2013 October 29 « nuclear-news

China’s legacy of radioactive pollution from rare earths processing

Whole villages between the city of Baotou and the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia have been evacuated and resettled to apartment towers elsewhere after reports of high cancer rates and other health problems associated with the numerous rare earth refineries there.

China Tries to Clean Up Toxic Legacy of Its Rare Earth Riches NYT By KEITH BRADSHER : October 22, 2013 TIANJIN, China — In northern China, near the Mongolian border, radioactively contaminated leaks from two decades of rare earth refining have been slowly trickling underground toward the Yellow River, a crucial water source for 150 million people. In Jiangxi province in south-central China, the national government has seized control of rare earth mining districts from provincial officials after finding widespread illegal strip-mining of rare earth metals.

And in Guangdong province in southeastern China, regulators are struggling to repair rice fields and streams destroyed by powerful acids and other runoff from open-pit rare earth mines that are often run by violent organized crime syndicates.

Communities scattered across China face heavy environmental damage that accumulated through two decades of nearly unregulated rare earth mining and refining. While the Chinese government has begun spending billions of dollars to clean up the damage, the environmental impact is becoming an international trade issue, with a World Trade Organization panel in Geneva expected to issue a crucial draft report on Wednesday……. The rare earth case “will be a landmark case in terms of both export restrictions and the environment,” said James Bacchus, the former two-term chairman of the W.T.O. appeals tribunal in Geneva. Continue reading →

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, environment, RARE EARTHS | Leave a comment

Japan’s Prime Minister off to Turkey to push sales of nuclear technology

apan PM heads to Turkey to push nuclear exports, Yahoo 7 News, 28 Oct 13 Japan’s prime minister headed to Turkey Monday to cement nuclear contracts and push the export of more reactors as the industry tries to emerge from the shadow of the Fukushima atomic crisis……

During Abe’s previous visit a Japanese-French consortium won a $22 billion deal to build Turkey’s second nuclear plant on the Black Sea coast, a milestone for the Japanese nuclear industry as it tries to get back on its feet after the 2011 Fukushima crisis.

He and Erdogan also penned an agreement that allows Japanese manufacturers to build nuclear power plants in Turkey.

Abe has travelled the globe since coming to power in December last year selling Japan’s infrastructure as part of his bid to dramatically hike exports and light a fire under the country’s long-slumbering economy.

His drive comes even as all nuclear reactors at home remain offline amid continuing nervousness about atomic power in post-Fukushima Japan…… http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-pm-heads-turkey-push-083205105.html

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, marketing of nuclear | Leave a comment

Geologists meet to discuss burial of nuclear wastes

Radioactive Waste: Where to Put It? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131027140628.htm Oct. 27, 2013 — As the U.S. makes new plans for disposing of spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste deep underground, geologists are key to identifying safe burial sites and techniques. Scientists at The Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in Denver will describe the potential of shale formations; challenges of deep borehole disposal; and their progress in building a computer model to help improve understanding of the geologic processes that are important for safe disposal of high-level waste. Continue reading →

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Reference, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

The devil in the detail of the Trans Pacific Partnership

Article 12.8 gives rights holders the right to demand personal information about customers of Internet Service Providers – or other service providers – on a mere accusation. . This is a fundamental attack on the privacy of the citizens of all signatory countries. There is nothing to stop rights holders going on extensive fishing expeditions, searching through millions of users, looking for people to sue. This power is not granted to law enforcement without due process. Handing such powers to corporations without any requirement to show a breach has occurred is an attack upon the process of law. We have a right to not be placed under surveillance by companies based upon their word that illegal activity has occurred

Pirate Party Australia’s Presentation to Trans-Pacific Partnership Stakeholders Meeting in Melbourne March 4, 2012 Here is the speech that was presented by Pirate Party Australia President David Campbell at 11.45am at the TPPA stakeholders meeting in Melbourne. Thanks to Simon Frew (Deputy President) for authoring the speech and Mozart Palmer (Media Relations) for his contributions.

Pirate Party Australia, like many other attendees at the intellectual property section of this Agreement negotiation, first became aware of the proposed intellectual property provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement when the United States negotiating position was leaked last year.[1]

Much of the content of the leak is a wish-list for old media corporations who refuse to adapt to the Internet and instead pay massive “donations” to their government in order to push their legislative agenda against the interests of modern society. This wish-list echoes that of the intellectual property segments of the Stop Online Piracy Act – known as SOPA – and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement – known as ACTA. The US TPPA provisions have been nicknamed “the son of ACTA”. The proposed solutions to online file-sharing will fundamentally change the operation of the Internet, to its detriment.

The extreme position of the leaked United States’ Intellectual Property chapter is highlighted by the unprecedented request for the negotiating texts to remain secret for four years after the agreement is signed. This secrecy is a perversion of democracy. The public would not be given a chance to oppose such a draconian attack on both the Internet and the civil liberties of citizens in all of the signatory countries. All of this to protect the corporate interests of a small sector of one industry? What about the cost to our democratic rights?…….. Continue reading →

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, Reference, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Niigata Prefecture Governor not ready to allow Tepco to restart world’s biggest nuclear plant

Tepco can’t yet be trusted to restart world’s biggest nuclear plant: governor (Reuters) 28 Oct 13,– Tokyo Electric Power Co must give a fuller account of the Fukushima disaster and address its “institutionalized lying” before it can expect to restart another nuclear station, the world’s largest, said a local government official who holds an effective veto over the utility’s revival plan.

“If they don’t do what needs to be done, if they keep skimping on costs and manipulating information, they can never be trusted,” Niigata Prefecture Governor Hirohiko Izumida told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

Izumida must approve the embattled utility’s plans to restart the reactors at Kashiwazaki Kariwa, the world’s biggest nuclear complex on the Japan Sea coast some 300 kms (180 miles) northwest of Tokyo.

A former economy and trade ministry bureaucrat who has emerged as a leading critic of Tokyo Electric, or Tepco, Izumida said he would launch his own commission to investigate the causes and handling of the Fukushima crisis and whether strengthened regulatory safeguards were sufficient to prevent a similar disaster.

Izumida, 51, declined to provide a timetable for completing that review – a process that could force the utility to scrap or abandon one of the key assumptions behind its turnaround plan…….http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/28/us-japan-nuclear-tepco-idUSBRE99R0KR20131028

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Iran upbeat about progress in nuclear negotiations with the West

Iran pledges “new approaches” with U.N. nuclear agency CBC News 28 Oct 13, A senior Iranian negotiator was upbeat Monday about the chances of progress in the latest round of talks about a proposed U.N. investigation of his country’s nuclear program, promising “new approaches” meant to end nearly two years of deadlock.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke to reporters after meeting with Yukiya Amano, the head of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, and shortly before IAEA and Iranian officials sat down to negotiate again about the terms of the IAEA investigation……

Araghchi did not give details about Iran’s position, but in remarks to reporters loaded with optimism, he spoke of a “very useful and constructive meeting” with Amano, and said he was “very hopeful” that the talks on the proposed probe will break “with a good result.”

Beyond any new Iranian initiative Araghchi’s visit had significance on its own. He and other senior Iranian officials have repeatedly expressed willingness to work on reducing fears about Iran’s nuclear aims since reformist Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office in August……http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57609617/iran-pledges-new-approaches-with-u.n-nuclear-agency/

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

USA’s new nuclear warheads undermine global disarmament efforts

One Of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Threats is Closer to Home Than You Think Policy Mic Laura Muth 28 Oct 13, Syria has met the deadline to submit a plan for the destruction of its chemical weapons. Iran has stopped enriching uranium to near bomb-grade levels, and diplomats so far appear to be cautiously optimistic that the current nuclear talks with the country could prove fruitful. It is looking to be a promising year for nonproliferation — except in the U.S., where the government is investing in building five new types of nuclear warheads.

The warheads are part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) “3+2” consolidation strategy. The plan is to shift the U.S.’ nuclear stockpile to consist mainly of 3 ballistic missile warheads and two air-delivered systems (like cruise missiles or bombers.)

The logic from the NNSA seems to be that since these warheads will be based on existing designs, they don’t count as “new” and hence their development does not contradict either the Obama administration’s policy of not building new nuclear weapons, or its international treaty obligations……This all matters because of the example the U.S. sets for the rest of the world. Good faith measures to reduce nuclear stockpiles and reduce the possibility nuclear war on the part of the U.S. creates a greater incentive for other countries to follow suit. On the other hand, maintaining or growing a major nuclear stockpile can generate competition. ……..

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which the U.S. is also a party to, lays out three goals: that nuclear-armed states will move to disarm, non-nuclear-armed states will not acquire nuclear weapons, and all countries will be permitted to access nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The NNSA’s plan may not violate the letter of international or domestic law, but it does violate the spirit of these treaties. And when the U.S. acts against the spirit of these laws, it weakens them on the international level and disincentivizes compliance for other nations. That creates a more dangerous world for all of us. President Obama should live up to his lofty rhetoric and prevent this plan from going forward.http://www.policymic.com/articles/70361/one-of-the-world-s-greatest-nuclear-threats-is-closer-to-home-than-you-think

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

New research for more efficient solar panels, and storage systems

The group is now turning its attention to developing applications such as energy storage solutions utilizing the reverse side of solar cells.

Solar Panels (Batteries Included) http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3999 28 Oct 13 As power companies grow more belligerent and households start considering leaving the grid altogether; the topic of energy storage is becoming increasingly popular. One development could see solar panels also fulfil the role of batteries by using the same material that creates the electricity – silicon.

Scientists at Vanderbilt University have found a way to create supercapacitors using silicon structures coated in graphene.
While supercapacitors can be recharged much faster and have a longer service life; one of their challenges is size. Energy storage capabilities of supercapacitors is directly tied to the surface area available; meaning the devices tend to be bulky.
The need for a large surface area is being addressed to a degree through the use of nanotechnology to create microscopic ridges, valleys and pores on materials. Continue reading →

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | energy storage, USA | Leave a comment

Climate change now enables dangerous uranium mining in Greenland

“Uranium mining at Kuannersuit (Kvanefjeldet) will leave behind millions of tonnes of tailings containing some of the most toxic radioactive substances,” wrote Mikkel Myrup, the chairman of Avataq, an environmental watchdog group. ”The waste will remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years and in the long term, the mining could cause comprehensive radioactive contamination, which—because of the health risks—would make it dangerous to live in and make it necessary to ban fishing, hunting, agriculture and animal husbandry in significant parts of Southern Greenland.”

Greenland Has Melted So Much That We Can Mine It for Uranium Now Motherboard, By Brian Merchant 28 Oct 13, Climate change has finally melted enough of Greenland to allow mining companies to exploit its natural resources. And it’s got a lot. The remote, increasingly well-named island nation has a payload of uranium and rare earth elements buried beneath its quickly-thinning ice sheets.

Last year, nearly 97 percent of Greenland’s ice cover melted during the summer. That hadn’t happened for 123 years. And while big melts like that are thought to happen from time to time, scientists think Greenland is melting six times faster than it would have if humans didn’t load the atmosphere up with coal and oil pollution. Clearly, not everyone is disappointed with the result.

As with the other major industries circling the warming Arctic like a vulture—oil and shipping companies being the biggest—mining corporations have long licked their chops at the prospect of digging into Greenland’s untapped mineral reserves……

Greenland’s parliament just voted to allow Australia and China to start mining away. The vote was as close as they come: 15 for, 14 against, with the common call for jobs and economic growth winning out over immense environmental concerns. Continue reading →

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, Uranium | 1 Comment

Bill Gates promotes his nuclear reactor business in Idaho

Bill Gates goes nuclear in Idaho http://gigaom.com/2013/10/25/bill-gates-goes-nuclear-in-idaho/?go_commented=1#comment-1375195 Katie Fehrenbacher OCT. 25, 2013 – Bill Gates, along with the staff of nuclear startup TerraPower, visited the U.S. government-owned Idaho National Labs this week to check out the facilities in advance of reactor design work that TerraPower plans to do at the facility. Gates is chairman of, and investor, in TerraPower, which has been developing a traveling wave nuclear reactor that can run on waste uranium, and can make and consume its own fuel — theoretically it doesn’t need to be refueled for hundreds of years.PD

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

China’s nuclear submarines start sea patrols

China nuclear subs ‘gallop to depths of ocean’ Ft.com By Demetri Sevastopulo in Hong Kong and Jennifer Thompson in Tokyo, 27 Oct 13, China has said its first fleet of nuclear submarines has started sea patrols, in the latest sign of the growing confidence of the country’s military that has raised tensions in the region.

Xinhua, the official news agency, released photographs of what appeared to be Xia-class vessels – China’s first generation of nuclear-armed submarines, which are several decades old – saying they were being “declassified” for the first time. It said they would “gallop to the depths of the ocean, serving as mysterious forces igniting the sound of thunder in the deep sea”, and be an “assassin’s mace that would make adversaries tremble”……http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ff2cc892-3f2c-11e3-b665-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2j4jstDmK

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Britain’s aging nuclear test veterans should be recognised

John Baron: Britain’s ageing nuclear test veterans need to be recognised at last The Independent 28 oct 13 With the debate over Trident renewal ongoing, we risk forgetting the invaluable and unique contribution made by our nuclear test veterans in the establishment of our deterrent. They have yet to be officially recognised in any formal manner, and Britain ranks towards the bottom of the international table of decency when it comes to how other countries treat their test veterans. The time has come to put that right, both for the surviving veterans and the descendents of those no longer with us. The second phase of a campaign sees this important debate in Parliament on Tuesday……

A crash programme followed which continued late into the 1960s, when the advent of more powerful hydrogen bombs once again necessitated an accelerated programme to keep parity with the US and USSR. Scientists played their part in this effort – but so did the over 20,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the tests in the South Pacific and Australia from 1952 until 1967.

As these tests were carried out at the dawn of the nuclear age, the science was not properly understood – if at all. Precautions were primitive and inadequate, and often failed to properly protect individuals from the effects of blast, heat and ionising radiation. Many of the test veterans believe their health was adversely affected as a result of these tests, a view substantiated by scientific research undertaken by Professor Rowland, whose work was peer-reviewed and subsequently accepted by the-then New Zealand Government.

Armed with this research, the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association (BNTVA), of which I am patron, succeeded after a long campaign to persuade the MoD to undertake a Health Needs Analysis of all surviving veterans. This was completed in 2011, and many helpful practical measures are now being introduced as a result, particularly in relation to a veterans’ pathway through the NHS. The focus on health was our first priority, given the age and health profile of the veterans.

The veterans’ next priority is to secure recognition of their unique and vital service to the nation, which has never been forthcoming from the Government. For these aging men, official recognition, in either a written or oral statement from the Prime Minister, would mean so much. To this end, we launched a fresh ‘campaign for recognition’ in Parliament earlier this year, and have secured the support of over 80 MPs of all colours and hues……. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/john-baron-britains-ageing-nuclear-test-veterans-need-to-be-recognised-at-last-8907539.html

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

UK’s green energy dream falling apart, with new nuclear deal

Nuclear plant will hurt renewables http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/letters/nuclear-plant-will-hurt-renewables.22522731 Stephen McMurray Saturday 26 October 2013 The danger of the announcement of the £14 billion nuclear power station at Hinkley Point on the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset is that it will reduce the resources for renewable energy (Is our green energy dream falling apart?). Rather than investing in a nuclear waste legacy, the focus should be on developing all types of renewable energy and energy efficiency, including proper insulation for our housing stock, which has seen decades of under-investment.

October 29, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | 1 Comment

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