2014 February 03 « nuclear-news

Opposition in Hungary to Govt’s plan to have Russia expand nuclear plant

Hungary’s Opposition Protests Nuclear Plan The Left-Leaning Coalition Rallied Against the Government’s Surprise Decision to Have Russia Expand a Nuclear Plant in Hungary By

VERONIKA GULYAS WSJ

Feb. 2, 2014 BUDAPEST—Hungary’s left-leaning opposition rallied Sunday against the government’s surprise decision to have Russia expand a Hungarian nuclear power plant, the first moves in its campaign to prevent Prime Minister Viktor Orban from winning another term in power in April.

The nuclear deal signed in January by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Mr. Orban is set to add two 1,000-megawatt reactors to the country’s existing 2,000-MW state-owned nuclear power plant MVM Paksi Atomeromu, with Russia providing a loan for Hungary to cover the construction costs. French, Korean and Japanese companies had been interested in the project before Hungary awarded the deal to Russia’s Rosatom.

Running counter the wider trend in Central Europe where most countries seek greater energy independence from Russia, Hungary said after signing the deal that it is enjoying an improving business relationship with its former communist-era overlord.

The deal, which parliamentary committees are set to discuss on Monday, has faced criticism from nongovernmental organizations, opposition groups and environmental activists who said the cabinet had failed to consult them before accepting the Russian offer…….The left-leaning coalition that protested the deal is the strongest challenger of the ruling Fidesz party. Fidesz enjoyed the support of 29% of voters, while the left-leaning coalition has 21%, according to an end-January poll by Tarki. The far-right Jobbik party had 8% of support. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304851104579358992639240898

February 3, 2014 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Forgotten victims of Britain’s nuclear tests on Christmas Island

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/defence/10611985/Forgotten-victims-of-Britains-nuclear-tests-on-Christmas-Island.html

No compensation for British servicemen exposed to nuclear explosions around Australia and the Pacific in the 1950s and ’60s

When the bomb went off, Private John Hall had been given no protective clothing. Instead, he and his fellow RAF servicemen had been ordered to turn away from the mushroom cloud and put their hands in front of their faces.

He later said that as he did so, his hands “lit up like an X-ray”, and he saw his bones outlined through the flesh.

The year was 1958, and the Cold War was at its height. Mr Hall, a 19-year-old RAF groundcrewsman, was stationed on Christmas Island, off the north-eastern coast of Australia, to assist with British nuclear tests. His job was to decontaminate the bombers after they flew through the mushroom clouds to collect samples for analysis.

Between 1952 and 1962, Britain and the United States caused more than 40 nuclear explosions in the atmosphere around Australia and in the Pacific. Around 21,000 British servicemen were exposed to these explosions, many of whom were dressed in no more than khaki desert fatigues. Approximately 3,000 are thought to be alive today.

Mr Hall’s part was small, but he knew that it was vital work. If open warfare with the USSR was to be avoided, it was imperative that Britain should develop a nuclear deterrent.

But as he helped to end the Cold War in the dust and blistering heat, Mr Hall had no idea that he and many of his fellow servicemen would later suffer ill health and premature death. His own would come at the age of 53, after a long struggle against hairy cell leukaemia, a rare form of cancer that affects just 200 people per year in Britain.

Westinghouse backs off small nuclear plants

Mr. Roderick said it would be difficult to justify the economics of small modular reactors at this point, especially without government subsidies.

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2014/02/02/Westinghouse-backs-off-small-nuclear-plants/stories/201402020074

February 1, 2014 8:39 PM

By Anya Litvak / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After millions of dollars and more than a decade spent developing a small modular nuclear reactor, Westinghouse Electric Co. is pulling back.

Danny Roderick, president and CEO of the Cranberry-based nuclear firm, said Westinghouse recently “reprioritized” staff devoted to small modular reactor, or SMR, development and funneled their efforts to the AP1000, the company’s full-scale new generation pressurized water reactor currently under construction in China and the U.S.

“The problem I have with SMRs is not the technology, it’s not the deployment — it’s that there’s no customers,” Mr. Roderick said. “The worst thing to do is get ahead of the market.”

The move comes after Westinghouse was twice snubbed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SMR commercialization program, which awarded cost-sharing arrangements to two other companies.

In November 2012, North Carolina-based Babcock & Wilcox won the first round of funding for its proposed 180-megawatt reactor, mPower. The company had submitted a joint application with the Tennessee Valley Authority, which said it would pilot these plants, and has received $101 million from the energy department so far.

In December 2013, NuScale Power, an Oregon-based company, with the backing of its primary investor Fluor Corp. and Rolls-Royce, won the second round, securing a cost-sharing agreement for up to $226 million over five years. NuScale is developing a 45-megawatt reactor.

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February 3, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Anti-nuclear exhibition comes to Hastings Library – NZ

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/anti-nuclear-exhibition-comes-hastings-001408915–spt.html

3 February 2014

The anti-nuclear exhibition “Everything You Treasure: a World Free from Nuclear Weapons” will open on Tuesday February 18, 5.30pm at the Hastings War Memorial Library.

The exhibition was jointly created by Soka Gakkai International and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

Local organiser Jane Featherstone says the exhibition was created to show how nuclear weapons pose a threat to the things we value and treasure as individuals.

“The exhibition includes 40 illustrated and informative panels which challenge viewers to consider the risks posed by nuclear weapons to the things communities hold dear.”

“The exhibition was officially launched at the 20th IPPNW World Congress in Hiroshima and has been making its way around the globe including displays in Oslo, Norway and the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.”

Paula Murdoch, district libraries manager says that with 2014 being the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War 1, this exhibition is a great lead in to the remembrance events.

“The Hastings War Memorial Library will be acknowledging many important dates over the next four years.”

“While WW1 did not involve nuclear technology, this exhibition is a stark reminder both of the unbelievably rapid rate of technological change and also of the unimaginable consequences of conflict and war. Lest we forget.”

Everyone is welcome to attend the official opening of ‘Everything you Treasure’ at the Hastings War Memorial Library on Tuesday February 18 at 5.50pm.The exhibition is on until Tuesday March 11.

February 3, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

UK nuclear experts to help with Fukushima decommissioning – Lady Barbara Judge

Feb 03, 2014 Ida Torres

http://japandailypress.com/uk-nuclear-experts-to-help-with-fukushima-decommissioning-0343437/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JapanDailyPress+%28Japan+Daily+Press%29

A team of nuclear experts from the United Kingdom will serve as consultants in the ongoing decommissioning process at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Lady Barbara Judge, the former chair of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and now the deputy chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO)’s Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee, is the one organizing the information exchange that is seen as a step that can help move forward the process that is expected to take decades to finish.

The engineers from Sellafield, the site of Britain’s worst nuclear accident, will be traveling to Japan to advise on how to effectively decommission the plant. The Fukushima plant experienced a catastrophic meltdown in 2011, in the midst of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. Judge believes that Japan will greatly benefit from the knowledge and experience of the engineers, and Britain in return, will also gain from learning about Japan’s nuclear industry. Japanese companies like Toshiba and Hitachi are actually helping plan the building of new nuclear power stations in the UK, the first to be built in decades. Toshiba in fact is buying a 60% stake in NuGeneration, a UK firm that will be building three plants in West Cumbria.

TEPCO is hoping that bringing in the decommissioning experts and Judge’s direction will help rebuild the trust of the Japanese people in them, after many perceive that they are making a mess out of dealing with the clean-up at the plant. They plan to launch a new subsidiary by April 1 that will be in charge of the decommissioning and decontamination of the crippled plant. This will be headed by a Japanese nuclear expert and the British engineers will serve as advisers.

February 3, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments

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