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Appalling hypocrisy in statement from USA, UK and Russia on Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

 

Ekklesia 1st July 2018 ,The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has responded to a statement released
by the USA, UK and Russia to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on Sunday 1 July 2018. Kate
Hudson, CND General Secretary, said: “While it is right to mark the
anniversary of the landmark NPT, this statement from three of the major
nuclear states smacks of appalling hypocrisy.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/26227

July 2, 2018 Posted by | 2 WORLD, politics international | Leave a comment

UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty turns 50 – not a lot of hope for complete nuclear disarmament

Nuclear-free world unlikely as UN treaty turns 50, DW, 1 July 18  Fifty years after countries signed the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, there are still nearly 15,000 nuclear weapons spread around the world. Experts today believe that complete nuclear disarmament remains unlikely.

If it weren’t the site of a historical anachronism, hardly anyone would take any notice of Büchel, a small town west of Frankfurt, between Koblenz and Trier. Büchel is home to the last remaining atomic bombs in Germany, which have been stored here since the end of the Cold War. The air force base here allegedly houses around 20 B61 bombs, although the exact number is secret. But one thing is certain: each of them is many times more destructive than the bombs that wiped out Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The atomic bombs in Büchel belong to the US, but in an emergency they would be flown to a target and dropped by German Tornado fighter-bombers. Pilots from the Tactical Air Force Wing 33 have been regularly practicing with dummy bombs for decades. The squadron is the main employer in the area, but the existence of these nuclear weapons doesn’t show up anywhere on Büchel’s website.

This strategy, in which other NATO states also participate, is called “nuclear sharing.” Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey also have US nuclear weapons on their territory. The concept of nuclear deterrence which underlies this strategy is still in great demand. As recently as 2012, it was confirmed by NATO as a “core element of collective defense.”

Original goal: Nuclear disarmament

The mood was very different 50 years ago. In the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed by the US, Great Britain and the Soviet Union on July 1, 1968, the signatory states undertook to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. They were also striving for complete nuclear disarmament. Germany joined the treaty in 1975, and it has since been signed by more than 190 states.

For a long time, the treaty was regarded as the cornerstone of global disarmament efforts. Today, it appears to be little more than a toothless tiger. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates there are still nearly 15,000 nuclear weapons worldwide. According to their research, the majority are held by the US (6,800) and Russia (7,000).

According to theologian Eberhard Schockenhoff, a professor at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg and long-standing member of the German Ethics Council, the nuclear strategies of both sides are based on maintaining this residual stock, at least at its current level.

“This is ethically unacceptable,” he said. The nuclear powers have “written off” the goal of nuclear disarmament — if not in public, at least behind closed doors.

The clock is ticking…

Tom Sauer, a political scientist and disarmament expert at the University of Antwerp, believes the treaty is “in total crisis.” The last review conference in 2015 broke down, and he fears this will also be the case for the next one in 2020.

He believes that this state of affairs will continue until the signatory countries finally fulfil their obligations, which include a massive reduction of warheads down to zero, he says. “They promised that in 1968, but they’re not doing it.”

But instead of reducing their stockpiles, nuclear weapon states have been modernizing their weapons and incorporating new technology, such as sophisticated guidance systems. Experts say the danger of nuclear war is greater today than it has been for decades.

In January, a panel of scientists, including 17 Nobel Prize winners, set the symbolic Doomsday Clock— which measures how close the planet could be to catastrophe — at 11:58 p.m.. The readjustment put the clock at the closest it’s been to midnight since the height of the Cold War…..

New UN attempt

Has the danger posed by the continued existence of nuclear weapons been misjudged, 50 years after the signing of the non-proliferation treaty? Sauer fears this might be the case. He remains concerned that disarmament talks between the US and Russia are currently on hold, and that other countries, in particular Iran and Saudi Arabia, may be striving for nuclear weapons of their own.

Sauer hopes the United Nations will eventually support a complete ban on nuclear weapons, as outlined in a treaty adopted in July 2017 by 122 votes from its 193 member states. Once 50 countries ratify this treaty, it will become legally binding. To date, only 10 countries have done so — none of them major world powers.

If and when that happens, all the signatory countries would then consider nuclear weapons illegal, said Sauer. “The wind is changing, and nuclear powers are on the defensive.”……

….https://www.dw.com/en/nuclear-free-world-unlikely-as-un-treaty-turns-50/a-44471683

July 2, 2018 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Hypocrisy relating to Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty – US-UK Mutual Defense Agreement

David Lowry’s Blog 29th June 2018 , Article I of the NPT starts with the following commitment on Russia, the US
and UK: “Each nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to
transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear
explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices
directly, or indirectly”

Extraordinarily, just two days earlier in
Washington, the US hosted a bilateral meeting with the UK to celebrate the
60th anniversary – from July 3, 1958 – of a hugely significant nuclear
defence agreement (commonly called the US–UK Mutual Defense
Agreement,(MDA) with defence spelled with an ‘s’ even in the official
UK version, hinting at the origin of its drafting).
http://drdavidlowry.blogspot.com/2018/06/naked-nuclear-hypocrisy.html

July 2, 2018 Posted by | politics international, UK, USA | Leave a comment

Federal and tribal officials support proposed amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

Officials seek support for radiation exposure compensation amendments https://www.daily-times.com/story/news/local/navajo-nation/2018/06/30/officials-seek-support-radiation-exposure-compensation-amendments/740239002/, Noel Lyn Smith, Farmington Daily Times  June 30, 2018  

FARMINGTON — Federal and tribal officials expressed support Wednesday for proposed amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act during a hearing in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

The bipartisan legislation was introduced in January 2017 to expand compensation under the act to victims of radiation exposure, including those who worked in uranium mines after 1971 in northwest New Mexico and those exposed to radiation from testing sites in the West and the Pacific islands.

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., is among five senators sponsoring the bill and provided testimony in front of the committee in Washington, D.C.

“This bill would close the gaps in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to make sure that those downwinders and miners and millers who were unknowingly exposed to radiation — but who are not now eligible under the act — are fairly compensated,” he said.

Although Congress amended the act in 2000, it still left out several groups, including downwinders living in the Tularosa Basin in New Mexico and the post-1971 miners, Udall added.

“While the federal government stopped purchasing domestic uranium in 1971, the mines continued to operate and the federal government failed to implement worker safety standards,” Udall said adding work sites lacked showers and caused workers to take contaminated clothing home.

Approximately 30 million tons of uranium ore was removed from 1944 to 1986 from the Navajo reservation, and more than 500 abandoned uranium mines exist in the region, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez provided comments to the committee on behalf of the tribe. His comments included calls to support amending the types of documentation used to prove residency and employment.

“The verification process for downwinders is cumbersome and restrictive. The DOJ should allow the use of affidavits from local officials to verify residence,” Nez said.

He added that information from uranium companies should be streamlined to ease the verification process.

“As the Navajo Nation vice president, I urge you to act now. Our people have been waiting for justice for far too long,” Nez said.

He noted that among those attending the hearing was a tribal member who developed health problems from uranium mining.

This individual could not fly due to his health, so he drove across country to attend the hearing, Nez said.

Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 or by email at nsmith@daily-times.com.

July 2, 2018 Posted by | health, indigenous issues, politics | Leave a comment

Horizon Nuclear Power’s Wylfa Newydd plans formally approved.

Energy Live News 29th June 2018 ,Horizon Nuclear Power’s Wylfa Newydd plans formally approved. Four key
environmental permits will now enter the assessment stage. Horizon Nuclear
Power has had its plans to build the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power
station in Wales formally approved by the Planning Inspectorate. The
Development Consent Order process now formally begins with the
pre-examination phase, which is where members of the public can become an
‘interested party’. An Examining Authority is also appointed at this
stage and interested parties will be invited to attend a preliminary
meeting. Four other key environmental permits will now also enter the
assessment stage, which will be delivered by Natural Resources Wales.
https://www.energylivenews.com/2018/06/29/horizon-nuclear-powers-wylfa-newydd-plans-formally-approved/

July 2, 2018 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

UK Public Accounting for Costs of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise – seriously underscrutinised

Parliament 19th June 2018 Neglected Large-Scale Value for Money Issues in Public Accounting for Costs
of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise :Written evidence a review of issues that
are of direct relevance to the core topic of the National Audit Office
(NAO) report of 2018 concerning ‘the Defence Nuclear Enterprise’
(henceforth ‘NAO Report’). The material summarized here supplements and
updates evidence published by the PAC Inquiry of October 2017. The authors
believe on grounds of many years of research at the Science Policy Research
Unit at the University of Sussex that the matters documented here raise
large-scale, long-run value for money issues of pressing national
importance, which remain seriously neglected in work to date either by the
NAO, the PAC or any other official bodies – and which are therefore
gravely under-scrutinized by Parliament or wider UK policy debates

http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/public-accounts-committee/managing-the-uks-nuclear-deterrent/written/85883.pdf

July 2, 2018 Posted by | business and costs, politics, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Unresolved Israel-Palestinian conflict prevents region-wide prohibition of nuclear weapons

Palestinians and Nuclear Weapons, The National Interest, 
The unresolved Israel-Palestinian conflict is one of the major factors preventing an effective region-wide prohibition of nuclear weapons., by Paul R. Pillar , June 29, 2018

The Palestinians

“……… Consider the issue of nuclear weapons. Most of the states of the region have actively supported diplomacy aimed at making the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone. Israel, backed by the United States and now especially by the Trump administration, has opposed this diplomacy and looked for ways to impede it. These lines of contention were apparent this spring at a preparatory meeting for the next quinquennial review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Israel argues that restrictions on nuclear weapons cannot be considered in isolation from other regional security issues. On the face of it, that is a valid argument, given the possible role of nuclear weapons as a deterrent against perceived non-nuclear threats. But Israel and its U.S. backer define the stumbling block in more Israel-specific terms. The Trump administration’s representative at the preparatory committee meeting spoke of many ostensible and mostly vaguely worded reasons to slow-roll diplomacy on a regional nuclear weapons-free zone, but the specific problem he singled out was “the non-recognition of Israel by some regional states.”

 
Any talk of recognition or non-recognition of Israel should immediately evoke the Arab League peace initiative , which has been on the table since 2002 and commits all the Arab states to recognition of, and peace with, the state of Israel contingent on a withdrawal from occupied territories and a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee problem.
 
Subsequent modification of the initiative has made clear the Arabs’ acceptance of land swaps that would not require rigid adherence to boundaries that existed prior to the 1967 war. Saudi Arabia took the lead in constructing this peace proposal. The initiative is still on the table. Despite the dalliance with Israel of de facto Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman and reports that he is willing to throw Palestinians under the bus as he pursues his own agenda, his government still subscribes to the terms of the initiative.
……… Full recognition requires the players in question to recognize the national rights of all other players and not to occupy someone else’s territory indefinitely. Also fair: amid much talk about recognizing Israel’s right to exist, it surely is just as reasonable to insist on recognition of the Palestinians’ right to exist. The conclusion: the unresolved Israel-Palestinian conflict is one of the major factors preventing an effective region-wide prohibition of nuclear weapons.

That the Trump administration has gone all in with the Israeli government’s wishes while continuing to claim for itself the principal mediator’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute augurs very badly for any settlement of the conflict in the foreseeable future. The pessimism is only accentuated when taking into account the personal and financial interests of would-be U.S. mediators that make it understandable for Palestinian leaders to reject them as hopelessly biased. The kind of suffering that has played out in Gaza and along the Gaza fence is one reason to regret the dim prospects for peace on this issue.  http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/palestinians-and-nuclear-weapons-24752

July 2, 2018 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

China and UK to work together on promoting the nuclear industry to universities etc

Energy Live News 29th June 2018 , China’s largest nuclear power producer has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the UK Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research
Centre (Nuclear AMRC) to help deepen its links with Britain’s supply
chain.

CGN, the developer of the Bradwell B project, hopes to develop its
expertise and knowledge, as well as improve commercial and academic
connections. The wide-ranging deal includes working out how UK businesses
and universities can prepare themselves to participate in the project and
how these organisations can add value to CGN’s nuclear operations in
China and elsewhere.
https://www.energylivenews.com/2018/06/29/cgn-signs-mou-to-deepen-links-with-uks-nuclear-supply-chain/

July 2, 2018 Posted by | China, Education, UK | Leave a comment

Plan to save nuclear reservoir at Winfirth from “collapse”

Dorset Echo, Richard Percival, 1 July 18 

A NEW scheme has been launched to prevent a concrete reservoir at a nuclear site with the capacity to hold a million gallons of water from collapse.

Blacknoll Hill underground reservoir is set to be decommissioned under new proposals which have been submitted to Purbeck District Council by Magnox.

The project is one of the biggest steps as part of the ongoing decommissioning of the former Winfrith nuclear power station by Magnox Ltd, who currently manages the western half of the former power station site on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

The Blacknoll reservoir consists of a 126ft by 96ft reinforced concrete tank sunk approximately 17ft below the surface near to the top of Blacknoll Hill with the roof of the reservoir being supported by 28 steel reinforced columns and an internal wall running along its length.

Its purpose when it was built in 1960 was as a source of softened water supply for site operations and as a source of water in the event emergency cooling was required at one of the reactor plants throughout Winfrith operations.

In a planning document by Hayrock on behalf of Magnox, said: “Structurally, the reservoir is in good condition; however, deterioration could lead to the eventual collapse of the structure if it was abandoned.”

The decommissioning will consist of a number of steps with each completed before the next step commences………http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/16323812.plan-save-nuclear-reservoir-at-winfirth-from-collapse/

July 2, 2018 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

  AQ Khan: Nuclear hero to Pakistan, villain to West.

 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNEBy AFP, June 30, 2018 ISLAMABAD: 
Pakistani atomic scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan is hailed as a national hero for transforming his country into the world’s first Islamic nuclear power but regarded by the West as a dangerous renegade responsible for smuggling technology to rogue states.

Revered as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, Khan was lauded for bringing the nation up to par with arch-rival India in the atomic field and making its defences “impregnable”.

But he found himself in the crosshairs of controversy when he was accused of illegally proliferating nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Khan was placed under effective house arrest in the capital Islamabad in 2004 after he admitted running a proliferation network to the three countries. ……. A court ended his house arrest in February 2009, but Khan has to inform authorities of his movements in advance, even within Islamabad, with security accompanying him on his every step. …. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1746448/3-q-khan-nuclear-hero-pakistan-villain-west/

July 2, 2018 Posted by | Pakistan, safety | Leave a comment

Germany’s biggest utility E.ON to merge with its biggest competitor RWE

Energy Post 26th June 2018 , It came as a great surprise to me some weeks back that Germany’s biggest
utility E.ON reached an “agreement in principle” with its biggest
competitor RWE to acquire its grid and retail business Innogy via a
wide-ranging “exchange of assets,” including RWE taking over the
renewables and other power generation businesses of E.ON.

The result, if the various competition authorities and regulators allow the deal to take
place, will be the biggest European grid company and energy retailer in the
form of E.ON, with RWE becoming the second biggest power generator in
Europe and third biggest owner of renewable assets. In addition, as part of
the deal, RWE will keep a minority stake in E.ON which ties the companies
together.
http://energypost.eu/trying-to-make-sense-of-the-rwe-eon-utility-deal/

July 2, 2018 Posted by | business and costs, ENERGY, Germany | Leave a comment

Costs of UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: call for submissions by July 10

Public Accounts Committee 29th June 2018 , A new report by the National Audit Office into the NDA found that work at
Sellafield accounted for 61% of the NDA’s total £3.3 billion expenditure
in 2017–18. 8 of NDA’s 10 most hazardous sites are at Sellafield,
whilst NAO expected current major projects at Sellafield will cost £6
billion total.

The NAO found that the NDA had made significant progress in
reducing delays and meeting significant milestones, but expects major NDA
projects to cost more than originally estimated in 2015.

Evaluating performance at Sellafield remained difficult due to the complexity and
scale of the site, but more could be done to explain progress, and to
provide assurance of major projects. The Committee will take evidence from
the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority, and Sellafield to explore NDA and Sellafield’s
progress and performance. If you wish to submit written evidence to this
inquiry, the deadline to do so is midday on Tuesday 10 July.
https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/nuclear-decommissioning-authority-17-19/

July 2, 2018 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

Questions on whether Saudi Arabia plans for nuclear weapons

Analysis: Israeli regime backs Saudi nuclear ambitions: Tactic or Strategy?, July 1, 2018 – (AhlulBayt News Agency) – On Tuesday, the Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said that Tel Aviv will support Saudi Arabia’s entry to the club of nuclear states if Riyadh signs the treaty preventing nuclear weapons proliferation, NPT.

Steinitz, addressing World Gas Conference in Washington, said that the Israeli regime supports the development of nuclear power in the Arab kingdom if it includes the gold standard protections and if the kingdom purchases uranium from the US.

The remarks on the Saudi nuclear ambitions on the one hand signal the sensitivity and significance of a nuclear Saudi Arabia in the Israeli security strategy and on the other hand carry hallmarks of an eased tone of Tel Aviv on Riyadh’s nuclear ambitions after the Arab monarchy showed a will to support Arab-Israeli diplomatic normalization efforts. Saudis are winning the Israeli positive stance as they are deeply engaged in an endeavor to pave the way for the “deal of the century” on al-Quds (Jerusalem) through putting strains on the Palestinians to bow.

The oil-rich Arab monarchy has designed ambitious plans to develop the nuclear energy as part of a futuristic roadmap. A royal decree issued in 2010 by then-King Abdullah led to setting up a nuclear power and renewable energies research center, dubbed (KA-Care), in the capital Riyadh. The facility was meant to suggest solutions to address energy and water needs of the country in the future. A year later, the center announced the kingdom aims to build 16 nuclear reactors to produce about 20 percent of its electricity by 2032.

The nuclear roadmap resulted in nuclear cooperation agreements with a series of nuclear technology holders, including France, Argentina, South Korea, and Kazakhstan. According to the deals, Saudi Arabia will see its nuclear industry fully operational and production-ready by 2040. In June 2017, Prince Mohammed bin Salman replaced Prince Mohammad bin Nayef as crown prince. The young crown prince very soon started his motion to get the US green light and technology allowing the Saudis to enrich the uranium on their soil. Media reports suggested that nuclear cycle acquisition was a top case in the prince’s negotiations with the American officials during his March visit to the US.

Despite the Saudi show of desire to become a nuclear state, some factors affect the nuclear technology acquisition possibility: The argument on the type of nuclear power use, Tel Aviv’s role-playing in this course, and the Israeli insistence on keeping its military superiority in the region through nuclear weapons monopoly.

Now a question presents itself: Is the Israeli compromise to the Saudi nuclear ambitions a fruit of Prince Mohammed-led pro-normalization policy, concession to the Israelis, and turning a blind eye to US embassy relocation to al-Quds at the price of the Palestinian cause?

…….. Another reason for Saudi Arabia to move towards developing nuclear arms is its military weakness and vulnerability caused by its geopolitical position. With its 2.15 million square kilometers of area size, Saudi Arabia is a big country. The capital is in the center, but the income sources and facilities, like oil facilities, are located on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea coasts, hence being an easy target for military action from air and sea. The failure to win a war waged against Yemen in 2015 after three years has exhibited the Saudi military weakness.

But Saudi nuclear ambitions are unlikely to materialize despite Riyadh’s compliance with the Western and Israeli interests in the Palestinian dispute. An unclear Saudi future caused by the fragility of the Al Saud family rule prevents a US go-ahead to nuclear technology acquisition.http://en.abna24.com/news/comment/analysis-israeli-regime-backs-saudi-nuclear-ambitions-tactic-or-strategy_899893.html

July 2, 2018 Posted by | Saudi Arabia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

In France a captured Islamic State jihadist talks of a terrorist plot to attack a nuclear power plant.

Breitbart 30th June 2018 ,Captured Islamic State jihadist Jonathan Geffroy has made even more
startling revelations, claiming terrorists buried multiple Kalashnikov
rifles around the city of Toulouse, France and plotted to attack a nuclear
power plant.
https://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/06/30/captured-french-islamic-state-fighter-reveals-buried-kalashnikovs-plot-to-attack-nuclear-power-plant/

July 2, 2018 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

Vermont Yankee nuclear power station water cost: $6M and counting

Vermont Yankee water cost: $6M and counting, VT Digger, By Mike FaherJul 1 2018,  

More than half of that amount – about $3.5 million – has gone to a disposal company that’s hauling the tainted water out of state. The total also includes nearly $2 million that Entergy has invested to slow the rate of groundwater leaching into the Vernon nuclear plant’s turbine building.……https://vtdigger.org/2018/07/01/vermont-yankee-water-cost-6m-counting/

July 2, 2018 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

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