Nuclear-news.net is proud to work, along with Democracy Now and others, towards exposing and closing the nuclear industry
From the team at nuclear-news, 14 July 20, Some effective campaigns that we supported that gave positive results
1/ Got Halden Test Reactor and its nearby medical/test reactor (also in Norway) closed.
2/ Helped inform Mainland Chinese anti nuclears of dodgy nuclear industry tricks and scams (while it lasted) and promote the closure of at least 2 planned reactors
3/ Highlight the “Normal” releases from reactors (especially in Europe) which has no doubt been supportive of EU anti nuclear sentiment in the EU Commission and Parliament
4/ Helped highlight the issues in Fukushima prefecture including Typhoon damage to the nuclear waste badly stored there.
5/ Backed up many articles that have been removed from MSM websites. So useful to researchers (The wayback machine is being targeted for closure due to DMCA issues) so it makes sense that they want to close all blogs that also back up the articles for researchers.
6/ Supported many independent orgs/NGO`s and helped get their message out (ie CRIIRAD, Bellona etc) and that really damaged the nuclear industry and their messaging strategies.
Basically we have all kicked Corprate butt and the blog should be getting much more reach but since 2017 we got filtered (with Democracy Now as well as many other left wing outlets). We shall have to see if this is the first move in a take down bid by the nuclear industry and their PR buddies.
Fear and loathing and deception in the world of nuclear fusion research
I was disappointed that the New Energy Times had the DCMA take down a post on this site. It was- “Nuclear fusion: American Association for the Advancement of Science deceived by ITER propagandists”. But of course, they had every right to do so, as it was their article.
Here at nuclear-news, we strive to get out all the information we can, on the often weird and wonderful, not to say dangerous and secretive, world of the nuclear industry.
When it comes to nuclear fusion, the story is extra muddied, because the ordinary peasant, including myself, has trouble trying to understand the ins and outs of this extraordinary technology, which has great promise for clean energy, – or maybe not.
What I did glean from the now-disappeared article, was that the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program, or some of its proponents have misled non-experts about the potential power output of the ITER experimental nuclear fusion reactor. It’s a complicated story, involving various people, including Professor Ian Chapman, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Atomic Energy Agency. And – it’s a story of widespread, consistent, and long-standing deception, repeated in many prestigious websites and reputable journals.
Anyway – this story of murky competition in the nuclear fission drive, is detailed in another article in the New Energy Times – more http://news.newenergytimes.net/2017/12/11/evidence-of-the-iter-power-deception/
It doesn’t increase our faith in costly nuclear high tech research.
HEAT – Climate science must stop ignoring Southern Africa
Climate Science Has a Blind Spot When it Comes to Heat Waves in Southern Africa
The lack of detailed information on extreme heat impacts hinders disaster response and preparedness.
BY BOB BERWYN, INSIDECLIMATE NEWS 13 July 20
Centered in the equatorial tropics, Africa is the world’s hottest continent, and millions of people there are facing a growing threat from deadly heat waves. But no one knows how many people have died or been seriously affected in other ways by extreme heat because the impacts have been poorly tracked.
Coordinated reporting is lacking and, at the global level, research and tracking of the impacts of climate change are biased toward developed countries, scientists concluded in a new study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Africa is warming faster than the global average, and the lack of data is a roadblock to effective disaster preparation, assessment of vulnerability and planning for climate resilience, said co-author Friederike Otto, acting director of the University of Oxford Environmental Change Institute. She said she noticed the information gap when she reviewed the international disasters database (EM-DAT), for another recent study on extreme weather events in lower income countries. ………
Temperatures in southern Africa, with a population of 1.1 billion, have increased steadily over the last 70 years. Since 1990, the continent’s average temperature has increased at a rate of 0.65 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.
Because the region is so warm already, it doesn’t take much for temperatures to reach life-threatening levels. Research shows that heat waves have been increasing since at least 2000. The study shows obstacles faced by the least developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as they try to detect heat waves and their impacts, said Izidine Pinto, a climate researcher at the University of Cape Town who was not involved in the study. …..
Climate Justice
“Heat waves are one of the most deadly impacts of human-caused global warming in terms of lives,” Otto said. “It would be really important to highlight that in Africa.”
She said the issue falls squarely into the realm of climate justice. One of the key obstacles to compiling useful heat wave data in southern Africa is weak governance in some countries, which can be traced back to a colonial legacy that destroyed and disempowered local cultures.
Developing countries in southern Africa contribute very little to human-caused warming in terms of emissions compared to the wealthy nations of North America, Europe and Asia, but they are among the hardest hit by its impacts. Per capita annual emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa are about 0.849 tons per person, according to the World Bank, compared to nine tons in Germany and 16 tons per capita annually in the United States………..
Finding Solutions
Otto said that researchers need to change the way climate science is done and who is doing it……….
Successful pilot projects are under way in Ghana and Gambia, where collaborations between local researchers, hospitals and epidemiologists are helping identify the direct health impacts of extreme heat, she said. That information can be combined with data on heat-related power outages and transport disruptions to further improve heatwave identification in sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition, more analysis of historical climate data from extreme heat periods is also needed, Otto wrote in a blog post for Carbon Brief accompanying the release of her new paper. That information combined with other data would help build effective early warning systems to save lives, Otto said.
“There is early warning on droughts, and other kinds of extremes, and they have improved a lot, but not really on heat wave warnings,” she added.
People in Africa are certainly aware of the growing number of heatwaves on the continent, said Mohamed Adow, Director of Power Shift Africa, a Nairobi-based climate and energy think tank. “But if they are not being recorded by scientists it will be much harder for African voices to be heard in the climate debate.” https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13072020/africa-heat-waves-climate-science
SCANA’s ex-top executive to plead guilty in a $9 billion nuclear fraud.
EXECUTIVE TO PLEAD GUILTY TO $9 BILLION NUCLEAR FRAUD, https://www.lexingtonchronicle.com/news/executive-plead-guilty-9-billion-nuclear-fraud Possible 5 years in prison and $1 million in fines, By Jerry Bellune, JerryBellune@yahoo.com, 13 July 20,
An ex-SCANA executive is to plead guilty tomorrow in a $9 billion nuclear fraud.
SCANA’s top nuclear executive, Steve Byrne, is accused of conspiracy in a failed nuclear project which cost investors – including his own employees – millions in stock losses.
The joint SCANA-Santee Cooper project:
1. Saddled more than 725,000 SC Electric & Gas ratepayers with $2 billion in costs.
2. Led to a near bankruptcy of Lexington County-based SCE&G and its sale to Dominion Energy.
3. Damaged the future of nuclear power in SC.
Byrne’s guilty plea will be entered Tuesday, July 14, at the federal courthouse in Columbia.
As Chief Operating Officer of SCANA, the owners of SCE&G, Byrne has admitted to knowingly engaging with others in fraud during construction of 2 Westinghouse AP100 reactors.
Byrne may face 5 years in prison and fines of not more than $1 million although the court could fine him more.
Federal officials are believed to have offered him a deal to testify against fellow executives and their lawyers who may have participated in the conspiracy.
To assure that Byrne, a former Irmo resident, follows the terms, sentencing will occur later.
Byrne has signed a plea agreement with federal agents which stipulate what he must do.
According to court postings, a bond hearing will immediately follow before Magistrate Judge Shiva V. Hodges
The failed nuclear project and a state law that allowed SCE&G to bilk rqtepayers of $2 billion was formally opposed before the Public Service Commission by Friends of the Earth, the Sierra Club, the SC Small Business Chamber and the Coalition to Stop the Blank Check.
Byrne agreed to be “fully truthful” about “criminal activities about which he has knowledge” and to provide documentation and testify at the trial of others.
Court documents reveal that the federal attorney believes other executives and lawyers:
1. Were involved in the conspiracy to cover-up problems at the failing nuclear project.
2. Made “false and misleading statements” about it to the PSC.
3. Took advantage of the Base Load Review Act in which SC lawmakers allowed SCE&G to pass all costs and risks to ratepayers.
State regulators inadequately reviewed the fraud due to a bias for SCE&G and against ratepayers, said Tom Clements, director Savannah River Site Watch.
“Byrne’s plea for his role in the reactor construction boondoggle will be historic as officials responsible for such failed projects rarely get caught and never confess to their crimes,” he said.
Clements was a main intervenor at the start and finish of the project.
“Byrne, who should serve prison time, must fully reveal the criminal role of others in the conspiracy that has been so disastrous for ratepayers, Clements said.
These include former CEO Kevin Marsh and former CFO Jimmy Addison,” he said.
Court documents imply that other individuals are being investigated,.
That means they and “lawyers who advised them” may face criminal charges, Clements said.
More pandemics to come – bat research is critical for prevention
- Source:
- Washington State University
- Summary:
- The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has a likely connection to bats, and the next viral outbreak probably will too. A recent review calls for more research into bats’ molecular biology and their ecology, to help predict, and hopefully prevent, the next pandemic.
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The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has a likely connection to bats, and the next viral outbreak probably will too, unless scientists can quickly learn more about the thousands of viruses carried by one of the most diverse mammals on the planet.
Evidence already links different bat species to human outbreaks of SARS, MERS, some Ebola viruses as well as the Marbug, Hendra, Sosuga and Nipah viruses. Beyond these connections, there is very little known, and a recent article in Nature Reviews Microbiology calls for more research into bats’ molecular biology and their ecology, to help predict, and hopefully prevent, the next pandemic.
“The more researchers have looked, the more we’ve found that a lot of these emerging pathogens, at one point or another, originated in bats,” said Michael Letko, the lead author and an assistant professor of molecular virology at Washing State University’s Paul G. Allen School of Global Animal Health. “Over time, we have accumulated a lot of information about some of the species of bats and some of the viruses they carry, but there are still these huge glaring holes in our knowledge.”
With more than 1,400 species, bats represent an extremely diverse mammalian order, second only to rodents, which are also known viral hosts. However, unlike rats and mice, bats are not great lab animals. Simply keeping flying animals in labs is difficult. Also, most of the mammalian cell lines developed for research came from other animals and cannot be used to study viruses found in bats.
This knowledge gap is dangerous as the current pandemic shows. Bats are found almost everywhere scientists have looked, and with expanding human encroachment on their habitat, viral infection is almost inevitable, Letko said.
“We are coming into more contact with animal species around us in general, and then we find out these species are loaded with viruses,” he said. “The COVID-19 pandemic is unfortunate, but it’s not surprising. We roll the dice for 20 years not doing anything to reduce contact with these animals. It was more or less a matter of time before something like this was going to happen.”………
Beyond the lab, Letko and his colleagues point to the need for better understanding of bat ecology which can lead to solutions that are relatively simple to implement. The researchers cite examples such as the effort to vaccinate horses in Australia to stop the Hendra virus which was spreading from fruit bats to horses and then potentially on to humans. Another intervention in Bangladesh involved simply putting lids on palm sap containers to keep bats out and prevent human outbreaks of Nipah virus.
“Sometimes, you don’t need vaccines or drugs. It’s just a behavioral change that helps mitigate and reduce the contact between people and the animals,” Letko said. “These are some of the kinds of interventions that we can take once we begin to understand what these viruses actually do.” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200713104354.htm
Saturday, July 18th, 2pm UK time -Online discussion- “Connections between nuclear weapons and nuclear power”
How much do you know about the connections between nuclear weapons and nuclear power? https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/how-much-do-you-know-about-the-connections-between-nuclear-weapons-and-nuclear-power/ JULY 13, 2020 BY MARIANNEWILDART Why is the UK government so addicted to nuclear?Nuclear weapons and nuclear power share several common features. In fact, the UK’s first nuclear power stations were built primarily to provide fissile material for nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
The development of both the nuclear weapons and nuclear power industries is mutually beneficial. And now it appears that the government is using the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station to subsidise Trident, Britain’s nuclear weapons system.
As part of a Parliamentary investigation into the Hinkley project, it emerged that without the billions of pounds earmarked for building this new power station in Somerset, Trident would be ‘unsupportable’. Professor Andy Stirling and Dr Phil Johnstone argued that the nuclear power station will ‘maintain a large-scale national base of nuclear-specific skills’ essential for maintaining Britain’s military nuclear capability.
Join CND for an online discussion with Professor Stirling and Dr Johnstone about these connections.
- Saturday, July 18th, 2pm
- Register here
- Contact enquiries@cnduk.org with any queries
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warns about the risk of a nuclear war 10/07/20
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States wants to dominate the world and warned about the risk of a nuclear war, speaking at the international ‘Primakov Readings’ summit via videoconference in Moscow on Friday.
“”The US wants to regain global dominance and achieve victory in what they call the ‘major power rivalry’. They reject the term ‘strategic stability’ and call it ‘strategic rivalry’. They want to win this competition,” he stated.
The diplomat added that Moscow was “particularly concerned about the two-year refusal of the Americans to reassert the fundamental principle, the postulate that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, [and], accordingly, it should never be unleashed.”
He also commented on the trade war between US and China, saying that he can’t see any benefits for Russia from it.
Discussing how the coronavirus pandemic had changed the world, Lavrov said that the epidemic had “exacerbated” existing issues.
“This infection has exacerbated all the challenges and threats that existed before it began, but it hasn’t disappeared, including international terrorism. As you know, there are already some speculations when terrorists are considering how to use a virus strain or perhaps create some new strains in order to achieve their nefarious goals,” he said.
Video ID: 20200710-039
Full translation here;
Alarm at USA plan to exempt NuScam etc new nuclear reactors from emergency planning
Proposed Emergency Plan Exemption for New Nuclear Designs Raises Concerns, https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2020-07-13/energy-policy/proposed-emergency-plan-exemption-for-new-nuclear-designs-raises-concerns/a70806-1 July 13, 2020 Eric Tegethoff, Public News Service – ID
BOISE, Idaho — A proposal from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission exempting emergency planning for new nuclear plant designs is raising alarms.
The NRC proposal would allow facilities to end emergency preparedness zones at their boundaries.
That zone is currently set at a 10-mile radius around plants and a 50-mile ingestion zone to protect against contaminated food and water.
Timothy Judson, executive director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, says emergency zones have been required since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.
“Having the emergency evacuation plans and emergency response plans is part of the social contract with nuclear power and has been in the U.S. for over 40 years now,” he points out.
One NRC commissioner says it’s a radical departure from past practices.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has expressed concerns about the proposal to exempt the agency from evaluating evacuation plans.
In support of the proposal, the Nuclear Energy Institute says NRC is modernizing the rules for new nuclear power designs that don’t have the same risks as old designs.
The NuScale small modular reactor project at the Idaho National Laboratory could benefit from these new rules. But Judson says exempting this project from emergency planning regulations exposes why these rules are a bad idea.
“They’re designed to have 12 of these reactors all built in the same building and together, those 12 reactors would be larger than many commercially operating nuclear reactors in the country right now,” he points out.
Judson says the proposal would keep everyone, including utility companies to nearby communities, in the dark on nuclear safety plans.
“Whether you support nuclear power or don’t support nuclear power, everyone supports nuclear safety,” he stresses.
The NRC is accepting public comment on the proposal through July 27.
Nuclear power is excluded from European Commission’s strategies for a Green Deal
New EC ‘Green Deal’ strategies ignore nuclear power, Nuclear Engineering 13 July 2020 The European Commission (EC) on 8 July presented two strategies as part of its Green Deal – “An EU Strategy for Energy System Integration”, and “A hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe”.The 21-page strategy for Energy System Integration aims to provide the framework for the green energy transition. The EC said: “The current model where energy consumption in transport, industry, gas and buildings is happening in ‘silos’ – each with separate value chains, rules, infrastructure, planning and operations – cannot deliver climate neutrality by 2050 in a cost efficient way; the changing costs of innovative solutions have to be integrated in the way we operate our energy system. New links between sectors must be created and technological progress exploited.”
There are three main pillars to this strategy:
- First, a more ‘circular’ energy system, with energy efficiency at its core.
- Second, a greater direct electrification of end-use sectors – a network of one million electric vehicle charging points will be among the visible results, along with the expansion of solar and wind power.
- For those sectors where electrification is difficult, the strategy promotes clean fuels, including renewable hydrogen and sustainable biofuels and biogas. The Commission will propose a new classification and certification system for renewable and low-carbon fuels………..
To help deliver on this Strategy, the Commission announced the launch of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance with industry leaders, civil society, national and regional ministers and the European Investment Bank. The Alliance will build up an investment pipeline for scaled-up production and will support demand for clean hydrogen in the EU.
“To target support at the cleanest available technologies, the Commission will work to introduce common standards, terminology and certification, based on life-cycle carbon emissions, anchored in existing climate and energy legislation, and in line with the EU taxonomy for sustainable investments.”
Neither of the reports made any mention of nuclear power either as part of energy system integration or as an energy source for the production of hydrogen. …
Antarctic glacier melting at an alarming rate
Thwaites Glacier is melting at an alarming rate, triggering fears over rising sea levels Ft.com Leslie Hook on the Antarctic Peninsula, Steven Bernard and Ian Bott in London , 13 Jul 20,
https://www.ft.com/content/4ff254ed-960d-4b35-a6c0-1e60a6e79d91
Antarctica holds around 90 per cent of the ice on the planet. It is equivalent to a continent the size of Europe, covered in a blanket of ice 2km thick. And as the planet heats up due to climate change, it doesn’t warm evenly everywhere: the polar regions warm much faster. It puts the icy continent of Antarctica and Greenland, the smaller Arctic region, right at the forefront of global warming. The South Pole has warmed at three times the global rate since 1989, according to a paper published last month.
As Antarctic ice melts and the glaciers slide toward the ocean, Thwaites has a central position, that governs how the other glaciers behave. Right now, Thwaites is like a stopper holding back a lot of the other glaciers in West Antarctica. But scientists are worried that could change. ……..
https://www.ft.com/content/4ff254ed-960d-4b35-a6c0-1e60a6e79d91
Impact of warming oceans The good news is that the Antarctic continent is not melting that much, yet. It currently contributes about 1mm per year to the sea level rise, a third of the annual global increase. But the pace of change at glaciers like Thwaites has accelerated at an alarming rate, even though it would take thousands of years for Antarctica itself to melt.
Blistering debate over San Onofre’s “nuclear waste dump by the sea,”
 Plan to inspect San Onofre’s aging nuclear waste expected to spark debate at Coastal Commission meeting
Although the analysis suggests doomsday scenarios may be more fantastical than factual, an engineering firm did suggest several improvements By TERI SFORZA | tsforza@scng.com | Orange County Register July 13, 2020 As debate continues to blister over San Onofre’s “nuclear waste dump by the sea,” an independent analysis concludes that the giant canisters housing that waste — and the program Southern California Edison has created to monitor and potentially repair them — will keep everything safe at least through 2035.Edison’s inspection and maintenance plan for its Holtec dry storage system — the “concrete monolith” now holding 69 of the 73 radioactive waste canisters it will hold by summer’s end, when all radioactive waste is finally removed from its spent fuel pools — is unveiled years earlier than the California Coastal Commission originally envisioned. It will be the subject of fiery debate at the Coastal Commission’s online meeting beginning 9 a.m. Thursday, July 16. Commission staff recommends approval of Edison’s plan, but critics are expected to vigorously oppose it………. How will it work?There are several layers to the inspection and maintenance program. Edison will keep tabs on the “concrete bunker” itself. Every day, workers will monitor temperatures and inspect air passageways and vent screens to make sure they remain free of blockage. Every month, air vent screens will be inspected for damage. Every year, there will be visual inspections of external surfaces for degradation. And every five years, there will be inspections of the structure for concrete settlement. How will it work?There are several layers to the inspection and maintenance program. Edison will keep tabs on the “concrete bunker” itself. Every day, workers will monitor temperatures and inspect air passageways and vent screens to make sure they remain free of blockage. Every month, air vent screens will be inspected for damage. Every year, there will be visual inspections of external surfaces for degradation. And every five years, there will be inspections of the structure for concrete settlement………. Bigger problemThe national paralysis over long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel is the elephant in the room. The federal government agreed to start collecting commercial nuclear waste for permanent disposal more than 20 years ago — but it hasn’t collected an ounce. That’s why it’s stuck at San Onofre, and dozens of commercial nuclear plants nationwide. There are hopes that temporary storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico might be licensed by the NRC while the federal government tries to find a permanent solution, but waste is likely to remain at San Onofre for many years. That’s why a maintenance and inspection program is required. While the Coastal Commission approved two dry storage systems at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, “it also has expressed concern regarding storing spent nuclear fuel at SONGS because of the facility’s location adjacent to the Pacific Ocean and Interstate-5, proximity to major population centers, and site topography and potential effects from coastal hazards,” the staff report says. “Because of the lack of a long-term repository for spent nuclear fuel, SONGS — like other nuclear power plants in the United States — has had to resort to interim storage of spent nuclear fuel on site.” Officials urge those who want spent fuel moved from San Onofre to focus on prodding the federal government toward a solution. Edison also is working on a strategic plan to explore the possibility of moving the waste off the bluff over the Pacific, and expects to finish by the end of the year. https://www.ocregister.com/2020/07/13/plan-to-inspect-san-onofres-aging-nuclear-waste-expected-to-spark-debate-at-coastal-commission-meeting/ |
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USA National coalition against nuclear weapons
 Nuclear Threat Still Looms https://progressive.org/op-eds/nuclear-threat-still-looms-adams-200713/United by these tragedies, now most impacted communities have the same ultimate goals: ensuring these weapons are never used again, and that they are one day eliminated. by Lilly Adams, July 13, 2020 In July 16, 1945, at around 5:30 in the morning, 11-year-old Henry Herrera was outside his home in Tularosa, New Mexico, helping his father work on the radiator of their truck, when he saw a blinding flash of light. He thought he was witnessing the end of the world. In fact, he was witnessing the first ever use of a nuclear weapon — the Trinity nuclear test.
A few weeks later, on Aug. 6 and 9, the newly tested weapons were used on Japan, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing between 150,000 to 246,000 innocent people. In 1946, nuclear testing began in the Marshall Islands; it would continue there until 1958 , and in the United Statesuntil 1992
. The production of these weapons, with its own harmful consequences, continues today. Even worse, Congress recently voted to fund expansion of the nation’s nuclear weapons program. In a cruel twist of fate, July 16 is a double nuclear anniversary for New Mexico. On that day in 1979, a dam holding back radioactive waste at the Church Rock uranium mill broke, releasing 1,100 tons of uranium waste and 94 million gallons of radioactive water into the Rio Puerco, across three Navajo Nation chapters, and into Arizona. After both July 16 events, no health studies or medical resources were provided for residents, leaving those affected to battle the resulting illnesses and deaths alone.Last summer, after marking these anniversaries, my colleagues and I felt a sense of anti-climax. Something was missing. Perhaps after so long, we had become numb in the face of this history of death. As we approached the 75th anniversary of the fateful bombings of Japan, we decided we needed to do more. To begin, we reached out to our partners in Japan, and learned an important lesson. The survivors of the bombings, known as hibakusha, generally focus on messages of hope and resiliency, in pursuit of opportunities to build a peaceful world. They share their haunting memories of the bombings, but then they look forward and demand progress. We also looked to the survivors of nuclear weapons activities here at home. Estimates range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and in the Marshall Islands that have been sickened and killed due to nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining and nuclear-weapons production. Despite the distances between them — in time, place and culture — the stories of many of these survivors are the same. A flash of blinding light, the feeling the world was ending. Falling dust and powder — like snow — that sickened people and would lead, eventually, to cancers. Secrecy and neglect shrouded their experiences for decades. United by these tragedies, now most impacted communities have the same ultimate goals: ensuring these weapons are never used again, and that they are one day eliminated. With these goals in mind, our national coalition is gathering virtually on Aug. 6 and 9, the anniversaries of the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The event will feature presentations from many of the 150 groups that have joined the effort so far. We hope readers will join us to learn more and hear from the people who have been impacted and are fighting for change. Seventy-five years after these bombings, nuclear weapons are still here, continuing to threaten every person on earth. But the survivors are still here, too. And in a time of separation and mourning, this is a chance to stand in solidarity with communities around the world that are calling for peace. This column was produced for the Progressive Media Project, which is run by The Progressive magazine, and distributed by Tribune News Service. |
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EDF’s UK nuclear projects in doubt after Court of Audit report
EDF’s UK nuclear projects in doubt after Court of Audit report 13 JUL 2020 BY LEM BINGLEY
Japanese bishops’ anti-nuclear power book available in English
Japanese bishops’ anti-nuclear power book available in English, Crux, Catholic News Service, Jul 12, 2020 TOKYO — An English version of a book by Japan’s bishops appealing for the abolition of nuclear power is now available for free on the internet, reported ucanews.com.
Abolition of Nuclear Power: An Appeal from the Catholic Church in Japan is available as a PDF file on the website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan.
The bishops wrote the book after Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station suffered a serious accident including a meltdown after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Nuclear power is essentially incompatible with the image of the earth as a symbiotic society, which Pope Francis shows in his encyclical “Laudato Si’,” the bishops say.
- The bishops concluded that nuclear power generation should be immediately abolished in the face of the insoluble dangers it presents, including widespread health damage to children.
They worked with researchers in various fields to explore the damage caused by the Fukushima accident, the technical and sociological limitations of nuclear power production, and ethical and theological considerations concerning it.
They said they believe that Japan, having suffered such a severe nuclear accident, has a responsibility to inform the world of the reality of the damage and to appeal for the abolition of nuclear power generation……..Once a severe accident occurs, they argue, nuclear power generation destroys the environment over a wide area for generations and damages the right to life and livelihood……. https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2020/07/japanese-bishops-anti-nuclear-power-book-available-in-english/
New Mexico nuclear facility is bad news
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New Mexico nuclear facility is bad news, https://lasvegassun.com/news/2020/jul/06/new-mexico-nuclear-facility-is-bad-news/ By Judy Treichel Monday, July 6, 2020 It may seem like good news in Nevada that an effort is underway in New Mexico to build a private storage facility for nuclear waste there.
But don’t be mistaken: This facility wouldn’t be an alternative to the disastrous Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. In fact, its existence depends on Yucca Mountain becoming an operating repository. That’s unacceptable, because the Nevada facility poses far too many risks for our state.
The license application for the New Mexico facility calls for it to operate over 40 years, after which the waste stored in it would go to Yucca Mountain. Twelve years ago, the Department of Energy submitted an application for a construction authorization and license to make Yucca Mountain the nation’s high-level nuclear waste repository. Two years later, in 2010, the department attempted to withdraw the application. It had determined that the plan was “unworkable” due to the opposition and unending resistance of the people of Nevada, but the court decided that the licensing process should proceed. It did, until funding ran out, and today those deliberations are on an indefinite hold. Now comes the New Mexico license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which in the opinion of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force the commission should not have accepted with the assumption that Yucca Mountain would be an operating repository. We have submitted comments to that effect to the commission. During all of the time that Nevada has been fighting the Yucca Mountain proposal, we were repeatedly assured that we could place our trust in the commission because before any license was granted for construction or operation, a thorough and unbiased process would fully play out. We were told there was no reason for questioning the fairness of the commission’s licensing process. Nevadans have been accused of having a NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitude about nuclear waste — that we would be pleased if some other place were forced to host a repository instead of us. That is not true. We know that Yucca Mountain is unsuitable and should have been disqualified, and we have respected the democratic right of others to oppose dangers or threats where they live. Any siting of a facility that creates risk for the community should require informed consent, and the people of New Mexico do not consent. What we see happening with this so-called interim site is that it does not solve the nuclear waste problem. In fact it increases the risks by putting the waste on the roads and rails, and requiring it to be loaded and unloaded multiple times and transported more than once. Additionally, the only way a site can be considered “interim” is to know that the waste will leave, and the assumption here is that it will leave New Mexico and come to Nevada. The incentive for the company proposing to build the facility is purely financial — specifically, it’s to gain access to the $42 billion in the federal nuclear waste fund. An interim site does not increase or improve public safety, but rather does just the opposite. It creates one more nuclear waste site and provides more room at reactor sites for more waste. And it moves the waste closer to Nevada. A national high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain is an overwhelmingly unsafe idea. Nevada residents, elected officials and people across the country living near transport routes know it. For 20 years, the Department of Energy studied the site and discovered — or were forced to admit — that there were conditions present that, according to their own guidelines, disqualified the site. If the licensing process ever restarts, how could we trust the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to fairly judge the science when it has previously assumed a licensed and operating repository at Yucca Mountain? Congress needs to reverse the action it took naming Yucca Mountain as the only site to be considered for a national repository, and take a fresh and fair look at nuclear waste disposal. Initiatives like the interim storage site in New Mexico are simply misguided and misleading diversions. Judy Treichel is executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force. |
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Earth Energy Imbalance – EEI: How HEAT Impacts Ocean, Land, Cryosphere, and Atmosphere: Part 1 of 2
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