Will USA’s EPA continue allow radioactive wastes to be injected into groundwater
The situation at Christensen Ranch underscores the overlaying problem of the sheer number of underground waste and injection wells. According to the UIC Well Inventory of 2011, there are 659,345 injection wells across the nation. Even in water-strapped states like California there exist a staggering 67,302 underground waste wells
former EPA officials are concerned of well leaks and that completely removing pollutants from water is not possible.
EPA Approved Underground Waste Dumping for 
Uranium Mine Giant IVN, By Christopher Davis-Garland | 01/04/2013 | ProPublica recently published journalist Abraham Lustgarten’s special project series covering injection wells. The latest story in the series converges on Christensen Ranch in Wyoming where industry giant Uranium One mines for uranium and disposes of its waste in an aquifer with EPA permission.
Nuclear Power – Never Again! says German Minister
German minister says ‘never again’ to nuclear power The Economic Times, BERLIN 4 Jan 13, : German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said Friday his country would never again return to nuclear energy, hitting back at a top EU official who doubted Berlin’s commitment to phase out nuclear power.
“I cannot see any plausible political line-up that would enable a revival of nuclear power in Germany,” Altmaier told Friday’s edition of the Leipziger Volkszeitung regional daily.
Despite the anti wind energy bluster, wind energy is the best deal for Ontario
Wind energy is
the smarter long-term choice based on cost, environmental protection,
and wider sharing of benefits to rural communities.
At its current rate of 11.5 cents per kWh in Ontario, wind energy is
cost-competitive with virtually all other new sources of electricity
generation.
While some politicians and a group of highly motivated anti-wind
activists have worked hard to discredit wind energy, the benefits and
attributes of the world’s fastest-growing major source of electricity
speak loud and clear.
Wind energy is a better deal for Ontario than new nuclear
http://www.thespec.com/opinion/columns/article/863783–wind-energy-is-a-better-deal-for-ontario-than-new-nuclear
Chris Forrest Jan 04 2013 Last year, 2012, saw wind energy’s
contribution of clean power to Canada’s electricity supply grow by
nearly 20 per cent to just over 6,200 megawatts (mw) of installed
capacity, maintaining Canada’s position as one of the world’s leading
wind energy markets.
Every 1,000 mw of new wind energy drives $2.5 billion in investment,
creates 10,500 person-years of employment, and provides enough clean
power for more than 300,000 Canadian homes. New wind energy projects
have been commissioned in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec,
Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Nova Scotia in 2012. Ontario
continues to lead the country with more than 2,000 mw of installed
wind energy capacity now in place. Continue reading
Nuclear energy company EDF launches wind energy project
France’s EDF launches its first wind farm in Poland
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/67517
04-Jan-13
Country: POLAND
Author: Agnieszka Barteczko
French power company EDF has launched its first wind farm in Poland, a
48 megawatt (MW) facility located in the northern part of the country,
the firm said on Thursday.
The utility’s unit, EDF Energies Nouvelles, bought the Linowo windfarm
last year to strengthen its position in the coal-dependant European
Union nation looking to boost the share of renewables in its energy
supplies.
Poland has around 2,000 MW of installed wind energy, representing more
than 5 percent of the power system’s total capacity. It has targeted
boosting that capacity to 6,000 MW by 2030.
Under EU law at least 15 percent of Poland’s energy production must
come from renewable sources by 2020.
Doubtful economic benefit to Virginia in uranium mining
Is Virginia’s uranium worth the digging? KATIE WHITEHEAD, Times
Dispatch, Virginia’s current prohibition on uranium mining protects
us and provides us the opportunity to understand not only the risks
and possible benefits involved if we were to allow uranium mining in
Virginia. It also gives us the chance to look at who would bear those
risks — and how any benefits that might materialize would be
distributed….. The unpredictability of the uranium market offers no
guarantee that Coles Hill uranium would bring a high enough price to
attract private investors or justify Virginia developing regulations
and hiring enforcement staff.
If our legislators allow future uranium mining, market uncertainties
could threaten the stability Southern Virginia needs to transition
from dependence on manufacturing and tobacco toward a diverse,
agriculture- and knowledge-based economy that can be relied upon to
sustain our well-being. The proposed uranium project in Pittsylvania
County has been controversial, divisive and economically unsettling.
Even if there is never a mine, the possibility alone threatens
relationships and fundamental civility……
http://www.timesdispatch.com/archive/is-virginia-s-uranium-worth-the-digging/article_4443c8bb-763b-554c-87b0-e8a6141fadc1.html
Mysterious evacuation of Isfahan’s 1.5 million residents near Iran nuclear site
Evacuation of large Iranian city near nuclear site raises eyebrows, legalinsurrection, by Bryan Jacoutot , January 4, 2013 An edict was An edict was issued on Wednesday by Iranian authorities ordering Isfahan’s 1.5 million residents to leave the city because pollution in the area “has reached emergency levels.”
Skeptical of Iran’s explanation for the evacuation, some believe it to have been prompted by more than just your average pollution. (h/t 
Uncle Samuel)… “Mass evacuations suggest a far more serious problem,” Rubin explained. “There are two possibilities here: There is a radiation leak and the regime is lying or there is really bad pollution and no one believes the regime’s explanations.”….. http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/01/evacuation-of-large-iranian-city-near-nuclear-site-raises-eyebrows/
Just what are the UK govt’s plans for relocating nuclear submarines?
Vote yes for a nuclear free England, January 04, 2013 by Rev. Stuart
Campbell In a slightly surprising development reported late this
afternoon by the Guardian, the Ministry of Defence appeared to
suddenly and officially confirm what most supporters of independence
have asserted for some time: that if Scotland becomes independent the
UK will lose its nuclear deterrent, as it has nowhere else to put it. Continue reading
Investigation into fire at Pickering nuclear plant
Fire at Pickering nuclear plant under investigation http://www.durhamregion.com/community/article/1561169–fire-at-pickering-nuclear-plant-under-investigation Tara Hatherly Jan 04, 2013 Fire extinguished quickly, no injuries reported…
America’s big con job – the Nuclear “Waste Confidence Rule”
The only reasonable and logical solution is to stop making more. But this “Waste Confidence” decision isn’t based on reason or logic. It’s based on keeping the reactors OPERATING for the next hundred years.
So why are we burdening our future generations with an ever-growing, unsolvable problem?
The Eternal Problem – Nuclear Waste Confidence, Counter Punch by RUSSELL D. HOFFMAN, JANUARY 03, 2013“………The pro-nuker preferred to call it “spent fuel confidence.” I, on the other hand, didn’t like the word “confidence” since there’s nothing that warrants ANY confidence in this discussion, whatsoever. ”Waste Failure” would be more appropriate. Or “Waste Impasse” might be even better. Or better yet: ”The Intractable, Unsolvable, Filthy, Disgusting Mess We’ve Made” but I guess that would just be too accurate to a group where a “rapid disassembly” is the term for a core explosion that spews radioactive crud for miles around.
But one way or another, it’s obvious that “Waste Confidence” is a misnomer from start to finish…… …… Nuclear waste storage is a huge unsolved problem in every nuclear country. Continue reading
Toshiba’s plan to put nuclear reactor under permafrost in Alaska
Radio: New nuclear reactor to be buried 100 feet under permafrost in middle of Alaska? (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/radio-nuclear-reactor-be-buried-100-feet-permafrost-middle-alaska-audio
January 1st, 2013
Title: The New Normal Is No Normal
Source: Radio Ecoshock Show
Date: Jan 2, 2013
Toshiba is very interested in, it has been in talks with the mayor of Galena [Alaska] to build a, what they call a 4S Toshiba, it’s a liquid sodium reactor that they propose to bury under the permafrost — 100 feet under the permafrost, on the Yukon River floodplain.
So the last of the pristine rivers in the world, there’s been negotiations and machinations to put a liquid sodium reactor under the permafrost on the floodplain there in the middle of Alaska.
Full broadcast here
Alaskan oil crisis, as Shell oil rig runs aground
Shell oil rig filled with fuel runs aground in Alaska — Worst development yet in crisis — “So it just happened, it’s dark, no one has seen it” http://enenews.com/nytimes-shell-oil-rig-filled-fuel-runs-aground-alaska-worst-development-crisis-happened-dark-one
January 1st, 2013
Follow-up to: NYTimes: Breakaway Oil Rig, Filled With Fuel, Runs Aground
Title: Shell drilling rig grounds off Kodiak Island after towlines fail again
Source: Alaska Daily News
Author: LISA DEMER
Date Updated: Jan 1, 2013 at 12:25p ET
h/t Anonymous tips
Royal Dutch Shell’s Kulluk drilling rig […] grounded off Sitkalidak Island, at the northern end of Ocean Bay, officials said. […]
The grounding was the worst development yet in a crisis that began Thursday night […]
The Kulluk was carrying about 150,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid. […]
Statements:
“So it just happened. It’s dark. No one has seen it” -Susan Childs, Shell’s incident commander
“We are now entering into the salvage and possible spill response phase of this event” -Alan Wien of the state Department of Environmental Conservation
“We’ve got a pattern of failures. I’m saying no, there’s no way that I can see any feasibility of drilling in the Arctic, especially with the extreme conditions that we’re seeing, not only with Mother Nature right now but also just the technical aspects of the failures that we’re seeing with the fleet.” -Carl Wassilie, a Yup’ik Eskimo who coordinates a grass-roots group called Alaska’s Big Village Network
Ionising radiation threatens dementia onset in space travellers
Space travel may accelerate Alzheimer’s
http://www.skynews.com.au/health/article.aspx?id=831812 January 1,
2013 Long journeys into deep space, including a mission to Mars, may
expose astronauts to levels of cosmic radiation harmful to the brain
and accelerate Alzheimer’s disease, US research has shown. Continue reading
24 organisations warn Nuclear Regulatory Commission not to rush a new “Waste Confidence Rule”
24 Groups: NRC Rushing Nuclear “Waste Confidence” Process, Not Satisfying Court-Ordered Requirements By Physicians for Social Responsibility, Washington, D.C., Jan. 3, 2013 — Incomplete Process Should Trigger Continued Suspension of All Reactor Licensing, Re-Licensing
In documents filed Wednesday with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a wide range of national and grassroots environmental groups said it would be impossible for the NRC to adequately conduct a court-ordered assessment of the environmental implications of long-term storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in the two short years the federal agency envisions for the process.
In their filings, the 24 groups said a full review of the three issues outlined in June 2012 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit – long-term storage risks for spent nuclear fuel, spent fuel pool fire risks, and spent fuel pool leakage risks – would take at least the seven years originally projected by the NRC staff, and likely considerably longer. Current federal law requires that the NRC conduct a comprehensive environmental impact statement (EIS) study before issuing a revised Waste Confidence Decision; the 24 groups submitted their comments about the appropriate “scoping” of the EIS.
In the absence of an adequate EIS review, the NRC has “no choice but to continue to suspend all licensing and re-licensing actions” for U.S. nuclear reactors, according to the 24 organizations. All licensing and re-licensing actions were previously suspended by the NRC until an EIS and revised Waste Confidence Decision have been issued…..
Highlights of the 24-group filings include the following: Continue reading
Critically dangerous state of Vermont Yankee’s accumulated nuclear waste
Vermont, New York regulators urge review of storage of spent nuclear fuel, VT Digger, by Andrew Stein | January 3, 2013 “……Vermont Yankee has 1,507 fuel rod assemblies submerged in a spent fuel pool, which was originally designed to hold about 350. Spent fuel rods must be kept under water in order to prevent the Zirconium cladding (the metal tubes that contain the fuel pellets) from igniting. The rods can remain hot for several years.
Vermont Yankee’s spent fuel pool, located in a metal warehouse structure, has more than five full reactor cores worth of radioactive material. In the event of an accident, the impact would be five times greater than a single reactor meltdown.
The dry cask storage containers on the site are hundreds of times safer than the spent fuel pool, Shadis said.
At this point, the site has 13 loaded casks, four of which were filled last year, according to Neil Sheehan, NRC public affairs officer for Region 1.
Each cask, which can hold 72 assemblies, costs $1 million. It would cost roughly $11 million to move all of the assemblies into dry cask storage……. http://vtdigger.org/2013/01/03/vermont-new-york-regulators-urge-review-of-spent-nuclear-fuel-storage/
Prime Minister Abe in a hurry to restart nuclear power, fearing that Japan might manage well without it
A survey conducted by the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, just before the
elections last month, showed that more than 60 per cent wanted to
phase out nuclear energy completely
If the government allows nuclear plants to remain switched off, it
would be admitting that nuclear power is not critical to economic
recovery
the Abe administration cannot afford to have
the public realise that Japan can get along just fine without nuclear
power
Japan prepares for nuclear U-turn.Ft.com By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo 3 Jan 13,
Japan’s plan for a nuclear-free society, which gathered momentum after
the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima nearly two years ago, looks set to
be shortlived.
Since its electoral landslide in December, the Liberal Democratic
party has wasted no time in setting the stage for a return to Japan’s
former policy of promoting nuclear power as a major source of energy
generation.
Shinzo Abe, who took over as prime minister last month, has given a
clear indication that the government is looking to build new nuclear
power plants, Continue reading
1 This Month
22 June – Virtual Event –Climate Change: New Data, New Debate
Monday, June 22, 2026 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. CT
YouTube. Register here
Protect Sazan Island from the Trump family! https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/protect_sazan_island_from_the_trump_family_loc/?bqFCVab&v=174511&cl=22707147157&_checksum=5e9dde668860e8231c33699735e16a1fbf22ab2cb01da50c999fe8732b9775ef&utm_source=email&utm_medium=blast_email&utm_campaign=174511
25 June- THE PUKE ON NUKES
Thursday, June 25, 2026
7pm Central Time (8pm ET, 6pm MT, 5pm PT) UTC – 5
From NRC & DOE Deregulation to Techno-Fascist Billionaires Going Nuclear, Plus a Few Songs from Atomic Cabaret REGISTER
26 June – Radiation Trainwreck at the NRC / Join the Protect Better Campaign – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/4ZlZ5_qLSHGiLSCg8FF6Bg#/registration
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
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