nuclear-news

“Repository” Russia for German Depleted Uranium

Published on 14/12/2012

Translated from German

IPPNW Blog

The Russian environmentalist and nuclear power opponent Olga Podosenowa, spokeswoman for the environmental group “Ecodefense” in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals

The Russian environmentalist and nuclear power opponent Olga Podosenowa, spokeswoman for the environmental group “Ecodefense” in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals, lives just 60 miles away from the closed Novouralsk. After Novouralsk 1996-2009 depleted nuclear waste from Gronau arrived in NRW. The total Gronau sent during this period was 27,000 tons of nuclear waste to four Russian cities. How much of that came after Novouralsk, however, is a mystery. We can not investigate this question in Novouralsk, this is still a closed city that was not even allowed toe be entered by Russian citizens.In a conversation I had with Ms. Podosenova we discussed the difficult working conditions of Russian environmentalists and explained why Russia’s environmental movement urgently needs the solidarity of its Western partners.

Ms. Podosenova, you live in the immediate vicinity of Novouralsk, one is of four Russian cities, stored in the depleted uranium from Gronau in North Rhine-Westphalia. Since when do you know that is your neighbor city German nuclear waste?
2004 our group “Ecodefense” learn from our European colleagues that, since 1996, shipments of depleted uranium in the “Electrochemical Combine Urals” in my neighborhood of Novouralsk, a closed city ,allegedly goes for further processing, but is actually being stored. And only 10% of the material supplied by Novouralsk was returned to Germany, the rest remains lying on the ground, where it is stored in the open air. No sooner had we learned from these journeys, we went to the public. We organized camps were held in the immediate vicinity of the places that nuclear waste from Germany came: in Angarsk, Tomsk and near Novouralsk. Environmentalists in Germany and Russia turned simultaneously to the competent public prosecutor, we protested in front of the German Embassy and German consulates.

In what condition is this garbage?
Garbage stored in Novouralsk. Novouralsk is a closed city, there was barbed wire around it, also Russian citizens can visit this city only with a special permit. And thus have a special permit neither environmentalists nor we get independent experts. Against this background, we turned to the public prosecutor, urged them to find out how the garbage is stored. And 2006, we received a response from the prosecution, which is not very reassuring. You have, be determined as the prosecution of the Sverdlovsk region, that technical requirements have been breached for storage, and have called on the leaders to address these shortcomings.In the following decades, the management tried to pacify the population. There, the company’s management, no cause for alarm. But we can not verify that, and we dont believe them either. We  have assumed that the waste remains in stainless containers stored in the open air.

And who is responsible for the storage of the German uranium hexafluoride in Novouralsk?

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December 19, 2012 Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

USA Concentrated Solar Power – huge potential

Solar developers have shown that they are able to deploy far greater amounts, and can now develop at a scale unforeseen by policymakers.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)  targets in the U.S. Where to from here? Concentrated Solar Power  Today By Jenny Muirhead   Dec 13, 2012
In the U.S. it has been state level mandates requiring renewable energy that have driven the growth of renewables over the last ten years, including CSP.
But as more and more states reach those first targets, the solar industry is beginning to butt up against what feels more like limits to growth than mandates requiring more. By Susan Kraemer

How much of a hit will the American CSP industry take and what are some of the options being discussed? Continue reading →

December 19, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment