Finland’s Green partner in government maintains anti nuclear stance
Green Minister firm on anti-nuclear power stance UUTISET 8 Mar 14 A majority of the coalition government plans to approve a new permit for the construction of a nuclear plant on northwest Finland. However one of the government’s junior partners – the Green League – says it’s not backing down from its opposition to more nuclear power……. the Greens say they will not renege on their opposition to the construction of new nuclear capacity in Finland. ….http://yle.fi/uutiset/green_minister_firm_on_anti-nuclear_power_stance/7126905
The UK follows Japan in determining extent of nuclear “Transparency” by extending secrecy and protecting corruption!
OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE
SECRET
TOP-SECRET
http://www.sellafieldsites.com/2014/03/new-government-security-classifications/
New Government Security Classifications
7 March 2014
In 2012 Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, announced the intention to fundamentally overhaul and replace the existing information classification and marking scheme as part of the government’s Civil Service Reform programme.
Sellafield Ltd’s security regulator, ONR (Office for Nuclear Regulation), have instructed Sellafield Ltd and the wider civil nuclear industry to adopt the new GSC protective marking scheme known as Government Security Classifications (GSC).
Government Security Classifications
The new three tier system has three classifications: OFFICIAL, SECRET and TOP-SECRET.
Additionally ONR have mandated the use of an additional classification: OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE for Sensitive Nuclear Information which is classified below SECRET.
Implementing GSC
In line with the rest of UK government, the new GSC scheme is coming into operation on April 2nd 2014. All documents (including commercial correspondence, drawings, specifications, data sheets etc) created by Sellafield Ltd after this date for issue to suppliers will carry the new markings. Documents created prior to this date will continue to carry their existing markings until such time as they are amended in the normal course of work when the new markings will be applied at the same time.
You can find more information about GSC and implementing GSC by following this
Link to Core Briefing for 3rd Party Suppliers
More here;
UK nuclear submarine fleet increases its costs with an undecided future after “high fuel burn up” test of prototype reactor at Dounreay – UK stakeholders ignored again!
…The big nuclear companies threatened DECC from withdrawing all co-operation concerning nuclear matters if they insisted on asking for information that was needed for the stakeholders to argue their points. So, DECC (And NDA) was actually blackmailed (By the “individual and other companies”)….
I am writing in response to your request
of 22 August for “
copies of the correspondence/reports between the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the
Department for Energy and Climate Change regarding the conclusions of the work the NDA has recently undertaken into the management of the UK’s separated plutonium stocks
“…However there is a very high public interest for withholding this information. If the information were released it is less likely that that the individual companies concerned and others would provide the NDA or this Department with commercially sensitive information in the future. This would impede the NDA’s ability in carrying out its role effectively to consider properly the commercial viability of the technical options. Further as procurement is a likely part of securing a future plutonium disposition route, release of this information could threaten the NDA’s ability to secure value for money for UK taxpayers. This would be highly contrary to the public interest….”
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/244093/13_1157.pdf
More new news here including USA enrichment hopes in Mexico
Urenco Remains Bullish, Despite Fall In Earnings
Uranium & Fuel
http://www.nucnet.org/all-the-news/2014/03/07/urenco-remains-bullish-despite-fall-in-earnings
7 Mar (NucNet): Nuclear fuel enrichment company Urenco, jointly owned by the German, British and Dutch governments, has reported a four percent drop in full-year core earnings because customer demand has slowed.
The UK-based company, which its owners are looking to partly sell, saw 2013 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fall to 968 million euros (EUR) (1.3 billion US dollars) from EUR 1.01 billion the previous year.
Revenue fell to EUR 1.52 billion from a record EUR 1.60 billion in 2012, the company said.
Urenco group chief executive officer Helmut Engelbrecht said 2013 remained “challenging” in some of the company’s traditional markets. Reduced demand led to a slowdown of the market and increased worldwide inventories valued at EUR 353.2 million.
But Mr Engelbrecht said Urenco retained its 31 percent share of the world market for uranium enrichment services, underlining its position as a market leader. “Following our record year in 2012, we met our revenue expectations in 2013,” he said.
The company said its enrichment facility in the US enables it to provide a domestic enrichment service to North American customers. The New Mexico facility is now the only commercial operational enrichment facility in the US.
More links here
https://nuclear-news.net/2013/11/28/womens-and-community-groups-angered-at-japans-new-secrecy-law/
European Parliament asking akward questions concerning the fuel cladding on nuclear fuel rods
| Parliamentary questions | ||
| 28 February 2014 |
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| Question for written answer to the Commission Rule 117 Werner Langen (PPE) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=WQ&reference=P-2014-002367&format=XML&language=EN |
||
 Subject: Fuel element cladding at the Cattenom nuclear power plant |
|
| In its issue of 14 February 2014 the Trierischer Volksfreund newspaper reported that the fuel element cladding at the Cattenom nuclear power plant had been examined and found to be actually or possibly damaged. If the cladding material were, say, severely corroded, fuel elements might need to be replaced ahead of time, and other problems could arise.
1. Is the Commission aware that, according to French media reports, 25 out of the 58 French nuclear power plants have corroded fuel element cladding? 2. Has corrosion of fuel element cladding been known to occur at nuclear power plants, and have there been any proven cases at Cattenom? 3. Has risk analysis ever been brought to bear on what is one of the largest and most efficient, but also one of the oldest, nuclear power plants in France? 4. In the light of the stress testing of nuclear installations in Europe, how does the Commission view the safety implications of this type of corrosion? 5. Does corrosion damage of the kind described have to be reported to the International Energy Agency or neighbouring countries? |
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Ukraine crisis could lead to better understandng,or to nuclear war
Best And Worst Case Scenarios for Ukraine Crisis: World Peace And Nuclear War Seth Baum,Huffington Post,7 Mar 14 “………..The best case scenario has the Ukraine crisis being resolved diplomatically through increased Russia-Europe cooperation, which would be a big step towards world peace. The worst case scenario has the crisis escalating into nuclear war between the United States and Russia, causing human extinction.
We cannot rule out the possibility of it ending in direct nuclear war……….
And now for the best case scenario. There is compelling reason to believe that the Ukraine crisis could end with the world being much safer and at peace than it was before the crisis, if certain steps are taken. Perhaps these steps could have been taken without the crisis. But the crisis has done an excellent job at focusing global attention on Ukraine and its challenges. Let no crisis go to waste.
A nuclear war could also occur inadvertently, i.e. when a false alarm is misinterpreted as real, and nuclear weapons are launched in what is believed to be a counterattack……….http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-baum/best-and-worst-case-scena_b_4915315.html
High level radioactive wastes flow into Pacific – Fukushima nuclear disaster not under control
Japan Newspapers: It appears ‘high-level radioactive contaminated water’ is flowing into ocean at Fukushima — “Fear nuclear complex might not be scrapped” — Official admits disaster at plant “is barely being managed” http://enenews.com/japan-newspapers-it-appears-high-level-radioactive-contaminated-water-is-flowing-into-ocean-at-fukushima-fear-nuclear-complex-might-not-be-scrapped-govt-official-plant-is-barely-be?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28En
Yomiuri Shimbun,, Mar. 6, 2014: Decommissioning operations […] are still in the earliest stages. […] radioactive substances continue to flow into the sea. It appears that high-level radioactive contaminated water from tunnels extending from the No. 1 to No. 4 reactor building is flowing into the sea. […] groundwater continues to flow into the reactor buildings […] There are now, all told, 1,000 storage tanks—far too many to manually inspect. […] Construction of some groundwater bypass wells has already been completed. The government and TEPCO are working together to explain the situation to local governments concerned in an effort to achieve understanding among local residents concerning discharges of water into the ocean.
See also: Asahi: Nothing done for years to stop highly radioactive leaking into Fukushima trenches — Water above 1 sievert per hour — Work “has not been done to this day because of difficulties involved”
Japan Times,, Mar. 6, 2014: Tepco haunted by mismanagement; Glaring errors have met utility’s cleanup effort at nearly every turn[…] “I think it is extremely important that workers assume the worst when instruments show abnormal movements, considering that the crippled plant is barely being managed,” one NRA official said. […] Tepco has not even finished testing a trouble-plagued system that is reportedly capable of removing 62 different types of radioactive material from the contaminated water[…] Akira Watanabe, a professor at Fukushima University, said local people are encouraged by the central government’s increased financial support as they fear the nuclear complex might not be scrapped should Tepco’s business conditions worsen. But Watanabe, who serves as a member of the NRA’s panel monitoring safety measures at Fukushima No. 1, is skeptical that government support alone will bring a change to the overall situation.
Europe’s nuclear industry headed for safety crises
Greenpeace says nuclear risks rising in the EU n a new report, DW 7 Mar 14 Greenpeace is demanding immediate action to protect the bloc’s citizens from a rising risk of nuclear accidents. The environmental NGO has found out that many nuclear power plants in Europe are too old. Environmental organization Greenpeace says that the risk of a nuclear accident in Europe is on the rise. A new 146 page report, commissioned by the organization, finds that risk levels in Europe’s nuclear facilities are rising due to various reasons. The document cites the ongoing use of nuclear power plants beyond their original used-by date, as well as increased power demands in the bloc, as the main problems.
Currently in the European Union, Switzerland and the Ukraine there are 151 nuclear power plants in operation. Of those, 66 were built over 30 years ago and 25 of them were built over 35 years ago.
“If you consider that most of the reactors were planned to run for 30 years, then it’s clear that many of them are now exceeding their life span,” explains Greenpeace nuclear expert Tobias Riedel.
The problem with old power plants is not just that the component parts are getting more worn, say the experts. It’s also because of the lower technical and security requirements of the older power plants. ………http://www.dw.de/greenpeace-says-nuclear-risks-rising-in-the-eu/a-17481045
Hanford nuclear clean-up hampered by leak in massive waste tank
Leak in massive Hanford nuclear waste tank getting worse by SUSANNAH FRAME / KING 5 NewsNWCN.com March 6, 2014 RICHLAND, Wash. — Workers have found more waste leaking betw een the walls of a nuclear storage tank on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
The waste was found in a new place between the walls of one of the 28 double shell tanks at the site. The US Dept. of Energy, which owns Hanford, says the waste is covering an area of 7 feet by 21 inches. The double shell tanks were built to be the most robust tanks at Hanford. They were constructed with the intent to be able to safely store the dangerous wastes until the technology to permanently dispose of the liquids is developed. A leak in a double shell tank is seen as one of the biggest setbacks to the cleanup program at Hanford in the last decade……….http://www.nwcn.com/news/More-waste-leaking-between-walls-of-tank-248859301.html
Illinois’ 100% renewable energy
llinois commended for renewable energy CHICAGO — Illinois has more cities providing 100 percent renewable energy than any other state, which has reduced pollution by the equivalent of removing a million cars from the road over the past few years, according to a report released Friday by national and state environmental groups……http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140307/business/140308679/
Useful discussions between Iran and world powers
Iran, world powers hold ‘substantive and useful’ nuclear talks BY FREDRIK DAHL (REUTERS) 7 Mar 14- IRAN AND SIX WORLD POWERS HELD “SUBSTANTIVE AND USEFUL” EXPERT-LEVEL TALKS OVER TEHRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM THIS WEEK, THEY SAID ON FRIDAY, AHEAD OF A NEW ROUND OF POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS LATER THIS MONTH.
Seeking to build on an interim agreement reached late last year in Geneva, Iran and the major powers aim to hammer out a final settlement of the decade-old dispute over the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities by late July.
Both sides have made clear their political will to reach a long-term accord and have scheduled a series of meetings in the coming months. But they also acknowledge that there are still big differences over the future scope of Iran’s nuclear program and that success is far from guaranteed………….http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/07/us-iran-nuclear-experts-idUSBREA260MF20140307
Electric utilities need new business plans as renewable energy use inreases
Let’s Celebrate, Not Lament, Renewables’ Disruption of Electric Utilities Rocky Mountain Institute, 7 mMarch 14 Rnewables are making headway in Europe and bringing a low-carbon electricity system to the forefront. Renewables were 69 percent of new capacity added in 2012 in Europe and 49 percent in the United States. Not surprisingly, this threatens utilities unwilling to let go of outmoded business models and fossil-fuel generation.
Laments for Europe’s money-losing electric utilities were featured in an October 2013 cover story in the Economist. It said Europe’s top 20 energy utilities have lost over half their 2008 value, or a half-trillion Euros—more than Europe’s banks lost. Many utilities therefore want renewable competition slowed or stopped. Indeed, some European giants, like Germany’s E.ON and RWE, are in real trouble, and five of Europe’s top ten utilities have suffered credit downgrades. So have some U.S. utilities—most recently Jersey Central Power & Light and Potomac Electric Power Co.—from the likes of Fitch, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, Credit Suisse, and others.
Should old, long- and often still-subsidized oligopolies be bailed out or shielded from competition when they bet against innovation and lose? Those big European utilities were supposed, but failed, to prepare for renewables by reinvesting their hundreds of billions of Euros’ windfall from billing customers for the first decade’s tradable carbon emission credits they’d been given for free. Now they’re griping that disruptive technologies are upending their old models—just as innovators had warned them for the past few decades.
Disruptive technologies are meant to upset the status quo to bring worthwhile change. Should we have rejected mobile phones because they threatened to displace landline phones? Didn’t digital cameras make film camOf course utility companies that refuse to let go of an archaic system are losing investors’ money. To be sure, some market reforms, like a well-designed, technology-neutral electric capacity market, could be worthwhile. But botched investment strategy should not be rewarded. Nor should shareholders be surprised that utility stocks no longer perform like bonds when twenty-first-century technology and speed collide with twentieth- and nineteenth-century institutions, rules, and cultures. Fortunately, those shareholders were already compensated for accepting well-known risks like new technologies, new environmental rules, and other regulatory and policy shifts—and they needn’t be paid twice.
RENEWABLES AREN’T THE ONLY CHALLENGE TO INCUMBENTS Continue reading
How wealthy conservatives use money to mould opinions about cl;imate change
How does conservative money work on climate change? Daniel Lippman, E&E reporter ClimateWire: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Searching for a reason major climate change legislation hasn’t passed Congress yet?
You could do worse than start looking around Washington, D.C., with its endless think tanks, lobbying firms and trade groups, many of which have swung into action in the past to block such bills and stand ready to do so in the future.
A recent study published in the journal Climatic Change finds that much of the millions of dollars that funds these groups comes from secret sources, and a good portion of the rest is from publicity-shy conservative foundations and wealthy donors. Continue reading
Middle East resurgence of renewable energy
Renewable Energy in MENA Area to Double Next Year, Desertec Says Bloomberg, By Anthony DiPaola Mar 6, 2014 Clean-energy assets in the Middle East and North Africa will more than double in capacity by the end of next year, the Dii GmbH industry association said.
Solar and wind generation capacity will rise to 3.9 gigawatts in 2015 from more than 1.5 gigawatts now, Paul van Son, chief executive officer of the Munich-based trade association known as Desertec, said in an interview in Dubai March 4.
Governments are looking to clean energy to meet rising demand for power and to conserve fossil fuels for export. Oil-producing countries in the Persian Gulf plan to boost solar output, which will distribute renewable energy more evenly across the region, Van Son said. Most of the region’s green energy assets are wind plants in North Africa, he said…….
Desertec is developing a $30 million fund to promote start-up generation that would otherwise not find financing……http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-06/renewable-energy-in-mena-area-to-double-next-year-desertec-says.html
North Carolina looking towards more renewable enery, not nuclear or coal
Duke Energy spill illustrates need for renewable energy innovation The Chronicle,By Caeleigh Macneil | March 5, 2014 March 5, 2014 Several Duke Energy power plants have been cited for environmental violations since a pipe broke under a Duke Energy coal ash pond and leaked ash into Dan River in February………
North Carolina has been making significant steps in renewable energy production and investment and is ranked third in the country in utility-scale solar capacity in advanced development or under construction. In addition, the state has a 35 percent renewable energy tax credit that makes it cheaper to invest in renewables.
Furthermore, Gov. Pat McCrory is a strong supporter of solar energy.
“North Carolina is home to one of the fastest growing solar industries in our nation,” he said in a press release on his website. “It is important that we recognize the impact the solar industry is making in our state.”
Bigger renewable energy targets supported by 90% of Europeans
90% of Europeans support greater renewable energy targets, P Tech, 6 Mar 14 A survey conducted by the European Commission has found that 90% of citizens think it’s important for their government to aim for a greater share of renewable energy by 2030.
The Eurobarometer poll, published this week, also found that 49% of those asked thought it “very important” for governments to ask.
Support was highest in Cyprus, Greece and Malta and lowest in Bulgaria and Estonia.
The EU’s current 2020 target of sourcing 20% of its energy from renewables is made up of a patchwork of binding goals for each nation……The UK performed a u-turn this week. It had been the largest country in a group looking to remove the renewable target so that other low carbon technologies such as nuclear and carbon capture and storage could be used as well. Now it has said it backs a 27% renewable energy target for 2030, but that this should not be broken into national objectives. This is in line with the current proposals by the European Commission.
Critics said this target is unambitious and represents “business as usual”.http://www.pv-tech.org/news/90_of_europeans_support_greater_renewable_energy_targets
cocaine user in charge of nuclear reactor
N.J. nuclear reactor supervisor suspended after testing positive for cocaine use The unidentified PSEG Nuclear worker has been suspended indefinitely after the results of a random drug test came back earlier this week, a PSEG spokesman said Thursday.BY NINA GOLGOWSKI / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2014, A New Jersey nuclear reactor’s control room supervisor has been suspended after testing positive for cocaine use.
The unidentified PSEG Nuclear worker was suspended indefinitely after the results of a random drug test came back earlier this week, a PSEG Nuclear spokesman said Thursday……http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/n-nuclear-supervisor-suspended-testing-positive-cocaine-article-1.1713598
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