……Wendy Tubman said she supported debating the establishment of a nuclear power industry but didn’t think it would be widely supported.
“There are just too many human and environmental risks to take into consideration when examining nuclear power,” she said.
“The waste lasts for thousands of years and there is no safe way to store it.
“Another huge risk is the contamination of water our water supplies.”….
h/t http://forums.silverstackers.com/message-614117.html
Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady has thrown his support behind establishing a nuclear power industry in North Queensland and said it was a natural progression from uranium mining.
North-west Queensland is home to some of the richest uranium deposits in Australia, but only recently have they been opened up for mining after Premier Campbell Newman overturned the decades-old ban on digging up the radioactive ore last year.
Cr McGrady said North Queensland should capitalise on its uranium riches by using the fuel to help unlock the region’s mineral wealth and industrial potential.
“Queensland has made the decision to mine uranium and now the next logical step is to start using nuclear power,” he said.
“I think there could be a lot of benefits to North Queensland if we have a rational and grown-up debate about the nuclear power industry.
“We are an energy-thirst country and we desperately need more base-load power in the North and north-west.
“To me, it’s about getting the mix of energy (sources) right and that includes coal, gas and nuclear.”
Cr McGrady said North Queenslanders needed to have a community debate about whether they would be comfortable for a nuclear power station to be established to help solve the region’s electricity supply problems.
“We need to have a sensible, rational and mature debate about nuclear power,” he said.
“It can’t be hijacked by the Greens and their emotive arguments against it.”
Continue reading →
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-42066/New-study-links-nuclear-sites-cancer.html
Saturday, Dec 07 2013
A Euro MP has called on the Government to release figures after a new study suggested people living near nuclear power stations stood a high risk of developing cancer.
Radiation expert and independent researcher for Green Audit Dr Chris Busby found that children in Chepstow, south Wales, were 11 times more likely to develop myeloid leukaemia than the national average.
Chepstow is just five miles from Oldbury nuclear power station on the banks of the River Severn, which has been found to contain high levels of radioactive particles.
South West MEP Michael Holmes, who commissioned Dr Busby’s report, said: “It is imperative that Health Minister Alan Milburn releases data on all cancer incidence down to ward levels as a matter of grave public concern.
“How many more clusters will have to be discovered before this government recognises that its existing models do not address the environmental causes of cancer, particularly the regular, permitted radioactive discharges from nuclear power stations such as Oldbury?
“It’s possible the authorities know this is a much bigger threat then they are letting the public know – that’s why they don’t let the figures out.
“If the data Dr Busby had access to is correct and his mapping is correct it casts grave doubt on the view that nuclear power is safe.”
Myeloid leukaemia is a very rare form of cancer which is strongly associated with radiation.
The report shows that three cases of the rare cancer were discovered in children up to the age of four between 1974 and 1990 in Chepstow, compared to the national average of 0.27.
It also shows children in Chepstow run a higher risk of developing all cancers at 3.54 times the national average.
Campaigners believe the findings are comparable with the Sellafield leukaemia cluster which was highlighted in the 1990s.
The study uses data gathered by the Wales Cancer Registry.
Dr Busby pushed for the same data to be released from the South Western Cancer Registry to find out if the incidence of cancer is as high on the English side of the River Severn, but said he was refused on the grounds of patient confidentiality.
He said: “This discovery begs for the immediate release of data for the English side of the river to give the complete picture, especially as Bristol is only eight miles from Oldbury and could be blighted.”
Green Audit says it is an independent research consultancy serving the environmental movement.
Anti-nuclear campaigner and co-ordinator of pressure group Stop Hinkley, Jim Duffy described the findings as a “public health scandal” as three million people live within 35 miles of the Oldbury plant.
He said the study proved there was an “overwhelming link” between radiation levels around nuclear power plants and incidence of cancer.
BNFL, which runs Oldbury, was reported to have dismissed Dr Busby’s findings.
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
4 Comments
By Rich Smith
December 6, 2013
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/12/06/gencorp-stock-could-explode-on-new-nuclear-bomb-co.aspx
Aerojet Rocketdyne is heading back to space… with a bullet.
“Yesterday, GenCorp (NYSE: GY ) revealed that its Aerojet Rocketdyne subsidiary has been chosen to develop and demo a new rocket engine for the U.S. Air Force. Specifically, GenCorp will build a “Medium Class Stage III motor” to replace the current batch of SR-73 third-stage motors that help lift Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles into space.”
Subscription only on above link
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
…On China-Europe relations, Li called on France to play a constructive role in the negotiation of China-Europe investment agreement, and urge the EU to uphold free trade and be cautious in taking trade remedy measures, so as to maintain the sound development of China-Europe relations.
“China hopes the EU will not start an investigation into China’s wireless telecom products,” he noted…..
BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — China and France on Friday vowed to expand their three decades of nuclear energy cooperation to target markets in other countries.
 |
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) and French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault attend a press
conference in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 6, 2013. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) |
“We agreed to jointly exploit third-party markets of nuclear energy.China hopes the two countries can find broader space in the markets,” said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang while meeting reporters after his hour-long talks with visiting French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. Li described their discussion as “candid and friendly.”
Nuclear energy cooperation between China and France dates back to the early 1990s establishment of the Daya Bay nuclear power plant in south China’s Guangdong Province. It has two 1,000 MW pressurized water reactors introduced from France.
Continue reading →
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
Macfarlane said moving them to dry cask storage is a safer option but still only a temporary measure.
Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press
Published Friday, December 6, 2013 8:03AM EST
TOKYO — The United States’ top nuclear regulator said Friday that atomic energy users, including Japan, must figure out how to ultimately store radioactive waste.
Allison Macfarlane, head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said in Tokyo that finding an underground repository remains a challenge despite a global consensus on the need for such a facility to deal with waste coming out of nuclear power plants.
Her comment came as Japan finalizes a new energy policy that reverses a phase-out plan set by the previous government after the March 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Japan has no final waste repository, not even a potential site. The U.S. government’s plan for building a repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been halted by strong local opposition due to safety concerns.
“In the nuclear community, we of course have to face the reality of the end product — spent fuel,” Macfarlane told reporters.
She urged countries that are contemplating or embarking on a nuclear power program to formulate back-end plans at an early stage.
The new policy under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pro-nuclear government is pushing to restart as many reactors as possible if deemed safe under the new, stricter safety standards that took effect this past summer. The new policy, whose draft was discussed Friday by a government panel, is also expected to stick to Japan’s shaky fuel cycle program despite international concerns about the country’s massive plutonium stockpile.
Japan is stuck with 44 tons of plutonium at home and overseas after unsuccessfully pushing to establish a fuel cycle, with its fast breeder reactor and a reprocessing plant never fully operated. Experts say Japan’s plutonium stockpile poses a nuclear security threat and raises questions over whether Japan plans to develop a nuclear weapon, which Tokyo denies.
Japan also has more than 14,000 tons of spent fuel in cooling pools at its 50 reactors, all of which are offline. Some pools are expected to be full in several years, and are expected to be moved to a dry cask facility just completed in northern Japan.
Macfarlane said moving them to dry cask storage is a safer option but still only a temporary measure.
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
Partial image of original (see below)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/12/06/this-alarming-map-shows-dozens-of-nuclear-materials-thefts-and-losses-every-year/
Click on link for full images
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-look-at-recent-nuclear-material-incidents/2013/12/05/c6f3edb6-5e17-11e3-be07-006c776266ed_graphic.html
This week’s incident in Mexico, in which highly lethal cobalt-60 was stolen in a truck theft and not recovered for two days, may have been unusually disquieting, but it was not unusual. Nuclear material is stolen or lost two to four dozen times a year every year. Sometimes small amounts, sometimes large. It happens an awful lot in Russia and other former Soviet states; it happens in poorer, nuclear-capable countries such as Mexico, India and South Africa; and you’d better believe it happens in rich countries, as well, particularly in France.
That’s according to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Incident and Trafficking Database, which works with governments around the world to track such incidents. Many of the cases are never publicly reported — the IAEA doesn’t release details so that governments will be more willing to fess up when material goes missing. A group called the Nuclear Threat Initiative tracks open-source reports of these incidents. They don’t catch everything, but they’ve recorded enough to show the alarming frequency with which dangerous nuclear materials are lost or go missing. Some of those cases from the past decade are mapped out below. If you weren’t worried about loose nuclear material before, you will be after reading details of the incidents at the bottom of the map.
or more, read my interview with nuclear policy expert Mark Hibbs on why this happens and what makes it dangerous.
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
06 December 2013
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Review-of-EU-nuclear-safeguards-procedures-0612135a.html
The European Commission is to review its procedures for ensuring nuclear materials in the European Union (EU) are not diverted from peaceful to military uses.
It has released a tender for an expert to check its systems, which are coordinated by its directorate general for energy Directorate E, based in Luxembourg. The EC has 162 nuclear inspectors and a €20.5 million ($28.1 million) budget, conducting 1275 inspections in 2012, assessing 1.6 million records from nuclear operators. The commission said Directorate E is conducting an internal analysis of how it implements these checks, and wants an independent review to “identify, suggest and document any possible improvement.”
The chosen contractor would assess concepts and methodology; internal organisation and procedures; interaction with external stakeholders; and verification evaluation and its effectiveness. The tender documents explain: “In all four aspects, focus is to be put on the efficiency of the use made of human and financial resources, while respecting the existing legal obligations under the Euratom Treaty and while maintaining the credibility and effectiveness of the Euratom safeguards system.”
With regards to concepts and methodology, the consultant would be asked to consider whether the Commission’s work “adequately cover the risk of possible diversion of nuclear material.” The reviewer would assess the added value created by inspections. They will also be asked to propose inspection priorities, comparing assessments of quality of nuclear material; its quantity; and the type of nuclear facility involved, depending on the complexity of the technical process and/or the accessibility of nuclear material for safeguards verifications.
The consultant would also be asked to assess the importance of focusing on strategic installations (enrichment, fuel fabrication and reprocessing plants); those where deficiencies in the nuclear material accountancy and control system have been found; and plants where the risk of theft or loss is considered high. They will be asked to consider sample-taking and analysis; and assessments of how operators’ nuclear material accountancy and measurement systems fit external standards.
Continue reading →
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
….In a 2011 study the firm noted that 50 of the 64 “planned” nuclear projects do not have a start date or have been delayed.)….
Michael Kanellos,
12/06/2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkanellos/2013/12/06/czech-project-shows-why-nuclear-power-is-fading-away/
Nuclear power plants generates clean, baseline-quality energy, advocates like to claim.
English: Nuclear power plant in Cattenom, France Deutsch: Kernkraftwerk in Cattenom, Frankreich (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It’s too bad that nuclear is also about the most expensive form of power you can buy.
A recent report and statement from CEZ-AS, the country’s largest utility, once again highlight why the economics of nuclear don’t work. In short, CEZ has been pushing to add two new nuclear reactors to the Temerlin plant that would come online around 2025.
The utility has made the usual argument—that nuclear will create employment, help the country gain energy independence and even let the Czechs export power to neighboring European countries—but it has also said it can’t build the plan without government guarantees on the price of power.
We won’t build without state guarantees,” Pavel Cyrani, chief of strategy at CEZ told Bloomberg in an interview. “It’s simply impossible.”
How high would those guarantees have to be? A pair of studies from Candole Partners predicts that the price would have to be 115 Euros a megawatt hour, or $157 per megawatt hour, in 2013 dollars for the full lifetime operation of the Temerlin reactors for it to break even.
It’s high. Spot prices in the country are now around 40 Euros, or $55, per megawatt hour. Peak prices in New England grazed $230 per megawatt hour during a hot afternoon this past July, but generally the forward process are comfortably below $100. As I write, the wholesale price ticker at PJM pegs U.S. power at $62 per megawatt hour.
The subsidies required to make power from the plant competitive with today’s prices would cost taxpayers around a billion Euros a year, wrote Georgi Vukov at Candole.
Continue reading →
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
In Israel, as in Iran, militant leaders have shown political tenacity and a capacity for survival that dwarfs any perception of sentimentality or principle. For them all means seem to justify their political ends.
December 06, 2013
The unwritten rule in US and other Western capitals regarding nukes is: Don’t mention Israel’s nuclear programme. Even journalists in the mainstream media don’t, or won’t, ask the Israeli or Western officials simple and direct questions about Israel’s nukes.
There seems to be an “unspoken understanding” that Israel’s bombs are best left unmentioned, even when, as Micah Zenko writes in Foreign Policy, “Israeli officials routinely hint at missions where they would be used – specifically for deterrence or to threaten deeply buried targets in Iran.”
Ever since it was built with France’s help in the 1950s, Israel has rejected any international inspections or oversight of its reactor in the southern part of the country. Any leaks from this decades-old reactor in Dimona could affect millions of Israelis and Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the world’s powers have signed an agreement with Iran, which allows them access to most of the country’s nuclear sites. They also put to rest the possibility that Iranian possession of nuclear weapons would have been a major blow to nuclear non-proliferation and would have had disastrous implications for the region and world security. A balance of nuclear terror between Israel and Iran wouldn’t have necessarily led to the same result as the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union. According to some Western estimates, a worst case scenario of future nuclear confrontation between Israel and Iran would lead to (wild as it may seem) some 27 million Iranian deaths and two million Israeli deaths.
But thanks to the recent rounds of negotiations, the Iranian programme is about to be fully transparent, inspected and contained to ensure its use is limited to peaceful purposes. However, the Israeli government and its supporters in Washington contend that Iran cannot be trusted; that it’s dangerous, unpredictable, and is adamant on destroying Israel. To confirm or contradict such assertions, one needs to look at the facts, judge them by studying the historical record, and look at Iran’s behaviour since 1979 and how it contrasts and conflates with Israel’s.
Enriching difference
The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that Iran signed in 1968, and ratified in 1970, allows for inspections of its facilities. Israel has refused to sign the NPT and rejects any inspection or oversight by any international body.
Iran has made it abundantly clear on countless occasions that it stands against nuclear weapons and considers them un-Islamic. Israel maintains opacity – or “transparent ambiguity” regarding its nuclear status; so transparent, in fact, that anyone in the world is privy to the idea that Israel is committed to its nuclear deterrence. Iran insists on its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes under the supervision of the IAEA. Israel insists on its right to enrich weapon-grade plutonium outside the framework of the NPT. Iran has been accused of concealing parts of its programmes and failing to meet its obligation under the NPT treaty. Israel has fully concealed its nuclear weapon programme and rejected any international authority or safeguards of its reactor. Iran has joined 19 rounds of negotiations on its nuclear programme over the last ten years. Israel has rejected negotiations and any mention or discussion about them.
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
The law mandates prison terms of up to 10 years for government officials who leak secrets. Journalists who get information in an “inappropriate” or “wrong” way could be jailed for up to five years. It bans attempted leaks, inappropriate reporting, complicity and solicitation.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 6, 2013 at 10:10 AM ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/12/06/world/asia/ap-as-japan-secrets-law.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1&
TOKYO — Japan’s parliament approved on Friday a state secrets law that stiffens penalties for leaks by government officials and for journalists who seek such information, overriding criticism that it could be used to cover up government abuses and suppress civil liberties.
The ruling coalition forced a vote on the bill in an upper house committee on Thursday. Despite stalling tactics by opposition parties, the full upper house approved the bill on Friday by 130 to 82.
The more powerful lower house had approved the bill last week.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is seeking to increase Japan’s global security role and create a more authoritarian government at home, says the law is needed to protect national security and assuage U.S. concerns over the risks of sharing strategically sensitive information with Tokyo.
Critics worry the law could be used to hinder public disclosures, punish whistleblowers or muzzle the media since journalists could be jailed for seeking information they do not know is classified as secret.
The bill allows heads of ministries and agencies to classify 23 vaguely worded types of information related to defense, diplomacy, counterintelligence and counterterrorism, almost indefinitely.
Even some members of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party complained that the government rushed too quickly to get the bill approved before the end of the current parliamentary session.
“I think there needs to be more explanation,” party member Takashi Uto said during the committee debate. “Naturally people are concerned because they don’t know what will be a secret.”
Continue reading →
December 7, 2013
Posted by arclight2011part2 |
Uncategorized |
Leave a comment
nuclear-news 