Frannce govt calls for improvements in the safety of the country’s nuclear power plants

FT 6th July 2018 , A French government commission has called for improvements in the safety of
the country’s nuclear power plants, including their ability to withstand
terrorist attack, putting further pressure on state-backed power utility
EDF.

The parliamentary commission set up to look at the safety and security
of nuclear installations in France said, in a report published on Thursday,
that the fleet remain vulnerable to accident and attack. The report comes
at a time of heightened political pressure for heavily indebted EDF, which
operates France’s nuclear fleet and faces a multi-billion euro bill to
extend the life of ageing plants.

Although an EPR is now coming online in
China, EDF is waiting for its Flamanville plant in France, which is seven
years late and €7bn over budget, to start up. A recently discovered
problem with weldings has increased uncertainty. EDF’s EPR projects in
Finland and at Hinkley Point, south-west England, are also running late and
over budget.

According to the parliamentary report, the NGO Greenpeace has,
over the last 30 years, “conducted 14 intrusion attempts in order to
demonstrate the vulnerability” of the French nuclear sites. The commission
put forward 33 suggestions to improve the situation – including reducing
reliance on subcontractors, putting more police on the ground at nuclear
sites, reconsidering waste disposal methods, being clearer on the timeline
for shutting down plants and strengthening the powers of the French nuclear
regulator, the ASN.
https://www.ft.com/content/347980d2-8067-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d

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On behalf of the blogger Shaun McGee aka arclight aka Sean Arclight on FB and @Arclight2011 on Twitter, my co-blogger, one of us 3 bloggers of Nuclear news blog (https://wordpress.com/post/nuclear-news.net):

Shaun needs badly to replace his computer, which is kaputt. During the past 8 years he has been unceasingly researching and blogging about worldwide nuclear and about Fukushima, producing quality articles.

Please let’s help him to get a new computer, tip in whatever you can spare him. His paypal connected email is arclight2011@riseup.net for donations.

Advanced thanks, Herve Courtois aka Dun Renard

A good news story: Jay Inslee Is Betting He Can Win the Presidency on Climate Change
The Washington governor believes his focus on the environment will resonate with voters. But can he persuade enough Americans to pay attention to him? EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, The Atlantic JAN 2, 2019 “………When you’ve been working on something for over a decade, and now seeing people awakening to that, it’s just really gratifying and heartening,” the Washington governor recently told me, sitting in his private study on the top floor of the governor’s mansion. When it comes to climate change, there now appears to be “an appetite for someone who has credibility and a long track record and, most importantly, a vision statement. It’s changed to show an opening in a Democratic primary, I believe.”…..

As he did in Washington State, Inslee would propose a mix of government investments and incentives to spur other investment, restrictions on power plants and emissions, and programs to promote R&D and job growth. An endless number of jobs can be created in the climate arena, Inslee says. It’s the way to make a real dent in income inequality and have the Democratic Party bring tangible solutions to communities in rural America that have been left behind……… https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/washington-governor-jay-inslee-running-president/579217/

Sizewell Hero

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EVENT

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will host a live international news conference at 10 a.m. EST/1500 GMT on Thursday, January 24, 2019, to announce the 2019 time of the Doomsday Clock. The news conference will take place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Watch the announcement live on our website, on our Facebook page, or on Twitter. more https://nuclear-news.net/2019/01/10/the-doomsday-statement-2019-bulletin-of-the-atomic-scientists/

The Nuclear Resister – Nonviolent Resistance for a Peaceful and Nuclear-Free Future

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A Good News Story: A Surge of Climate Lawsuits Targets Human Rights, Damage from Fossil Fuels Cities, states and the fishing industry want courts to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for global warming. Others argue government inaction violates rights.BY NICHOLAS KUSNETZ “….The past year saw a surge in new lawsuits filed against fossil fuel companies, and major developments in cases pressing governments for action in the United States and abroad.”

“Lawsuits, even if unsuccessful, can help shape public opinion,”

“Mr. Scopes lost the monkey trial, but it led to a lot more awareness about the issue of teaching evolution.”

In Colombia and the Netherlands, citizens won rulings in 2018 ordering their governments to cut emissions and protect forests. By framing climate change in terms of human rights, those cases and similar ones filed in the U.S. and other countries are transforming how the courts address the issue………. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04012019/climate-change-lawsuits-2018-year-review-exxon-fossil-fuel-companies-human-rights-children-government

Why it’s time to think about human extinction | Dr David Suzuki

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nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope