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Eminent Persons Warn Against Any Demonstration Nuclear Test Explosion

Eminent Persons Warn Against Any Demonstration Nuclear Test Explosion  InDepth News,  By Reinhard Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) 30 May 20– Members of the CTBTO Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) have expressed “deep concern about credible press reports” that senior U.S. officials have discussed the possibility of conducting “a demonstration nuclear test explosion”.

They warn that if carried out, it would break the global moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions and severely undermine the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban (CTBT) regime, established to help detect and deter nuclear weapon test explosions anywhere in the world.

“Nuclear weapon test explosions, for any purpose, are a vestige of a bygone era,” the Group maintains. “Only one state this century has detonated nuclear weapon tests, and today all of the world’s nuclear armed states are observing nuclear test moratoria,” it adds.

The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions, thus hampering both the initial development of nuclear weapons as well as significant enhancements. The Treaty also helps prevent harmful radioactive releases from nuclear testing.

The U.S. is among eight ‘Annex 2’ States that must sign and ratify before the Treaty comes into force. Along with China, Egypt, Iran and Israel, the U.S. has signed but not ratified the Treaty. However, the other three Annex 2 countries – India, North Korea and Pakistan – have not even signed.

The CTBT has so far been signed by 184 States, of which 168 have ratified the Treaty.

The GEM, launched on September 26, 2013 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, supports and complements the CTBTO’s efforts to promote the CTBT entry into force, as well as reinvigorating international endeavours to achieve this goal. The group comprises eminent personalities and internationally recognized experts.

The CTBTO, with Dr Lassina Zerbo as Executive Secretary since August 2013, is the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. It is an international organization established by the States Signatories to the Treaty on November 19, 1996, and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. An Agreement (A/RES/54/28) to regulate the relationship between the United Nations and the CTBTO was adopted in 2000 by the General Assembly.

The GEM members are calling on eight hold-out Annex 2 countries to ratify the CTBT. “The most effective way to resolve possible concerns about very low-yield nuclear explosions and enforce compliance” with the Treaty, is to bring it into force.  “When it does enter into force, States have the option to demand intrusive, short-notice on-site inspections to investigate suspicious activities,” they maintain……… https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/global-governance/ctbto/3579-eminent-persons-warn-against-any-demonstration-nuclear-test-explosion

June 1, 2020 Posted by | politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Britain, France, Germany not happy that USA will end waivers for Iran civilian nuclear projects 

Britain, France, Germany Regret US Decision to End Waivers for Iran Civilian Nuclear Projects   https://www.voanews.com/usa/britain-france-germany-regret-us-decision-end-waivers-iran-civilian-nuclear-projects   By VOA News May 30, 2020
“We deeply regret the decision by the United States to end the three exemptions for key nuclear projects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), including the Arak reactor modernization project,” the statement said.

“These projects, including the Arak reactor modernization project, endorsed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, have served the non-proliferation interests of all and provide the international community with assurances of the exclusively peaceful and safe nature of Iranian nuclear activities,” the three counties said.

Wednesday the United States announced the end of the waivers, which had allowed the continuation of projects related to Iran’s civil nuclear program, even though the Trump administration abandoned the 2015 international plan of action in 2018.

Under the waivers Russian, Chinese and European companies worked on the conversion of Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor to civilian purposes and on the transfer of nuclear fuel abroad.

June 1, 2020 Posted by | France, Germany, politics international, UK | Leave a comment

Childhood cancers near nuclear facilities

Radiation Free Lakeland 30th May 2020, New Report into Links between Childhood Cancer and Ionising Radiation. Many thanks to the Low Level Radiation Campaign for this important new report.
When we have been campaigning on the streets we have met with nurses who
have told us that the high incidence of childhood cancer in the North West
should be the subject of a government inquiry – suspect it is the same
tale wherever people are downwind of nuclear installations and transports
of nuclear materials.

https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2020/05/30/new-report-into-links-between-childhood-cancer-and-ionising-radiati

June 1, 2020 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Sellafield’s radioactive cats

Carlisle News & Star 30th May 2020, Claims that cats from West Cumbria’s nuclear site given out for adoption were found to have plutonium in their system have been challenged by
Sellafield. Radiation Free Lakeland claims samples analysed from two cats
showed plutonium and cesium in the poop of one of them. Marianne Birkby, of
the campaign group, said: “For Sellafield to be handing out cats to the
public is rather at odds with their policy of culling wildlife on site to
contain radioactive contamination.

https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/18476222.sellafield-challenges-claim-plutonium-sites-cats/

June 1, 2020 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

Ex-president Kravchuk estimates compensation for Ukraine’s nuclear weapons at US$250 bln.

Ex-president Kravchuk estimates compensation for Ukraine’s nuclear weapons at US$250 bln. UNIAN Information Agency 30 May 20 No negotiations were held with the United States on the compensation.Leonid Kravchuk, the first president of independent Ukraine, estimates compensation for scrapping the country’s nuclear weapons after signing the Budapest memorandum at US$250 billion. “The nuclear weapons were tactical, they also went to Russia. There were Backfire carriers, these are legendary aircraft. They also were transferred to Russia. If one counts everything – it’s somewhere about US$250 billion,” Kravchuk told Ukrainian TV host and journalist Alesia Batsman during the Batsman program.

Yet, he said, Ukraine did not conduct negotiations with the United States on the compensation for this amount.
According to him, Ukraine had about 46 nuclear warheads working on solid fuel, and the rest were those working on liquid fuel. “Liquid fuel in rockets was worse than the nuclear weapons. Chemists told me that if, God forbid, it had spilled somewhere on land, the soil could not be used for decades, or even longer. I spoke about this: “How would we [do this]? We, Ukraine, cannot do this on our own. Russia only wants to take the nuclear warheads,” he said. On December 4, 1994, the Budapest memorandum was signed between Ukraine, the United States, the Russian Federation, and Great Britain; it guaranteed Ukraine territorial integrity and security in exchange for its nuclear arsenal.
On December 4, 1994, the Budapest memorandum was signed between Ukraine, the United States, the Russian Federation, and Great Britain; it guaranteed Ukraine territorial integrity and security in exchange for its nuclear arsenal.   https://www.unian.info/politics/ukraine-s-nuclear-weapons-kravchuk-estimates-compensation-at-us-250-bln-11018456.html

June 1, 2020 Posted by | business and costs, politics international, Ukraine, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Here’s a supremely unaffordable nuclear fantasy – reactors on the moon and Mars

NASA Wants to Go Nuclear on the Moon and Mars for Astronaut Settlement, SciTech Daily  By AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY MAY 31, 2020 m  It might sound like science fiction, but scientists are preparing to build colonies on the moon and, eventually, Mars. With NASA planning its next human mission to the moon in 2024, researchers are looking for options to power settlements on the lunar surface. According to a new article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, nuclear fission reactors have emerged as top candidates to generate electricity in space.

………. Nuclear devices that run on decaying plutonium-238 have been used to power spacecraft since the 1960s, including Mars rovers and the space probes Voyager and Cassini, but they don’t provide enough energy for a settlement. In contrast, nuclear fission reactors that split uranium-235 atoms, which are used by power plants here on Earth, could provide a reliable power source for a small space settlement for several years, scientists estimate.
Despite funding and design setbacks, researchers are reinvigorating efforts to create a nuclear reactor for space travel and settlement. In the early 2010s, a team of scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy came together with the goal of developing a new nuclear fission system that could produce at least 10 kilowatts of energy. With a core containing molybdenum and highly enriched uranium, the reactor uses nuclear fission to generate heat, which is converted to electricity by simple piston-driven engines. The prototype, which was tested in 2018, produced up to 5 kilowatts of electricity. The researchers hope to optimize the technology to achieve the desired 10-kilowatt output. They also say that transporting uranium in space can be done safely, as the alpha particles emitted by the core are weak and can be fully contained by proper shielding .   https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-wants-to-go-nuclear-on-the-moon-and-mars-for-astronaut-settlement/

June 1, 2020 Posted by | business and costs, space travel, USA | Leave a comment

Huge dead nuclear reactor is a tough haul on Nevada’s roads

Decommissioned nuclear reactor heavy haul for Nevada roads, https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/business/article243115931.html, BY MARVIN CLEMONS LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL MAY 30, 2020 A nuclear reactor vessel from Southern California’s decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station made its way through Las Vegas by rail this week, headed to a transfer site and placement on a truck to become the heaviest object ever moved on a Nevada highway.

“By far, the biggest object ever moved on a road in the state,” Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Tony Illia told the Las Vegas Review-Journal . “Our people have been scratching their heads for months to figure out a route that could work.”

The vessel is bound for burial at Clive, Utah, a remote site about 75 miles (121 kilometers) west of Salt Lake City. Movers and Nevada transportation crews were working to ensure it won’t damage state roads on the way.

The 770-ton nuclear reactor vessel was at the Apex Industrial Park in North Las Vegas, a transportation department heavy transport site adjacent to Interstate 15, where Illia said it will take a couple of weeks for cranes to lift it from the train car and deposit it on a 45-axle, 180-tire trailer for the trip toward Wendover, Utah.

The 300-foot-long (91.4-meter) shipment will also consist of two tractors to pull and another two tractors to push the more than 1.5-million pound load some 400 miles (643.7 kilometers) at no more than 10 mph (16.1 kph) .

It won’t move until the transportation department issues a permit 24 hours before hitting the highway, Illia said.

June 1, 2020 Posted by | business and costs, safety, wastes | Leave a comment

The Environmental Legacy of Nuclear Weapons Production: Five Case Studies — HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

Human Wrongs Watch By ICAN-International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons* Nuclear weapons production leaves a nasty legacy both for people and the environment. Around the world, nuclear weapons facilities have contaminated land and water with radioactive waste lasting at least 100,000 years. Efforts to clean up the sites have cost billions of dollars over decades […]

via The Environmental Legacy of Nuclear Weapons Production: Five Case Studies — HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

June 1, 2020 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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