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Ten Years Later, U.S. Has Left Iraq With Mass Displacement & Epidemic of Birth Defects, Cancers

democracynow.org

20 March 2012

In part two of our interview, Al Jazeera reporter Dahr Jamail discusses how the U.S. invasion of Iraq has left behind a legacy of cancer and birth defects suspected of being caused by the U.S. military’s extensive use of depleted uranium and white phosphorus. Noting the birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Jamail says:

“They’re are extremely hard to bear witness to, but it’s something that we all need to pay attention to …

What this has generated is from 2004 up to this day, we are seeing a rate of congenital malformations in the city of Fallujah that has surpassed even that in the wake of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that nuclear bombs were dropped on at the end of World War II.”

Jamail has also reported on the refugee crisis of more than one million displaced Iraqis still inside the country, who are struggling to survive without government aid, a majority of them living in Baghdad. Click here to watch part 1 of the interview. [Transcript to come and part 1 . Check back soon.]

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/3/20/ten_years_later_us_has_left

March 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

…….Last year, Indian and Russia had signed a protocol for funding two new units at Kudankulam.

As per the protocol, Russia will extend an export credit of $3.400 billion to Russian organisations to help build the units at four per cent interest…..

I wonder if that has to do with this…?
UPDATE: Raid on Bellona’s St. Petersburg offices casts uncertain shadow over organization’s future

Lyubyanka, headquarters of the Russian FSB, is part of a new assault launched on Russian NGOs.
Coutesy of Thomas Nilsen, the Barents Observer

Charles Digges, 20/03-2013 ……

Bellona’s office in St. Petersburg yesterday got a surprise look at how the Russian government plans to enforce its law requiring NGOs that receive foreign funding to register as “foreign agents” with an unannounced inspection from the general prosecutor and other authorities.
http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2013/bellona_ngo_raid
Because of these?
Road to Fukushima fraught with ongoing tragedy and innovations ignored
http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2013/fukushima_series_three
Analysis: Fukushima two years later
http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2013/Nils_fukushima_comment
New Japanese nuclear regulatory agency must assert its opinion as confusion around Fukushima disaster still lingers
http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2013/fuku_series_last
Fukushima power outage to spent nuclear fuel storage ponds partially restored
http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2013/fukushima_power_outage

kracktivist's avatarkracktivist

PTI

As engineers race to commission the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, the government has given its nod to build two more such units of 1,000 MW at the site in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday evening, approved the proposal to grant administrative and financial sanction for building units 3&4 at Kudankulam site, officials said.

The decision comes at a time when engineers of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) are working to commission the first 1,000 MW unit of the Kudankulam nuclear power project.

Sources said the estimated cost of building the two plants has been pegged at Rs. 20 crore per megawatt.

The CCS nod paves the way for signing of the general framework agreement (GFA) between NPCIL and Russian suppliers of nuclear equipment.

The GFA will spell…

View original post 161 more words

March 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

NATO Advisory Report Urges Against Cyberstrikes on Nuclear Plants

“If you look at the way they must have organized the entire attack, it’s very impressive,” Schouwenberg said. “These guys are absolutely top of the line in terms of sophistication.”

Image source : http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/09/stuxnet-worm-far-more-sophisticated-than-previously-thought/

March 20, 2013

An advisory report for NATO urges governments against carrying out cyberstrikes on atomic energy plants and other key non-military infrastructure, the London Guardian reported on Monday.

“In order to avoid the release of dangerous forces and consequent severe losses among the civilian population, particular care must be taken during cyberattacks against works and installations containing dangerous forces, namely dams, dykes and nuclear electrical generating stations, as well as installations located in their vicinity,” according to 20 law specialists who collaborated with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.S. Cyber Command in writing the NATO handbook.

http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/nato-advisory-report-urges-against-cyberstrikes-nuclear-plants/

 

March 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

BelTA to host online conference on nuclear energy on 22 March

….As arguments against the NPP, the statement lists the threat of an accident or a disaster prompted by an operational failure at the plant, a possible increase in cancer incidence caused by so-called “sanctioned” radiation discharges that a nuclear power plant releases even in the course of routine operation (please see a report on this subject here), the risk of another violent earthquake of the scale of the 1909 disaster (the 7.0 magnitude quake of 1909 was the strongest ever recorded in Belarus), and the dominant western winds, which would carry the radioactive fallout all over the country should an accident in fact take place….. Bellona 2009

20.03.2013 17:40

MINSK, 20 March (BelTA) – An online conference featuring Director of the Nuclear Energy Department of the Energy Ministry of the Republic of Belarus Nikolai Grusha and Advisor to the Executive Vice-President of Rusatom Overseas Sergei Boyarkin will be held on the website of the BelTA News Agency from 12:00 to 13:00 on 22 March. The conference will be titled “Nuclear power: environment, safety, advantages”.

Belarus launched its own nuclear program not so long ago; however the IAEA experts believe that our country can be called one of the most advanced newcomers. The quality of preparation works on the Ostrovets site was hailed by Russian and international experts. As early as the summer of 2013 the concrete will be poured; works on all the 62 objects of the production base and out-of-site facilities, networks and structures will be completed by September. Director General of the Russian state corporation for nuclear energy Rosatom Sergei Kiriyenko has recently visited the construction site. He praised the high quality of works and said that Belarusian construction workers might get licenses to build nuclear power plants in Russia.

Image source ; Belarus, Lithuania, and a nuclear power plant in search of a solution

Environmentalists and scientists say that nuclear power is the most promising, most advanced and the cheapest source of energy. The humankind is unlikely to come up with an alternative to nuclear power in the near future. Leading European countries remain committed to supporting nuclear energy development. Representatives of 12 EU member states, namely Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, the Netherlands, France and Czechoslovakia have confirmed their plans to promote nuclear energy.

Even Japan announced its decision to consider resuming the nuclear power program two years after the Fukushima accident.

What is Belarus’ strategy for developing nuclear energy?

What are the advantages of the Russian NPP design?

How will the Belarusian NPP be protected from external emergencies?

Is there any connection between the NPP and greenhouse effect?

These and other questions will be answered by Nikolai Grusha and Sergei Boyarkin during the online conference.

Questions can be submitted in advance or during the conference on the BelTA website

www.belta.by

in the section ONLINE CONFERENCE. Answers will be posted after 12:00 on 22 March real-time.

http://news.belta.by/en/news/society?id=710135

Belarus, Lithuania, and a nuclear power plant in search of a solution

Andrei Ozharovsky, 16/03-2009 – Translated by Maria Kaminskaya

GRODNO REGION, Belarus – Debates are still ongoing on the issue of possible construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus. The suggested site is in the Ostrovets District in the Grodno Region – or just some fifty kilometres away from neighbouring Lithuania’s capital of Vilnius. Bellona’s regular contributor Andrei Ozharovsky offers a comment on the developing project and the public sentiment it is causing.

Lithuania is worried, Belarus’ Foreign Affairs Ministry is circling the wagons, and Ostrovets residents keep collecting signatures for a petition to stop the project. All the while, the Belarusian KGB – still very much alive in this former Soviet republic, which bore the brunt of the nuclear fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster – is calling activists in for questioning, and the propaganda machine of the country’s nuclear establishment is painting anti-nuclear protesters as members of sex minorities, quite a stigma in a country viewed widely as one of the Eastern European states with the worst human rights record.

The site for future Chernobyl-2?
Initially, several sites were proposed to host the envisioned nuclear power plant (NPP). The choice was between the regions surrounding such Belarusian cities as Mogilyov, Vitebsk, and Grodno.

Last January, reports appeared in Belarus’ official media outlets that the choice had finally been made. The NPP is supposed to be built near the village of Mikhalishki in the Ostrovets District of the Grodno Region. However, as activists with an organisation called The Anti-Nuclear Campaign of Belarus found out, no final decision had actually been settled upon: There was only a recommendation made by a certain unidentified commission, and making a formal decision to place a new nuclear power plant at a particular site is a prerogative afforded only the president of the country.

bodytextimage
A selection of sites were first proposed to host the future NPP: Mogilyov, Vitebsk, and Grodno (shown above is a Russian-language map of suggested NPP sites in Belarus).
http://www.naviny.by/

No reports, meanwhile, were coming that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had made up his mind on the future location. One guess seems appropriate that the media were either indulging in wishful thinking or simply not quite grasping the situation. It is likewise possible that the government had engaged in a disinformation offensive:

Continue reading →

March 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Florida nuclear power industry defends charges for plants that may not be built!

……Legislation is in the pipeline to reverse a 2006 law that has allowed more than $800 million to be collected towards the construction of nuclear power plants that may never get built…..

…..House Speaker Will Weatherford has said that as the state’s energy demands have changed, notably the downward cost of natural gas which is expected to account for 60 percent of Florida’s energy source, he was open to revisiting the law……

Mar 19, 2013, 6:36am EDT

JIM TURNER, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Legislation is in the pipeline to reverse a 2006 law that has allowed more than $800 million to be collected towards the construction of nuclear power plants that may never get built.

But industry leaders and representatives for the state’s largest utilities on Monday praised the law, which they say has allowed them to be ready for increased demand.

Florida Power & Light Senior Director of Nuclear Development Steven Scroggs said the 2006 law has allowed the Juno Beach-based utility to acquire advantageous financing rates on projects while planning for new nuclear facilities. It can take more than six years to land federal permits and take a decade before construction begins, he said.

“We don’t really have the luxury of sitting by idly, we have to plan ahead,” Scroggs said. “Just as if we know hurricanes and tornadoes are coming we position crews in position to be able to respond quickly as soon as that weather has passed, similarly we cannot wait to make decisions about new generation investment until our customers need additional power. We have an obligation to plan far in advance.”

The law has allowed FPL to upgrade already-existing nuclear plants in Miami-Dade and St. Lucie counties, while planning for the possible construction of two new reactors.

Continue reading →

March 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Honeywell cleans irradiated water at Fukushima nuclear power plant

IONSIV adsorbents are expected to remain in use for the next 10 years to remove cesium and strontium from various contaminated water sources at Fukushima….

honeywellprice

Image source : http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=HON&fq=D&ezd=1Y&index=5

03/20/2013

By Editors of Electric Light & Power/ POWERGRID International

Adsorbent materials made by Honeywell (HON) were used to clean nearly 100 million gallons of radiation-contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

Honeywell’s UOP IONSIV Selective Media adsorbents have been used by Toshiba Corp. and Shaw Global Services LLC as part of the Simplified Active Water Retrieve and Recovery System (SARRY), which is being used to treat wastewater that was contaminated after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March 2011.

Honeywell’s UOP material has been used in the system since August 2011 and has reduced cesium to below detectable levels.

Honeywell’s UOP IONSIV Selective Media adsorbents are crystalline materials designed to selectively remove radioactive ions, particularly cesium and strontium, from liquids.

Previous generations of these products have been used commercially for more than 30 years to treat radioactive waste streams in commercial nuclear power plants, alkaline tank waste and spent fuel storage pool water. Honeywell’s UOP R9120-B adsorbent and its UOP R9160-G adsorbent were used in the cleanup efforts at the plant.

The SARRY system, developed by Toshiba, the Shaw Group and AVANTech, Inc., has operated at the plant since its installation. Cleanup efforts are still under way and IONSIV adsorbents are expected to remain in use for the next 10 years to remove cesium and strontium from various contaminated water sources at Fukushima.

http://www.elp.com/articles/2013/03/honeywell-cleans-irradiated-water-at-fukushima-nuclear-power-pla.html

April 03, 2012

“…”This investment helps us meet the demand for our newest advanced materials, as well as established products that are in demand by customers around the world,” said Mike Millard, senior vice president and general manager for Honeywell’s UOP Catalyst, Adsorbents and Specialties business. “We continue to invest in new technologies that will help meet refiners and petrochemical producers’ needs for materials that offer more flexibility, increase production and lower cost.”

IONSIV Ion Exchanger adsorbents are crystalline materials that can selectively remove radioactive ions from liquids. At Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, these adsorbents are successfully being used to reduce radioactive cesium to non-detectable levels in the plant’s contaminated wastewater after the earthquake and tsunami last year. These materials have been used commercially for more than 30 years to remove radioactive ions from liquids, such as radioactive waste streams in commercial nuclear power plants, alkaline tank waste, and spent fuel storage pool water….”

[…]

“….Honeywell UOP is a leading producer of catalysts, used in refining, petrochemical and other applications, to produce products ranging from transportation fuels to biodegradable detergents. It pioneered the adsorbents industry more than 60 years ago with the invention of the first synthetic zeolites for use as molecular sieve adsorbents. Today, in addition to a wide range of molecular sieve and activated alumina products, it offers a broad portfolio of adsorbents for the removal of contaminants such as mercury and sulfur compounds.

In addition to Mobile, Honeywell UOP produces catalysts and adsorbents in Baton Rouge, La.; Shreveport, La.; McCook, Ill..; Shanghai, China; Brimsdown, U.K.; and Reggio Calabria, Italy. The company’s New York Stock Exchange symbol is HON…..”

http://blog.al.com/press-register-business/2012/04/honeywell_company_uop_expandin.html

March 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Strike begins at Chinese uranium mine in Niger

Wed Mar 20, 2013 3:31AM GMT

Press TV

Workers at a China National Nuclear Corporation (SinoU) uranium mine in northern Niger have gone on a 72-hour strike, trade union officials say.

Workers at a China National Nuclear Corporation (SinoU) uranium mine in Niger have gone on strike.

On Tuesday, Boubacar Mamane, a spokesman for the Syntramines labor union, said 680 workers at SinoU have gone on strike to demand better wages and bonus payments, Reuters reported.

“Management refused to pay our allowances and production bonus despite having promised to do so last year. If nothing is done, we will launch an unlimited strike,” Mamane said.

SinoU officials and the Nigerien government, which owns 33 percent of the mine, were not available to comment on the action.

SinoU and its partners have a majority stake in the 700 ton-per-year SOMINA mine. Production at the mine kicked off in 2011 and is expected to increase to 2,500 tons annually in 2015.

SinoU and its partners have a majority stake in the 700 ton-per-year SOMINA mine, whose production kicked off in 2011 and is expected to increase its output to 2,500 tons annually in 2015.

In 2007, SOMINA was established 160 kilometers southwest of Arlit and 150 kilometers northwest of Agadez, in the Agadez region of northern Niger.

Niger is the top supplier of uranium to the nuclear power industry of France.

NT/HGL

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/03/20/294471/strike-at-chinese-uranium-mine-in-niger/

March 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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