated security systems and “troubling displays of ineptitude” at the Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in July.
Three anti-nuclear activists, including an 82-year-old nun, were not initially spotted or detained as they cut through three perimeter fences on July 28.
They painted slogans and threw what they said was human blood on the outer wall of a building where highly enriched uranium, a key component of nuclear bombs, is stored…. Top nuclear officials from the Energy Department will face scrutiny over the security breach from lawmakers on the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee on September …. Friedman’s report said the U.S. government had budgeted about $150 million in taxpayer funds for security at the Y-12 plant for fiscal 2012, yet the officer responding to the alarm did not notice the trespassers until they walked up to his car and “surrendered.”… http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-usa-security-nuclear-idUSBRE87U0WA20120831
Japan’s political problems delay appointment of a new nuclear regulatory agency
Nuclear panel limbo Renewable energy plan sees no nukes Japan Times Sep. 1, 2012 Kyodo, Jiji The Diet may not vote on appointments to the new nuclear regulatory
commission before the legislative session ends Sept. 8.
A vote is unlikely in the current session, a senior Diet affairs official in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan confirmed Thursday.
This is because some DPJ members, including ex-Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama, oppose appointing Shunichi Tanaka, former acting chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, as head of the regulatory body, describing him as pronuclear.
There is concern within the DPJ that forcing the votes could cause more lawmakers to quit the party.
Another DPJ executive said holding the votes would be difficult as the opposition parties have boycotted deliberations since the opposition-controlled Upper House passed a censure motion against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday.
The government has until Sept. 26 to set up the nuclear regulatory body. If the Diet doesn’t act, Noda has the power to appoint the commission’s members as a stopgap measure.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120901a1.html
Scandalous nuclear worker conditions in nuclear Japan
The Nuclear Mafia Derails Democracy in Japan Dissident Voice, by Richard Wilcox / August 31st, 2012 “…..Nuclear Situation Prime Minister Noda recently rejected protester’s requests to shut down the nuclear reactors. As the Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes told Noda in a face to face meeting, “[w]e the people do not believe you” regarding his empty promises to phase out nukes in the future. The Nuclear Mafia are restarting reactors even though they are unnecessary for electricity production. An overwhelming majority of people want to abolish nuclear power. Having contaminated the world with quadrillions of becquerels of radiation (petabecquerels), Tepco is under a pseudo nationalization process that funnels tax money into their pockets yet maintains their autonomy.
Worker Shortage A common practice among workers in nuclear plants is to hide their real exposure rate of radiation. Because there are legal limits of radiation exposure, workers will take off their dosimeters, or cover them with lead. In normal times in Japan workers could also migrate from one plant to the other without indicating previous work experience, and work “under the table.” How long it takes to get sick and or die from such a practice is anyone’s guess. Continue reading
Gregory Jaczko in Japan urging safety in nuclear matters
Former NRC Chairman Jaczko travels to Japan and urges transparency of nuclear regulators http://enformable.com/2012/08/former-nrc-chairman-jaczko-travels-to-japan-and-urges-transparency-of-nuclear-regulators/ Former United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko traveled to Japan this week, meeting Fukushima residents and stressing the importance of open dialogue and full information disclosure from the new nuclear safety agency which will be established in Japan after the March 11th nuclear disaster.
While speaking to Fukushima residents, Jaczko stated that nuclear power plants should not be operated if the safety laws cannot guarantee that a major accident requiring large-scale evacuations will not occur. Jaczko was also understanding of the recent protests after the restart of the Ohi nuclear reactors, adding that he feels that dialogue is important between the conflicting sides.
During he tenure as the NRC Chairman, Jaczko often pointed out that only through openness could the regulating agency best protect the environment and public safety.
On February 9, 2012 Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4-1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, saying “I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened”.
USA nuclear power plants should never have been built near earthquake faults
http://noyonews.net By Ed Oberweiser Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) have placed millions of California citizens in danger of a nuclear catastrophe on a par with Fukushima.
They’ve built nuclear power plants near earthquake faults capable of generating earthquakes that could damage the plants and irradiate millions of people. Continue reading
1 This Month
5 January -Webinar-What is Trump’s Golden Dome?
REGISTER AT Massachusetts Peace Action Education
New book – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1923372157?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Now until to February 10, 2026 Radioactive waste storage in France: the debate is finally open! How to participate?
-
Archives
- December 2025 (346)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (377)
- September 2025 (258)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
- May 2025 (261)
- April 2025 (305)
- March 2025 (319)
- February 2025 (234)
- January 2025 (250)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 