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Germany’s nuclear phase-out enters final stretch

Germany shuts down atomic plant as nuclear phase-out enters final stretch, DW, 1 Jan 2020, The Philippsburg power station is one of the only plants still operating in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg. Germany has vowed to start decommissioning every nuclear power facility by the end of 2022.Operators began shutting down the Philippsburg nuclear power plant in southern Germany on Tuesday, as the country puts into motion its plan to begin decommissioning all 17 of its atomic energy facilities by the end of 2022. …..

The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan led to widespread anti-atomic-power protests across Germany. Two months after the accident, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that all plants would be closed over the next decade, making Germany the second country after Italy to shut down all of its atomic energy stations.

The German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) welcomed the news. A BUND spokesman said the group hoped to see the end of nuclear power being “conjured up again and again as a supposed healing charm and climate savior.”

However, Wolfram König, who heads the German government’s office for the nuclear phase-out, warned that the country still faced the great “challenge” of trying to phase out both coal and atomic energy at the same time.https://www.dw.com/en/germany-shuts-down-atomic-plant-as-nuclear-phase-out-enters-final-stretch/a-51845616

January 2, 2020 Posted by | decommission reactor, Germany, politics | Leave a comment

Britain’s nuclear weapons convoys a disaster waiting to happen

Britain’s nuclear weapons convoys are a ‘disaster waiting to happen,’ peace campaigners warn, Morning Star, 30 Dec 19, The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament hits out at the MoD after reports show 40 lapses in safety while nuclear and radioactive materials were being transported across the country

DOZENS of safety failures during nuclear weapons convoys are a “disaster waiting to happen,” campaigners charged as they demanded the Ministry of Defence (MoD) answer for the risks it is exposing the public to.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and political campaigners have hit out at the MoD after concerning reports show 40 lapses in safety while nuclear and radioactive materials were being transported across the country over the past five years.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed the 40 operational and engineering issues on convoys carrying bombs and hazardous materials.

These incidents included issues identified with brakes on convoy vehicles, included burning smells during transportation.

On other occasions convoy vehicles were forced to stop, and road lanes closed, after suffering flat tyres.

Among other engineering faults listed were warnings of overheating in convoy vehicles.

Multiple “operational” issues also disrupted transportation of dangerous materials.

Reported in these were rolling road blocks needed to manoeuvre the convoy through busy, congested routes across the UK, causing delays in the journey.

CND general secretary Kate Hudson said: “Nuclear bombs carried on our roads are a disaster waiting to happen.

“This report shows that ‘poor maintenance’ is a factor in these safety lapses.

“The MoD must be brought to book for this disgraceful failure — and our new government must end this cargo of death through our communities.”

Britain’s nuclear weapons are still based in Scotland and those north of the border have said it is time to rid ourselves of the apocalyptic threats.

Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell led a debate on the topic last year.

He said: “Like many I’d like to see an end to the housing of nuclear weapons in Scotland, but while they are still here it’s not unreasonable to expect the highest standards of safety to apply to their movement.

“People will be shocked at the thought of nuclear convoys travelling on public roads.

“In Stirling the convoys even park up overnight behind a chain-link fence across the road from a Nando’s and a Vue Cinema. This is an absurd situation that must come to an end.”…… https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/britain-nuclear-weapons-convoys-are-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-peace-campaigners-warn

January 2, 2020 Posted by | safety, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Not nuclear bombs, but the cutting of undersea cables, could be the decisive war weapon

January 2, 2020 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Documents reveal UK’s plans for rolling out nuclear weapons

World War 3: UK’s plan for ‘rapid deployment of nuclear weapons’ in 24 hours exposed  https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1219002/world-war-3-uk-nuclear-weapon-deployment-24-hours-soviet-union-cold-war-spt, by CALLUM HOARE, Mon, Dec 30, 2019 |

THE UK planned to roll out its nuclear arsenal in as little as 24 hours in what would have been a “frenetic” response to the Soviet Union’s escalation of war in the Eighties, documents seen by Express.co.uk reveal.

The 1983 papers came at a time of intense tensions, as the Cold War reached boiling point, threatening to topple into World War 3. The US and the Soviet Union were jostling for world supremacy and, as the threat of nuclear war increased, allies on both sides prepared for how they would respond, including the UK. Ministry of Defence documents expose a top secret mission for “rapid deployment of nuclear weapons” in the event things spiralled out of control.

One document seen by Express.co.uk reads: “The Secretary of State asked for further advice on the arrangements which would be needed for the rapid deployment of Tactical Nuclear Warheads (TNW) in a crisis on the assumption that all naval nuclear weapons were stored in the UK in peacetime.

“A plan – Operation Perfidious – is already in existence to allow for the rapid deployment of TNW from the stock-pile at RAF Honington in Suffolk, either directly by helicopter to the ship, or to service airfields in the UK by helicopter or C130 Hercules aircraft for onward transmission to ships.

“Theoretically, transfer from Honington to sea could take as little as 24 hours, but this assumes that the ships are close to the Norfolk coast and that all the assets from the movement are available.

The documents go on to discuss the need to act quickly, and the risks the Soviet Union posed.

They add: “Nuclear stockpiles are known to be prime targets for Soviet Special Forces.

“Additionally, each time a nuclear weapon is moved there is a safety risk, a security risk, and, if the timing of the move can be predicted, a risk of civil, industrial or even military intervention.

“The risks are small if the move is preplanned and conducted in isolation of all other activities.

The risks would be higher if hurried embarkation of a large number of TNW were attempted amidst all the other preparations for war under the eagle eyes of the media and anti-war faction.

“Nuclear stockpiles could be created around the country, but the cost in preparing storage facilities and the manpower necessary to service and guard such areas would be disproportionately high.”

Thankfully, they were never needed.

While tension did reach unthinkable levels, both the US and the Soviet Union were aware of each other’s nuclear capabilities.

As a result, the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction was accepted between the two.

This was the belief that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.

It is based on the theory of deterrence, which holds that the threat of using strong weapons against the enemy prevents the enemy’s use of those same weapons.

January 1, 2020 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear weapons could have been sited in Norther Ireland

January 1, 2020 Posted by | weapons and war | Leave a comment

Trump’s push for lofty nuclear treaty sparks worry over current deal

Trump’s push for lofty nuclear treaty sparks worry over current deal, MPR News Franco Ordoñez, January 1, 2020 President Trump and his Russian counterpart have the coming year to deal with an expiring nuclear treaty that will lapse just after the end of his first term…..

Experts say reaching a trilateral deal within a year is highly unlikely. And some worry that Trump’s focus on a bigger deal risks upending the existing treaty with Russia, which could lead to a new arms race. …..https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/01/01/npr-trumps-push-for-lofty-nuclear-treaty-sparks-worry-over-current-deal

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

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