The US has a unique opportunity to put the world back on the path to nuclear weapons zero
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Restoring Momentum Toward Nuclear Zero, https://fellowtravelersblog.com/2020/11/16/restoring-momentum-toward-nuclear-zero/ON NOVEMBER 16, 2020 BY FELLOWTRAVELERSFPBLOGIN ARTICLES, POLICY BRIEF 2020, Second in a series of policy briefs laying out clear steps to re-think and re-orient US foreign policy. By John Carl Baker
Takeaway: Pass the No First Use Act, cancel the new ICBM, and begin negotiating with Russia toward deep reductions in both countries’ outsized arsenals. The world faces a renewed nuclear arms race. All nine nuclear-armed states–China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the US—are modernizing their arsenals and adding new capabilities. Nuclear superpowers the US and Russia control 91% of the world’s 13,000 nuclear warheads and together keep well over 3,000 deployed – more than enough to end human civilization. The US nuclear posture needlessly inflames this volatile international situation. The president holds unilateral launch authority and the US still reserves the right to launch a nuclear first strike. The US possesses hundreds of ground-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that are kept on alert in anticipation of a completely unrealistic surprise attack. These ICBMs drastically reduce presidential decision time (approximately ten minutes) and increase the chance of a mistaken launch. Close calls have happened in the past. US policy has also done little to keep the guard rails from falling off the international arms control regime. The US left the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) in 2002 and the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 2019. It announced its intent to leave the Open Skies Treaty the following year. If New START is not extended by February 2021, there will be no constraints on the US and Russian arsenals for the first time since 1972. At the same time, the United Nations review process created by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) remains broken. Article 6 of the NPT obligates the nuclear-armed signatories to pursue disarmament, a provision they are not upholding. Global frustration with the lack of progress has led in part to the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which will ban nuclear weapons under international law in January 2021. Renewing US Leadership on Disarmament The US can increase nuclear stability and lead the world back toward disarmament by taking the following bold actions: Reform the Nuclear Posture: The US should declare that deterrence—not warfighting—is the sole purpose of the nuclear arsenal. Congress should establish that the US will never use nuclear weapons first by passing the No First Use Act introduced by Rep. Adam Smith and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Congress can also develop legislation to distribute launch authority among more individuals than just the US president. Nearly any alternative is preferable to the current unilateral arrangement. Negotiate Arsenal Reductions: The US and Russia should extend New START and immediately begin negotiations toward a follow-on agreement that seeks major mutual reductions. There is simply no reason for each country to have thousands of warheads when their nearest peer competitor (China) has only a few hundred. Addressing this disparity could bring China into the arms control regime and would demonstrate to the world that the US takes its disarmament obligations under the NPT seriously. Retire Missiles: Congress should cancel the new ICBM, also called the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), and begin phasing out land-based missiles for good. This will save substantial public dollars (an estimated $264 billion over the lifetime of the GBSD) and dramatically lower the risk of nuclear war. A system without land-based ICBMs will be far more stable, with increased decision time if there are reports of an incoming attack. Submarines and bombers will still be available to launch retaliatory strikes if need be. Phasing out ICBMs is also popular: a University of Maryland study found that 61% of Americans, including 53% of Republicans, support the idea. The US has a unique opportunity to put the world back on the path to nuclear zero. Through common sense policy changes, the US can lower nuclear risks, demonstrate a commitment to disarmament, and repair relations with the international community. The stakes could not be higher and the time for action is now. John Carl Baker is a senior program officer at Ploughshares Fund. Baker’s writing on nuclear weapons issues has appeared in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, New Republic, Defense One, and elsewhere. Follow him on Twitter at @johncarlbaker. |
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Examining Britain’s 10 Point Plan – Small Modular Nuclear Reactors downgraded, as renewables are cheaper and better?
 New Civil Engineer 19th Nov 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 10 Point Plan for a “green industrial revolution” – announced yesterday – is “pretty vague” about the future of big nuclear energy projects and disappointing for the mini nuclear industry, according to Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit head of analysis Jonathan Marshall. In the plan, Johnson backed the development of nuclear energy, committing £525M “to help develop large and smaller-scale nuclear plants, and research and develop new advanced modular reactors”.However, according to Marshall large nuclear support is”buried” in the proposals and investment in small modular reactors (SMRs)
is less than expected. “If I was in the SMR game I’d be disappointed with this because that £2bn support for a small initial fleet of reactors has been pared back to just over £500M,” Marshall said. “It’s a lot of cash and still a lot of support – it’s more than most unproven technologies get – but it feels a bit like SMRs have been put on the backburner now. For a while it felt like the government was believing that the SMR industry could be the future. “Paring back on what was expectedto be offered might show that the government is cooling or laying down a tougher set of challenges to Rolls Royce and others in the SMR world to prove the claims are true before they get more money.”
Marshall attributed this change to the increasing support for renewables. “The EU has set out huge ambitions to boost offshore wind capacity, the UK has already done that, all the rest of the world is investing in renewables whereas not many are investing in nuclear now,” he said. “None of these cost reductions that were touted for years for nuclear industry seem to be happening whereas the evidence shows the cost of renewables is plummeting and the cost of what’s needed to balance the grid is plummeting too.”
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Inaccuracies in Boris Johnson’s document supporting nuclear power development
Dave Lowry’s Blog 19th Nov 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not a details man; and he often plays fast-and-loose with the truth. So it should not really come as a surprise that the document he issued in support of his ‘Ten Point Plan for a GreenIndustrial Revolution’ contains inaccuracies. I am sure he did not write it himself, so specialist officials who prepared it, have been prepared to write in his happy-go-lucky casual relation with the truth in the text they crafted.
The section covering Point 3: Delivering New and Advanced Nuclear Power, is a good exemplar of a perpetuated inaccuracy by nuclear
cheerleaders, who rewrite history for modern convenience. In the second paragraph of this section, its states: “The UK was home to the world’s first full-scale civil nuclear power station more than sixty years ago…”
The nuclear plants in question are not named, but sixty years ago there were only four nuclear power reactor plants operating in the UK. Two were experimental reactors in Scotland: the Dounreay Materials Test Reactor (DMTR) that went critical in May 1958; and the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR), which achieved criticality on 14 November 1959. The only other two reactors operating were the Chapel Cross Magnox production reactor in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, in 1959, which did generate electricity, but primarily was used to produce weapons-useable plutonium, and tritium from inserted lithium, to enhance hydrogen nuclear warhead explosions
http://drdavidlowry.blogspot.com/2020/11/broris-johnson-plays-truth-or-dare-with.html
Ohio likely to require nuclear reactor audit before renewing bailout
 Ohio likely to require nuclear reactor audit before renewing bailout -analysts https://uk.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUKL1N2I61D0 Banking and Financial News Scott DiSavino, NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Ohio’s legislature will likely require the owner of two nuclear power reactors to prove they need financial assistance to remain in service following a bribery scandal related to passage of the state’s 2019 nuclear bailout, analysts said on Friday.FirstEnergy Corp lobbied state officials to provide more than $1 billion to fund the continued operation of its Davis-Besse and Perry reactors.
The Ohio reactors are now owned by Energy Harbor, which emerged from the bankruptcy of FirstEnergy’s FirstEnergy Solutions unit in February. The reactors likely still need financial help to keep operating. FirstEnergy was not alone in seeking state funding for its reactors. Nuclear plants in Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut also received subsidies in recent years. n Ohio, however, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Larry Householder, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, in July, alleging bribery related to the passage of the state’s nuclear subsidy law, known as House Bill 6 (HB6). In an effort to undue damage done by the scandal, Ohio politicians have proposed new legislation that could remove or reduce the nuclear subsidies in HB6. “Ultimately, the subsidies may be reduced following the audit but we are skeptical they’ll go to zero when all is said and done,” said Josh Price, senior analyst at Height Capital Markets. FirstEnergy shares fell over 3% on Friday to their lowest since September. Earlier this week, the FBI also raided a home owned by Sam Randazzo, chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Randazzo resigned on Friday, according to the state governor’s office. Officials at the PUCO had no comment. Energy Harbor was not immediately available for comment. FirstEnergy said its “Board will continue to take decisive action to address this matter,” noting it is in the “best interest” of Ohio and the nation to maintain clean and reliable nuclear power. Reporting by Scott DiSavino Editing by Marguerita Choy |
A New U.S. Missile Defense Test May Have Increased the Risk of Nuclear War
A New U.S. Missile Defense Test May Have Increased the Risk of Nuclear War, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
A November 2020 U.S. missile defense test stands to upend strategic stability and complicate future arms control. The test marks a crossing of the Rubicon, with irreversible implications.
Ultimately, the consequences of the technical demonstration in FTM-44 will be challenging to reverse. This genie has left the bottle and the consequences for future arms control and strategic stability will be significant. https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/11/19/new-u.s.-missile-defense-test-may-have-increased-risk-of-nuclear-war-pub-83273
The creeping carbon costs of digital communication
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Everyone has done it – sending a quick email to say ‘thanks’ or ‘no problem’ to a work colleague. But the millions of unnecessary messages sent every day are pumping thousands of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, researchers say. This is all down to the power they consume, and contributes more than 23,000 tonnes of carbon a year to the UK’s footprint. While emails are an integral form of communication, if we all cut back on just one ‘thank you’ email per day could save over 16,000 tonnes of carbon a year, according to a study. This is the equivalent of 81,152 flights from London to Madrid or taking 3,334 diesel cars off the road. The research, carried out by OVO Energy at the end of last year, found 49 per cent of Brits confessed to sending unnecessary emails every day. …. Sending any email creates a carbon footprint from a combination of the electricity used to power the devices on which it is written and read, the networks that transmit the data and the data centres that store it. Data centre account for less than 0.1 per cent of the world’s carbon footprint, experts say, but this figure is expected to grow with increasing use of video calls, games and streaming……. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/sending-just-one-email-less-every-day-could-save-1000-tonnes-of-co2/ar-BB1baWzz?li=BBnbfcL |
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UK government’s plans for Sizewell and Wylfa nuclear stations are wavering, with doubts about costs
 Carbon Brief 18th Nov 2020, Media reaction: Boris Johnson’s ‘10-point’ net-zero plan for climatechange. In the lead up to the plan, expectations were running high for a major announcement on nuclear power, after weeks of stories about a “green light” for the Sizewell C plant and Rolls-Royce planning to build up to 16 mini-nuclear plants. In an article published at the start of November, the i newspaper said “Johnson…is expected to commit to building a new nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk”.**************
The Daily Mail’s Ruth Sunderland said new nuclear will “have to be” part of the UK’s energy mix and suggested that Johnson was posed to give approval to the new Sizewell facility, despite opposition “by protesters who say it threatens ecology and wildlife”. The reality was less specific. The plan included a fund of £525m “to help develop large and smaller-scale nuclear plants, and research and develop new advanced modular reactors”, but did not mention a specific project.
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A government consultation last year concluded that the UK “will…require” new nuclear power to meet its
net-zero emissions target. An analysis by environment correspondent Fiona Harvey in the Guardian noted that with proposals for new nuclear in the UK from Sizewell to Wylfa wavering “if the government wishes to expand nuclear power, it will have to prove that it can be economical”.https://www.carbonbrief.org/media-reaction-boris-johnsons-10-point-net-zero-plan-for-climate-change |
Lack of safety documents in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s handling of radioactive wastes.
  CCNS Asks Why LANL’s Area G Waste Handling Lacks Proper Safety Documents, http://nuclearactive.org/ 20 Nov 20, On Wednesday, Chris Roscetti, the Technical Director for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, raised more red flags about the fact that Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) handles, treats and stores radioactive and hazardous waste without the proper paperwork in place. He was speaking during a virtual meeting of the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board. DNFSB POWERPOINT .
Some paperwork has remained unresolved for years. For example, since at least 2016, LANL does not have compliant safety documents for nuclear facilities, such as the Area G dump. These documents, called documented safety analysis, serve to identify and analyze the hazards associated with the work. Nuclear facilities are required to respond to the analyses in ways that will protect workers, the public and the environment. Some elements of safety documents include fire protection calculations, computer modeling for the dispersion of contaminants, and analyses of the efficiency of the operating controls to prevent releases. The Area G safety documents have languished since 2016 – even though LANL continues to handle, treat, and store plutonium-contaminated and hazardous waste there. Roscetti said there are about 3,100 drums containing radioactive and hazardous waste sitting above ground at Area G. These wastes are destined for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), but need to be treated or repackaged before shipment. In fiscal year 2020, LANL sent 54 shipments to WIPP. Most of these shipments were newly-generated waste from the fabrication of the triggers for nuclear weapons, or plutonium pits. Each shipment to WIPP can hold 42 55-gallon steel drums
Based on the current shipping rate, if all 3,100 above-ground drums were sent to WIPP at a maximum of 42 drums per shipment, it would take about 18 months. But the amount of radioactivity in each drum dictates how many drums make up each shipment. In the meantime, newly generated waste would be shipped into Area G. In recent virtual meetings, LANL officials have been announced its plans to begin retrieving thousands of buried containers at Area G. Those drums would most likely need to be repackaged before shipment to WIPP. But again, the safety documents have not been developed and approved. Safety documents address not only the repackaging and shipping operations, but also the delicate retrieval operations. There is evidence that some drums have corroded.
CCNS asks why LANL is allowed to continue to operate Area G when safety basis documents have not been properly updated – in the case of Area G, nearly five years…….. http://nuclearactive.org/
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Britain’s enthusiasm for nuclear power stations is waning.
Bloomberg 20th Nov 2020, Britain’s ambition to renew its aging fleet of nuclear power plants is losing momentum after the government offered few new details on how it will support additional projects. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s
administration set aside 500 million pounds ($661 million) for small modular reactor projects but was silent on support for traditional
large-scale plants.
The issue gained urgency on Thursday as Electricite de France SA’s announced the closure of its Hinkley Point B reactors two
years early. The government’s latest thinking on how to replace its aging fleet of nuclear plants marks a dramatic shift from 2013, when David Cameron agreed to funding for new reactors at the Hinkley Point site with support from China. Since then, relations with China have deteriorated, electricity demand slumped and renewables such as wind and solar farms became much cheaper than new atomic plants.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/nuclear-power-pushed-to-back-burner-in-u-k-s-green-energy-plan-1.1525271
Taiwanese protest plan to dump water from Japan nuclear plant into sea
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Taiwanese protest plan to dump water from Japan nuclear plant into sea,Focus Taiwan 11/19/2020 Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) A group of Taiwanese staged a protest in Taipei on Thursday against a plan by the Japanese government to release more than a million tonnes of water into the ocean from the disabled Fukushima nuclear power plant, starting in 2022.
At the rally in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), some 20 supporters of the “Nuclear Go Zero” movement called on the ministry to push back, via diplomatic channels, against the Japanese government’s controversial plan. Tsai Ya-ying (蔡雅瀅), a lawyer affiliated with the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association in Taiwan, said at the rally that releasing “contaminated” water from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power would pose a risk to humans who might eat the many marine species that migrate in the warm current between Taiwan and Japan. Another protester, Tsai Chung-yueh (蔡中岳), deputy CEO of the environmental organization Citizen of the Earth, said contamination of the marine ecology could last for 30-40 years, if the water is dumped into the ocean……. At a regular press briefing Thursday, MOFA spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said the Japanese government has not yet made a final decision on the issue, and MOFA will seek clarification. She said the protesters have submitted a letter that has been passed on to the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, which will relay their concerns to the Japanese government via Taiwan’s representative office in Tokyo. “MOFA is also concerned about the issue, as the maritime environment, ecological conservation, and health of our citizens may be at risk,” Ou said. (By Chang Hsiung-feng and Emerson Lim) Enditem/pc https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202011190015 |
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USA revives plan for fast nuclear reactor, despite terrorism risks
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Idaho is top pick for Energy Department nuclear test reactor, By KEITH RIDLER, BOISE, Idaho (AP) 20 Nov 20, — The U.S. government said Thursday that Idaho is its preferred choice ahead of Tennessee for a test reactor to be built as part of an effort to revamp the nation’s fading nuclear power industry by developing safer fuel and power plants. The U.S. Department of Energy said in an email to The Associated Press that the site that includes Idaho National Laboratory will be listed as its preferred alternative in a draft environmental impact statement planned for release in December. The Versatile Test Reactor, or VTR, would be the first new test reactor built in the U.S. in decades and give the nation a dedicated “fast-neutron-spectrum” testing capability. Some scientists decry the plan, saying fast reactors are less safe than current reactors. A news release by the Energy Department earlier Thursday listed both Idaho and Tennessee as possible locations without selecting one as being favored…… The department had a fast reactor, the Experimental Breeder Reactor II, operating in eastern Idaho until it was shut down in 1994 as the nation turned away from nuclear power. ……. Some scientists are wary of fast reactors, noting they’re cooled with harder to control liquid sodium and likely fueled by plutonium, increasing potential nuclear terrorism risks because plutonium can be used to make nuclear weapons….. https://apnews.com/article/environment-tennessee-nuclear-power-idaho-f70ae4dac811f90f1493231fe7edb7bd |
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Large and small nuclear reactors should not be included in UK’s ‘clean, green’ 10 point plan
NFLA 18th Nov 2020, The UK & Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) has read with
interest, but concluded with real disappointment, the UK Prime Minister’s
10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
We see it as a missed opportunity when radical, appropriately funded action to tackle the climate
emergency is sorely needed. The 10-point plan is supposed to reset UK
Government policy as it prepares for the global climate change conference
taking place in Glasgow next year.
It is expected an Energy White Paper and
National Infrastructure Strategy will follow later this month.
Some of the 10 points the Government is taking forward include some welcome areas of
support – for example a major increase of offshore wind, supporting the
development of electric vehicles in conjunction with support for public
transport, cycling and walking strategies, laudable aims on energy
efficiency (despite completely inadequate resource for it), protecting and
restoring the natural environment and looking at ways to increase green
finance across the country.
However, the amount of new money committed to
such work is totally inadequate to claim this to be part of a new green
industrial revolution. NFLA is particularly disappointed with the
Government’s commitment to new nuclear, which, given the carbon footprint
in the construction period of building such reactors as Sizewell C, will
have next to no positive low carbon impact in the time required to be
getting to zero carbon.
Is nuclear power truly ‘green’ and ‘clean’ when it still creates large amounts of radioactive waste for which there is
still is no long-term management solution for?
The amount of public money required to deliver both small modular reactors, a nuclear fusion
experimental reactor and new large nuclear reactors at sites like Sizewell
and Bradwell is massive. Hinkley Point C alone is coming in at around
£22.5 billion.
Small modular reactors could require similar figures given
there is no agreed or approved design for them, or an established supply
chain that can deliver them in a cost-effective way. An experimental
nuclear fusion reactor requires billions more. In all three cases the
delivery of such projects is years away and completely diverts attention
for more effective alternatives.
Hinkley Point B nuclear reactor offline now, and will be shut down earlier than planned
EDF confirms Hinkley Point B to be shut down earlier than planned
Cracks in reactor’s graphite core leads to decision to begin process no later than July 2022, Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent, Fri 20 Nov 2020 . EDF Energy has confirmed it will begin shutting down the 45-year-old reactors at Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant in Somerset within the next two years, earlier than scheduled.
The “defuelling” will begin no later than July 2022, according to the French energy group.
The shutdown was scheduled for 2023, but cracks were discovered in the graphite core of the reactor.
…….. The power plant, which has been Britain’s most productive and whose operational life was extended, is offline for further inspections and is scheduled to return to service next year, pending approval from Britain’s nuclear safety watchdog…….
However, the scheduled start date has been delayed to between 2025 and 2026 owing to slow progress in agreeing with the government a guaranteed price for the electricity produced……
Boris Johnson’s 10-point climate plan, which was revealed on Tuesday, promised to advance large-scale nuclear projects and the developments of so-called “mini nuclear reactors” with a £525m support package.
But the plan failed to give the greenlight to EDF Energy’s planned followup to the Hinkley Point C project at the Sizewell site, which the firm hopes to build alongside a Chinese nuclear company.
The NIA said it hoped the government provided a clear path towards new nuclear capacity in an energy white paper, which is expected before Christmas. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/19/edf-confirms-hinkley-point-b-to-be-shutdown-earlier-than-planned
North Korea sparks new nuclear weapons fears
North Korea sparks new nuclear weapons fears, By Sarah Keane, 20 November 2020 NORTH Korea sparks new nuclear weapons fears as experts confirm uranium factory is now active
The International Atomic Energy Agency watchdog has spotted fresh activity at Kim Jong-un’s ‘secret’ uranium factories, sparking new nuke bomb fears….. https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/11/20/north-korea-sparks-new-nuclear-weapons-fears/
Saudi minister says nuclear armament against Iran ‘an option’
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Saudi minister says nuclear armament against Iran ‘an option’
Saudi Arabia reserves the right to arm itself with nuclear weapons if Iran cannot be stopped from making one, says the minister. Aljazeera, 7 Nov 2020 Saudi Arabia reserves the right to arm itself with nuclear weapons if regional rival Iran cannot be stopped from making one, the kingdom’s minister of state for foreign affairs has said. “It’s definitely an option,” Adel al-Jubeir told the DPA news agency in a recent interview. If Iran becomes a nuclear power, he said, more countries would follow suit……. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/17/saudi-minister-wont-rule-out-nuclear-armament-over-iran |
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