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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Design for recycling rare earths is urgently needed

 “The situation clearly calls for international policy initiatives to minimize the seemingly bizarre situation of spending large amounts of technology, time, energy and money to acquire scarce metals from the mines and then throwing them away after a single use.”

Yale Researchers Call for Specialty Metals Recycling http://environment.yale.edu/news/article/yale-researchers-call-for-specialty-metals-recycling/ 25 Sept 12 An international policy is needed for recycling scarce specialty metals that are critical in the production of consumer goods,
according to Yale researchers in Science.

“A recycling rate of zero for specialty metals is alarming when we consider that their use is growing quickly,” said co-author Barbara Reck, a research scientist at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Specialty metals, which include rare earth elements such as indium, gallium and germanium, account for more than 30 of the 60 metals in the periodic table. Because they are used in small amounts for very precise technological purposes, such as red phosphors, high-strength magnets, thin-film solar cells and computer chips, recovery can be so technologically and economically challenging that the attempt is seldom made. Continue reading →

September 25, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, RARE EARTHS, Reference, technology, Uranium | 1 Comment

Uranium not a wise investment

the message remains that Japan is moving away from nuclear power in a big way.

Japan’s decision can only be described as a huge one with major effects on commodities markets….. [Japan’s]  loss will negatively affect demand for uranium 

That may mean more years of grief for long-suffering Cameco shareholders.

 investors would be smart to invest in the companies benefiting from the change, rather than hoping that somehow nuclear power makes a big comeback.

Japan Says Sayonara to Nuclear Power The Motley Fool, By Tony Daltorio – September 24, 2012 It is 18 months since the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and finally, the Japanese government has made a decision about the future of nuclear power in the country. The government has stated that it will phase out nuclear power entirely by 2040. This would make Japan the second major country, after Germany, to announce such a withdrawal from nuclear power. Continue reading →

September 25, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Japan’s new nuclear safety agency dumps the previous hastily made “stress tests”

New nuclear watchdog to dump reactor stress tests http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120925c1.html Kyodo Japan’s new nuclear watchdog plans to disregard the stress tests used by its predecessor for the reactor reactivation process because it
plans to create fresh criteria for the task, Nuclear Regulation Authority chief Shunichi Tanaka said Monday.

“We will not use ‘stress tests’ as our judgment criteria,” Tanaka said in an interview,
referring to the two-stage safety examination that the government slapped together to push through reactor restarts in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in March last year, fearing summer power outages.

Utilities seeking to restart reactors have already submitted the results of their first-phase stress tests to the NRA’s predecessor, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. NISA was to check the results.

Of the nation’s 50 viable commercial reactors, results on 30 have been submitted. In July, Kansai Electric Power Co.’s two reactors at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture became the first to be reactivated since the crisis.

But Tanaka’s remarks mean the utilities will have to go back to square one to restart their reactors.

Tanaka emphasized that he has “no intention” to decide on whether the stress test results so far submitted are proper.

The NRA, launched earlier this month as part of efforts to improve regulation in light of the Fukushima crisis, plans to formulate new safety standards within 10 months.

September 25, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

USA Greens – part of a global movement

The U.S. Greens are part of a global movement of Green Parties in almost 90 countries, reflecting a shared commitment to heal our planet that transcends national identities and political boundaries. Greens have been elected to thousands of seats around the globe in local, regional, national and international parliaments.
Global Greens Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/globalgreens

September 25, 2012 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Four Greens candidates endorsed in Arizona

Arizona Greens Endorse Four Candidates September 24, 2012 in Congressional Campaigns, State Party News    Phoenix, AZ—The Arizona Green Party (AZGP) has endorsed four candidates for the 2012 General Election. All of the candidates were vetted and interviewed at least twice by members of the AZGP State Committee. In order to receive an endorsement, prospective Green Party candidates must show support for the Green Party Ten Key Values and national Green Party-US Platform. The following candidates have been endorsed:

September 25, 2012 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New Zealand still will not allow USA’s nuclear ships in its ports

No backdown on nuclear-free NZ: Key Herald Sun AAP   September 24, 2012 NEW Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key is promising there will be no backdown on the country’s nuclear-free status as part of renewedco-operation with the United States.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta visited New Zealand last week, and raised the possibility of having US troops based here…… During his visit, Mr Panetta announced New Zealand navy vessels will be able visit Defence Department and Coastguard facilities in the US and around the world.

Mr Key has also invited a US Coastguard vessel to visit New Zealand – as long as it’s not nuclear-powered.
“There’ll be no change to New Zealand’s anti-nuclear legislation, no change to the provisions about boats that would come to New Zealand,” he told TVNZ’s Breakfast…… http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/no-backdown-on-nuclear-free-nz-key/story-e6frf7k6-1226479988638

September 25, 2012 Posted by | New Zealand, politics international | 1 Comment

USA’s problem seeking safe disposal of uranium 233

Uranium Substitute Is No Longer Needed, but Its Disposal May Pose Security Risk   http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/us/uranium-233-disposal-proves-a-problem.html     By MATTHEW L. WALD  September 23, 2012 WASHINGTON — At the dawn of the civilian nuclear age in the 1950s, one of the pressing questions was how to find enough fuel for reactors and bombs. The government and the private sector seized on a man-made substitute for natural uranium, producing about 3,400 pounds of an exotic and expensive material called uranium 233.
Today, the problem is how to safely get rid of it. Continue reading →

September 25, 2012 Posted by | Reference, Uranium, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Radiation medicine scandal in France

French trial opens on cancer radiation scandal, France 24, 25 SEPTEMBER 2012  Radiophysicist Joshua Anah along with two doctors, is accused of involuntary homicide, not helping people in danger and destroying evidence arising from radiation overdoses given to nearly 450 cancer patients in a French hospital.

AFP – Two doctors and a radio physicist were due to go on trial Monday on manslaughter charges arising from radiation overdoses given to nearly 450 cancer patients in a French hospital. At least seven people died as a result of overdoses administered to patients at the Jean Monnet hospital in Epinal in northeastern France between 2001 and 2006.

At least 24 people treated between May 2004 and August 2005 received 20 percent more radiation than they should have due to a calibration error.

Another dysfunction led to 424 people being overdosed by between eight and 10 percent in the period spanning 2001 and 2006. Many of the victims were being treated for prostrate cancer.

Scores of victims are due to testify from Monday until October 31, some of them by video-link because they are too ill to attend court. The two doctors, Jean-Francois Sztermer, 64, Michel Aubertel, 62, and radio physicist Joshua Anah, 54, are accused of involuntary homicide, not helping people in danger and destroying evidence.

Three health executives are also in the dock on charges of not helping people in danger…..http://www.france24.com/en/20120925-french-trial-opens-cancer-radiation-scandal

September 25, 2012 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

Russia’s Missile Force, Air Force, Navy can’t agree on a unified nuclear command plan

Russian military dumps Unified Nuclear Command plan: Report
http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/russian-military-dumps-unified-nuclear-command-plan-report_801650.html , September 25, 2012, Moscow: Russian Defence Ministry has abandoned plans to set up a unified command structure for
the country’s nuclear triad, according to Izvestia newspaper.

As a result, each major branch of the armed forces — the Strategic Missile Forces (SMF), the Air Force and the Navy — will retain control over its own triad component, the daily reported, citing an unidentified source in the ministry.

In the absence of any official statement from the ministry, the paper suggested that the decision might result from an unresolved internal struggle for leadership within the new structure.

The creation of a unified strategic nuclear command has been one option under consideration by the Russian military since late 1990s. The idea’s proponents, including former SMF commander Col. Gen. Viktor Yesin, argue it would streamline both the development and the deployment of Russia’s nuclear triad.

The plan envisioned the direct subordination of the command to the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

According to the latest official figures, Russia has 494 deployed launchers for land, sea and air-based missiles armed with 1,492 warheads.

September 25, 2012 Posted by | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Uranium smuggling n former Soviet Union

Loose Nuke Smugglers Caught With Uranium
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/09/loose-nuke-smugglers-caught-in-former-soviet-region/ MOSCOW — Seven individuals were reportedly arrested for allegedly trafficking uranium and weapons in a breakaway region of Moldova.
The unnamed group had been detained last week in the separatist enclave of Transnistria, according to Moldova’s interior ministry, Reuters reported.
The group had allegedly been involved in shipments of hand grenades, Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers, and even containers of uranium-235, which could be used to produce a nuclear bomb. The ministry provided no further details about the uranium shipment or its origin, according to Reuters.
The United States has been very concerned about loose nuclear material being trafficked through parts of the former Soviet Union.
This is not the first reported case of uranium-235 smuggling in Transnistria. In June, 2011 Moldovan police reportedly arrested six members of a criminal group for trying to peddle one kilogram of uranium-235 for about $38 million. That nuclear material had allegedly
been sourced in Russia. Three of those individuals were convicted last May.

September 25, 2012 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | Leave a comment

Uranium industry not viable: production costs exceed revenue

Nuclear Energy’s Limp Causing Uranium Prices to Stumble Forbes 24 Sept 12 When the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactors, they also took down the price of uranium. The hesitance to resume nuclear operations not only in Japan but also elsewhere in the world has caused the demand for the nuclear feedstock to diminish.

Indeed, uranium prices have fallen from about $68 a ton before the nuclear crisis to $47 a ton as of September 2012, which is the lowest they have been in two years. ….
“Overall, the uranium market conditions continues to be in wait and see mode as utilities are generally well covered for the next few years, and suppliers are similarly heavily committed,” says Cameco, in its quarterly report to shareholders.
It’s expected to be a long two or three years before uranium prices pick back up. Earlier this month, Japan’s government said that it would end its use of nuclear energy by 2030. Meantime, Germany has said it would also phase out its nuclear program while Italy and
Switzerland have expressed similar sentiments.

Cameco, for example, has said that uranium prices must reach their pre-Fukushima levels before development would become profitable.
Meanwhile, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance just said that it would cease production at one of its Australian mines, noting that it was no long a viable concern in today’s pricing environment. BHP says that production costs exceed revenue from product sales.

September 25, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment