2015 May 13 « nuclear-news

France’s nuclear safety worries as fires break out close to 3 nuclear power plants

French police investigate fires near three nuclear sites http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/05/12/uk-france-nuclear-fires-idUKKBN0NX1HD20150512 PARIS French police are investigating fires that caused minor damage near three nuclear installations, state-owned utility EDF (EDF.PA) and atomic research agency CEA said on Tuesday.

Fires broke out on Monday morning at a weather station near EDF’s former Brennilis nuclear power station in Brittany and another near its Belleville nuclear plant on the Loire river, a spokeswoman said.

She said the fire had damaged equipment belonging to the IRSN nuclear research institute used to measure pollution and radioactivity at the weather stations, which are each about 1.5 kilometres away from the nuclear plants. “Police investigations are ongoing,” the EDF spokeswoman said.

Another fire was started on Monday evening at a weather station close to atomic research institute CEA’s Valduc site in Burgundy where nuclear weapons are manufactured and dismantled.

“There was the beginning of a fire, but it was quickly put out and there were no real consequences,” a CEA spokesman said, adding that a complaint had been filed with police.

The simultaneous incidents are reminiscent of drones that flew over French nuclear plants last year which raised safety concerns. [ID:nL5N0SR0DY] (Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Jason Neely)

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, incidents | Leave a comment

Weapons proliferation and other risks in USA’s marketing of nuclear technology to China

US nuclear deal with China raises proliferation concerns, Guardian Steven Mufson 12 May 15
Critics of Obama agreement are worried about Beijing’s growing naval power “……..The deal would allow Beijing to buy more US-designed reactors and pursue a facility or the technology to reprocess plutonium from spent fuel. China would also be able to buy reactor coolant technology that experts say could be adapted to make its submarines quieter and harder to detect.

The formal notice’s unheralded release on 21 April reflected the administration’s anxiety that it might alarm members of Congress and nonproliferation experts who fear China’s growing naval power – and the possibility of nuclear technology falling into the hands of third parties with nefarious intentions.

Now, however, Congress is turning its attention to the agreement. The Senate foreign relations committee was set to hear from five Obama officials in a closed-door meeting on Monday to weigh the commercial, political and security implications of extending the accord. The private session permitted discussion of a classified addendum from the director of national intelligence analysing China’s nuclear export control system and what Obama’s notification called its “interactions with other countries of proliferation concern”.

The White House’s willingness to push ahead with the nuclear accord with Beijing illustrates the evolving relationship between the world’s two largest powers, which, while eyeing each other with mutual suspicion and competitiveness, also view each other as vital economic and strategic global partners. The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group, argues that the agreement will clear the way for US companies to sell dozens of nuclear reactors to China, the biggest nuclear power market in the world……..

The US has bilateral 123 agreements with 22 countries, plus Taiwan, for the peaceful use of nuclear power. Some countries that do not have such agreements, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Malaysia, have expressed interest in clearing obstacles to building nuclear reactors…………..

In December 2006, Westinghouse Electric — majority-owned by Toshiba — signed an agreement to sell its AP1000 reactors to China. Four are under construction, six more are planned, and the company hopes to sell 30 others, according to an April report from the Congressional Research Service.

When it comes to nuclear weapons proliferation, China is in a different category from other 123 agreement nations. It first tested a nuclear weapon in 1964 and now has an arsenal of about 250 nuclear warheads. So US concerns have focused more on whether China has transferred technology to other countries.

“Concerns persist about Chinese willingness as well as ability to detect and prevent illicit transfers,” the CRS report said. “Missile proliferation from Chinese entities is a continuing concern.” The US wants China to refrain from selling missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, a payload of 499kg, as far as 305km. A State Department compliance report in 2014 said that Chinese entities continued to supply missile programmes in “countries of concern”.

China has a pilot plant engaged in reprocessing in Jiu Quan, a remote desert town in Gansu province. Satellite photos show that it is next to a former military reprocessing plant, according to Frank von Hippel, a Princeton University physics professor who specialises in nuclear arms control. There is not even any fencing between the sites, he says. “That’s been one of the hang-ups of the (reprocessing) deal” that China has been trying to negotiate with France for several years, von Hippel said.

Sokolski said the agreement proposed by Obama lacks a requirement for explicit, case-by-case US permission for a reprocessing project using American technology or material from US reactors. It gives consent in advance. And he fears that over the 30-year life of the new 123 agreement, China might want to compete with Russian and US arsenals and make more bombs, for which plutonium is the optimal material…………http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/12/us-china-nuclear-deal-proliferation-concerns

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | marketing, USA | Leave a comment

Cyprus, Greek and Turkish groups unite to stop Turkish nuclear plant

Groups unit to call for halt to Turkish nuclear plant Cyprus mail, By Evie Andreou, 12 May 15 The Mediterranean must not suffer a nuclear catastrophe like those seen in Chernobyl and Fukushima said organisations from Cyprus, Greece and Turkey that joined forces on Saturday to state their opposition to the construction of a nuclear power plant on Turkey’s southern coast.

The bicommunal Cyprus Anti-Nuclear Platform, in cooperation with environmental organisations from Turkey and the support of the European Greens, organised a conference in the buffer zone to discuss the negative impact a nuclear power plant would have in the Mediterranean region and signed a declaration urging Turkey to abort plans for the construction of the plant.

They also called for the formation of a Network for a Nuclear Free Mediterranean.

Key-note speaker at the event was Rebecca Harms, co-president of the Greens–European Free Alliance group in the European parliament. Also present were Cypriot MEPs, Environment Commissioner Ioanna Panayiotou, Green Party chairman George Perdikis and members of non-governmental organisations.

Speakers said that apart from the negative impact the power plant will have on the surrounding environment, it could also be a nuclear accident waiting to happen.

Turkey is no stranger to earthquakes as it sits on a seismically active area within the zone of collision between the Eurasian Plate and both the African and Arabian Plates.

Harms said that nuclear danger should not be added in an earthquake zone. She added that earthquake-prone countries like Greece and Italy do not have nuclear power plants and neither should Turkey.

The declaration states the opposition of “the inhabitants of the Mediterranean region… to the establishment of a nuclear power station in Akkuyu, Mersin for the sake of our safety and due to our responsibility to protect the living organisms and the ecosystem in the Mediterranean”.

It adds that Turkey’s plans to construct the nuclear power plant are outdated since they date back to the 1970s and that “not only does Turkey’s decision pose a risk to the future of the Mediterranean, but it also contravenes the Mediterranean Action Plan, established under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)…, and the Barcelona Agreement… where Turkey is a member”……..http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/05/09/groups-unit-to-call-for-halt-to-turkish-nuclear-plant/

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, opposition to nuclear | 1 Comment

Abnormally rapid rise in temperature in Fukushima nuclear reactor 1

Thermometer of Reactor 2 indicates rapid increase in temperature again / 79℃ on http://fukushima-diary.com/2015/05/thermometer-of-reactor-2-indicates-rapid-increase-in-temperature-again-79%E2%84%83-on-5102015/ 5/10/2015 Fukushima Diary Iori Mochizuki Following up this article.. A thermometer of Reactor 2 indicates a rapid increase of temperature / From 20℃ to 70℃ within 6 hours [URL]

Tepco’s plant parameter is showing that one of the thermometers is indicating a rapid increase in Reactor 2 temperature again.

The parameter is updated every 6 hours. This thermometer is installed in PCV (Primary Containment Vessel) of Reactor 2, and it is not considered to be out of order.

The temperature started rising in the end of April. It was below 55℃, however it got in the constant increasing trend. At the moment of 23:00 on 5/10/2015 (JST), the temperature is already 79℃.

Tepco has made no announcement on this abnormality in reactor temperature.

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2015 | Leave a comment

Canadian review board knocks back Areva’s planned uranium mine as uneconomic

Review board recommends against Areva Canada uranium mine http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCAKBN0NW22H20150511 May 11, 201 By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba – A review board in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut has recommended that Areva’s AREVA.PA planned uranium mine should not proceed, due to uncertainty about timing of the company’s plans to build the mine.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission released the Nunavut Impact Review Board’s report on
Monday.The review board makes recommendations to Canadian federal ministers who are responsible for the decision.

Uranium prices have been weak since 2011’s Fukushima disaster in Japan, which caused that country to take its reactors off-line. The slump has led uranium producers to put some plans for new mines on hold.

The Nunavut review board considered the project’s social, economic and environmental impacts, but concluded that it could not adequately do this with no clear development schedule. The board said its recommendation, if adopted by Ottawa, does not mean that Areva could not apply again for approval.

Areva spokeswoman Veronique Loewen said the company was disappointed and is reviewing the report.The project involves two separate open-pit mine sites and a milling operation.

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Canada, France | Leave a comment

Malawi warned by World Bank to not re-open Paladin Australia’s uranium mine

Malawi warned against reopening uranium mine http://www.ventures-africa.com/archives/62631 May 12, 2015 VENTURES AFRICA – The World Bank has warned Malawi against reopening its only uranium mine, saying the project should be put on hold until global prices improve.

Australia mining company, Paladin Energy, is developing Malawi’s only uranium mine, the Kayelekera uranium mine, in Karonga, northern Malawi. The project was initial suspended in 2014 because of the then unfavourable price climate, but there are indications that the company plans to resume operations in the coming months. “Whether or not the mine at Kayelekera eventually resumes operations will depend primarily on future prospects for global uranium prices, for which the immediate outlook is uncertain,” the World Bank told Malawi in its latest report.Uranium from mining is used almost entirely as fuel for nuclear power plants.

In 2013, Malawi was ranked as the third largest producer of uranium in Africa and tenth in the world. It is behind Namibia and Niger in Africa.

Last year, uranium global prices crashed to $36, from $51 per pound. This posed a major setback to Paladin Energy Africa, having invested heavily on the premise that prices will climb to $70. The Kayelekera uranium deposit was discovered by UK’s CEGB firm and a feasibility study was subsequently undertaken in the 1980s. Paladin acquired the deposit in 1997, accepted a Bankable Feasibility Study early in 2007, and, following environmental approval, undertook a $220 million development. The mine was opened in April 2009.

Paladin Energy (Africa) Ltd holds Paladin’s 85 percent interest following the Development Agreement with the Government of Malawi in control of the remaining 15 percent. Kayelekera production commenced in mid-2009, and in 2012 production reached 1103 tU, followed by 1134 tU in 2013.

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Malawi | Leave a comment

Not only activists, but also corporate nuclear shills use social media

Mike Seccombe’s article (The hashtag crusaders, Saturday Paper 9/5/15) discussed social media as a modern form of activism – particularly for the young. However, I’ve done a bit of searching on this, and discovered that yes – anti nuclear activists are more likely to be older persons, and female. But – pro nuclear activists also tend to be older persons, usually male.

While social media is seen as a forum for the young, and for activists – we’re inclined to see them as progressive or anti-establishment.

Not necessarily so, and the Twitter campaign against Dr Caldicott is a fine example of organised social media activism on behalf of corporations, in this case the nuclear lobby. While it’s pretty sure that at present, in Australia, the numbers of progressive individuals tweeting are greater than the numbers of anti progressives, the very system of Twitter (and no doubt Facebook and others too) enables multiple messages to go out from just one source.

Well funded agencies such as the nuclear lobby use various algorithms to send out, for example, hundreds of Twitter messages from fake Twitter addresses 24 hours a day.

Having studied the tweets on #thorium #nuclear for 3 years, I find that they are repetitively tweeting advertisements, often linking to Youtube ads, and the continual anti Helen Caldicott attack.

Fortunately, Twitter has improved its reporting system, so that nasty personal attacks can be stopped. I am hoping that Dr Caldicott has fnally addressed this herself. Now, Twitter enables people to report about attacks on another person. I’ve done this in relation to Dr Caldicott, and it seems to have worked, as the attacks have become less vitriolic.

Australia’s pro nuclear Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently dismissed social media as unimportant – “digital graffitti”. What an interesting comparison! Time was when walls and buildings were decorated with wonderful activist signs – Graffitti had its impact in those days – so its modern equivalent has its impact now.

But people should be aware that corporate lobbies are using it too!

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, media | Leave a comment

Dr Helen Caldicott versus the nuclear industry

The hashtag crusaders, The Saturday Paper MIKE SECCOMBE 9 May 15
How does ‘clicktivism’ stand up against the old-fashioned footslog of offline campaigning? Since she first set out on a course of social activism well over four decades ago, Helen Caldicott’s dedication to the anti-nuclear cause has taken her to some unusual places.

Perhaps no twist in her journey, though, was more unexpected than the one that took her in early 1982 to United States president Ronald Reagan’s White House via the Playboy Mansion, the Los Angeles pleasure palace of Hugh Hefner………

In her address, Caldicott invited the film stars to go outside, look at the real stars and contemplate the probability that while Earth held the only life in the universe, it was threatened by the madness of nuclear weapons. Some wept.

“And afterwards this girl came up and said, ‘I think you might be the only person who can change my father’s mind’,” says Caldicott.

It was Patti Davis, the daughter of then-president Reagan.

Caldicott with Reagan……..Dr Caldicott came away from the meeting having made three diagnoses: Reagan was not very bright – she assessed his IQ to be “about 100, very average”; he was showing the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease; and he was unshakable in his belief that the best way to avoid nuclear war was not disarmament but deterrence……..

Her dedication has been heroic. Even now, at 76, she continues to write, to hold symposia, to run the Helen Caldicott Foundation for a Nuclear Free Future, to advocate for her cause. She will be among a who’s who of advocates for progressive causes, including US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and anti-family violence campaigner Rosie Batty, speaking to 1200 people gathered in Melbourne over coming days to discuss issues and techniques at the Progress 2015 conference. (Full disclosure: The Saturday Paper’s editor, Erik Jensen, was also a speaker.)

The point is, Caldicott soldiers on. And she worries a bit about an apparent dearth of new, young people prepared to commit to long-haul campaigning.

“Kids don’t do it,” she says. “They’re all on their cell phones, and texting each other and playing on Twitter and Facebook.”………..http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2015/05/09/the-hashtag-crusaders/14310936001854?utm_content=buffercf00a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=buffer#.VU_XTI6qpHz

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Elizabeth Warren makes a compelling case against the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Sovereignty For International Investors (Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)) http://tm.durusau.net/ May 11th, 2015 Elizabeth Warren makes a compelling case against the Trans-Pacific Partnership in The Trans-Pacific Partnership clause everyone should oppose, where she says:

…
ISDS [Investor-State Dispute Settlement] would allow foreign companies to challenge U.S. laws — and potentially to pick up huge payouts from taxpayers — without ever stepping foot in a U.S. court. Here’s how it would work. Imagine that the United States bans a toxic chemical that is often added to gasoline because of its health and environmental consequences. If a foreign company that makes the toxic chemical opposes the law, it would normally have to challenge it in a U.S. court. But with ISDS, the company could skip the U.S. courts and go before an international panel of arbitrators. If the company won, the ruling couldn’t be challenged in U.S. courts, and the arbitration panel could require American taxpayers to cough up millions — and even billions — of dollars in damages.

If that seems shocking, buckle your seat belt. ISDS could lead to gigantic fines, but it wouldn’t employ independent judges.Instead, highly paid corporate lawyers would go back and forth between representing corporations one day and sitting in judgment the next. Maybe that makes sense in an arbitration between two corporations, but not in cases between corporations and governments. If you’re a lawyer looking to maintain or attract high-paying corporate clients, how likely are you to rule against those corporations when it’s your turn in the judge’s seat?

…
The use of ISDS is on the rise around the globe. From 1959 to 2002, there were fewer than 100 ISDS claims worldwide. But in 2012 alone, there were 58 cases. Recent cases include a French company that sued Egypt because Egypt raised its minimum wage, a Swedish company that sued Germany because Germany decided to phase out nuclear power after Japan’s Fukushima disaster, and a Dutch company that sued the Czech Republic because the Czechs didn’t bail out a bank that the company partially owned. U.S. corporations have also gotten in on the action: Philip Morris is trying to use ISDS to stop Uruguay from implementing new tobacco regulations intended to cut smoking rates.
…

I understand Senator Warren’s focus on the United States, but it diverts her from a darker issue raised by the TPP.

The TPP gives international investors sovereignty equivalent to national governments. Continue reading →

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Sustainable Development Agenda for the world – to be launched by United Nations

In September, The UN Launches A Major Sustainable Development Agenda For The Entire Planet, The Economic Collapse By Michael Snyder, on May 11th, 2015

The UN plans to launch a brand new plan for managing the entire globe at the Sustainable Development Summit that it will be hosting from September 25th to September 27th. Some of the biggest names on the planet, including Pope Francis, will be speaking at this summit. This new sustainable agenda focuses on climate change of course, but it also specifically addresses topics such as economics, agriculture, education and gender equality. For those wishing to expand the scope of “global governance”, sustainable development is the perfect umbrella because just about all human activity affects the environment in some way. The phrase “for the good of the planet” can be used as an excuse to micromanage virtually every aspect of our lives. So for those that are concerned about the growing power of the United Nations, this summit in September is something to keep an eye on. Never before have I seen such an effort to promote a UN summit on the environment, and this new sustainable development agenda is literally a framework for managing the entire globe.

If you are not familiar with this new sustainable development agenda, the following is what the official United Nations website says about it…

The United Nations is now in the process of defining Sustainable Development Goals as part a new sustainable development agenda that must finish the job and leave no one behind. This agenda, to be launched at the Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, is currently being discussed at the UN General Assembly, where Member States and civil society are making contributions to the agenda.

The process of arriving at the post 2015 development agenda is Member State-led with broad participation from Major Groups and other civil society stakeholders. There have been numerous inputs to the agenda, notably a set of Sustainable Development Goalsproposed by an open working group of the General Assembly, the report of an intergovernmental committee of experts on sustainable development financing, General Assembly dialogues on technology facilitation and many others.

Posted below are the 17 sustainable development goals that are being proposed so far. Some of them seem quite reasonable. After all, who wouldn’t want to “end poverty”. But as you go down this list, you soon come to realize that just about everything is involved in some way. In other words, this truly is a template for radically expanded “global governance”. Once again, this was taken directly from the official UN website…… http://linkis.com/theeconomiccollapseblog.com/jA9PM

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, politics international | Leave a comment

How are nuclear apologists able to sleep at night?

Fukushima: HOW CAN NUCLEAR SCIENTIST ACADEMICS MEDIA APOLOGIST SLEEP AT NIGHT? http://sgtreport.com/2015/05/fukushima-how-can-nuclear-scientist-academics-media-apologist-sleep-at-night/ [Ed. Note: This important article was first published on October 18, 2014. The situation now, is worse.]

from The Nuclear Proctologist: What is the use of nuclear technology if all it does is destroy everything it touches . Why have it on the planet when we can not build anything to contain it , the Nobel gasses will detonate it if not released . Everything on nuclear waste sites is vented into your community , all the time . Or worst criminally dumped into the ground like Hanford 450 billion gallons in the 50s and 60s . Right now they have right now 41 miles of open pits full of nuclear waste they couldn,t deal with leaching constantly into the water tables and environment is unimaginable when they decry terrorist releasing the same amounts into community’s . Nuclear money and destruction of everything is allowed hell its encouraged while descending narratives decrying the discrepancy are not considered are afforded a debate . Its a spineless mockery of the meaning of life .

Reactors have creepily named the place where they keep their used hot cores as spent fuel pools , yet the fuel pools are full of nuclear cores that are by no means spent . Each pool boils off at least 120,000 liters of highly radioactive material a day into your community’s from the cracks created by the semi chain reaction on fuel rods, a full chain reaction is a melt down like Fukushima . The only perpetual machine on the planet is nuclear waste , it perpetually kills all 8.8 million species on this planet for millenniums .Read More @ Thenuclearproctologist.org

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | 3 Comments

Hashtag activism a powerful force, when followed by action

a hashtag or a petition is a good start, but it must be followed up with engagement towards further action.

The hashtag crusaders, The Saturday Paper, MIKE SECCOMBE, 9 May 15 …….Should those concerned about effecting real progressive change worry that simple identity politics is supplanting real commitment?

Or have the means of expression simply changed? Maybe the hashtag is the digital age equivalent of the bumper sticker, and the online petition the equivalent of the street march. Maybe younger people are just as committed – in many cases marginally committed – as they ever were.

If that’s the case, the future for progressive change organisations is perhaps not so dire. Certainly more people respond to hashtags than ever put stickers on their cars. Proportionally, many more people have signed on to GetUp! petitions in Australia than rallied in Central Park in 1982.

“Change.org has 2.8 million people who have used their platform, so it’s not a small proportion of the population at all,” says Rebecca Wilson, deputy director of the Centre for Australian Progress, the organisation hosting the Melbourne conference……

On the other hand, she says: “Every organisation that has an email list will tell you their membership is heavily female and middle aged or older. So it’s partially true that it’s often older people engaging. But they have the time and the resources.”

The evidence is ambiguous. What is increasingly clear, though, is that while modern means of communication such as social media can be a powerful tool, they are not a substitute for more traditional means of activism. And those seeking change face the same old problem of turning short-term protest into long-term campaigning.

“It’s too reductionist to say that there is clicktivism and then there is legitimate advocacy,” says Anat Shenker-Osorio, a US-based communications consultant specialising in cognition and linguistics.

There is, she says, “some truth” to the criticism that if you make something too easy you encourage a glib and superficial response. “But the issue is actually a lack of human-to-human engagement. The thing that sustains motivation is the creation of connection and community. The trouble with online actions is that they don’t engender that connection.

“We have for too long focused on protest instead of movement building.” Continue reading →

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

North Korea successfully tests a submarine-launched nuclear missile

Report: Nuclear North Korea successfully tests a submarine-launched missile HOT AIR, MAY 10, 2015 BY NOAH ROTHMAN Over the weekend, North Korea announced that it had successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile. That announcement was accompanied with a series of photographs of the launch, and Kim Jong-un beaming into the camera as he reflected on his country’s achievement. It’s never wise to give the North Korean’s any more credibility than they deserve. While there has not yet been independent confirmation of the launch, no American officials or members of the intelligence community have called the veracity of the DPRK’s claim into question either.

The test launch represents a violation of United Nations sanctions banning North Korea from developing and using advanced ballistic missile technology, but so does Pyongyang’s decision to manufacture and test at least three fissionable devices. It should be clear to anyone but a diplomat that the 12-year-long on-again, off-again diplomatic process aimed at preventing North Korea from becoming a significant nuclear power has failed.

As of 2013, officials estimated that Pyongyang possesses enough weapons-grade plutonium for between six and 10 bombs. On at least three occasions, the secretive communist country has conducted underground nuclear tests. It remains, however, unclear whether those were plutonium or uranium devices, the latter being more difficult to produce………

It is too late to prevent the DPRK from serving as the foremost exporter of nuclear technology to the globe’s worst actors, but there is still time to prevent a much more volatile region of the world – the Middle East – from rolling the atomic dice. Unfortunately for future generations, today’s Western leaders do not seem predisposed to do the hard work of preventing a nuclear arms race in the Arab world. http://hotair.com/archives/2015/05/10/nuclear-north-korea-successfully-tests-a-submarine-launched-missile/

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

AREVA’s nuclear options narrow in attempt to save thecompany

Indebted French nuclear company Areva sacks workers, negotiates with Paris, Financial Review, 10 May 15 French nuclear group’s options narrow; Talks with EDF and state over costs of shake-up by Michael Stothard

French nuclear group Areva is to cut 6,000 jobs over three years – 14 per cent of its global workforce – as options for a government-backed rescue package begin to narrow.

Areva, which reported a €4.8bn loss last year, said it was also lowering wages for surviving staff in an attempt to deliver the bulk of a €1bn cost reduction target.

However, the state-controlled group, which has seen its equity capital fall to nearly zero after four years of losses, is continuing to negotiate a more radical restructuring plan with EDF and the French government.

People close to the discussions said that these talks now focus on just two remaining options, and a final decision will be made in the coming months.

Under the first option, EDF, which is 85 per cent government owned, would acquire the nuclear reactor and engineering businesses of Areva, taking control of the process of designing and building new reactors as well as maintaining existing plants.

This deal, which could be valued at as much as €3bn, would result in the break-up of Areva, a company once regarded as one of the crown jewels of France’s nuclear industry. But, at the same time, it would limit the amount of cash the state has to contribute to Areva in a capital raising, which is expected to accompany such a deal.

Under a second, simpler, option – which people close to the talks say is preferred by the managements of Areva and EDF – only the smaller engineering business of Areva would be sold to EDF.

This would keep Areva relatively intact. But with EDF paying only between €300m and €1bn, it would necessitate a much bigger capital contribution from the cash-strapped French government to Areva.

Both deals would require all parties to agree a deal on price, which has been a contentious issue in recent weeks.

To help mitigate the cost to the state of any capital raising, Areva will consider approaching its existing Chinese partners, according to people familiar with the plans………http://www.afr.com/news/world/indebted-french-nuclear-company-areva-sacks-workers-negotiates-with-paris-20150510-ggy6b0

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France, politics | Leave a comment

Alarm in New York following explosion at Indian Point Power Plant

New York Nuclear Scare After Explosion at Indian Point Power Plant New Yorkers contemplated the pros and cons of nuclear energy again Sunday after an explosion at Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester. By: Hana Levi Julian, Jewish Press May 10th, 2015 “….The Indian Point nuclear power plant that provides 25 percent of the electric juice for the Big Apple and Westchester County went into “emergency response” late Saturday afternoon.

Billows of black smoke rose into the sky over the Indian Point nuclear power plant near Buchanan, New York.

A transformer failed, causing an explosion that ripped through the non-nuclear side of the plant.

The blaze was just 200 yards away from the building in which the reactor was located.

Firefighters who rushed to the scene were able to extinguish the flames, Entergy spokesperson Jerry Nappi told CNN, adding that one of the plant’s two reactor units automatically shut down.

No one was injured in the fire and there was “no threat to the public safety at any time. All Indian Point emergency systems worked as designed,” the facility said in a tweet.

But the fire had to be extinguished twice, because the flames re-ignited. Even so, the fire was out within half an hour.

Governor Andrew Cuomo received a briefing on site and told reporters, “These situations we take very seriously. This is a nuclear powered plant; it’s nothing to be trifled with.”http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/new-york-nuclear-scare-after-explosion-at-indian-point-power-plant/2015/05/10/

May 13, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

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