2021 July 24 « nuclear-news

China threatens Japan with nuclear war over intervention in Taiwan

China threatens Japan with nuclear war over intervention in Taiwan, Business Standard, 23 July 21,

Deputy PM Aso urged dialogue to resolve any issue The Chinese Communist Party aired a video in which it warned Japan of a nuclear response and “full-scale war” if the island nation interferes in China’s handling of Taiwan, Fox News reported.

The video, which appeared on a channel approved by the CCP, singles out Japan as the one exception to China’s policy to not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear powers.

“We will use nuclear bombs first,” the video said. “We will use nuclear bombs continuously. We will do this until Japan declares unconditional surrender for the second time.” The video was deleted from Chinese platform Xigua after gaining 2 million views, but copies were uploaded to YouTube and Twitter, Taiwan News reported. Accoding to Fox News,the threats follow comments made two weeks ago by Japanese officials about Taiwan’s sovereignty, with Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso saying that Japan must “defend Taiwan,” The Japan Times reported……. https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/china-threatens-japan-with-nuclear-war-over-intervention-in-taiwan-121072300030_1.html

July 24, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

China to activate molten salt nuclear reactor, but it’s not clear if they have solved its safety problems

China to activate world’s first ‘clean’ nuclear reactor in September

Live Science 23 July 21, Plans include building up to 30 reactors in partnered nations. Chinese government scientists have unveiled plans for a first-of-its-kind, experimental nuclear reactor that does not need water for cooling.

The prototype molten-salt nuclear reactor, which runs on liquid thorium rather than uranium, is expected to be safer than traditional reactors because thorium cools and solidifies quickly when exposed to the air, meaning any potential leak would spill much less radiation into the surrounding environment compared with leaks from traditional reactors.

The prototype reactor is expected to be completed next month, with the first tests beginning as early as September………………..

The molten-salt reactor concept was first devised back in 1946 as part of a plan by the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force to create a nuclear-powered supersonic jet.

However, the experiment ran into too many problems, such as corrosion caused by the hot salt and the cracking of pipes, and the project was abandoned in 1954. Since then, several groups have tried to make viable molten-salt reactors, including an experimental reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, but the weak radioactivity of thorium makes it very difficult for fission reactions to build up to sustainable levels without adding uranium.

It is not yet clear how Chinese researchers have solved these technical problems……..

July 24, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, safety, technology | Leave a comment

Maohi Lives Matter’: Tahiti protesters condemn French nuclear testing legacy

Maohi Lives Matter’: Tahiti protesters condemn French nuclear testing legacy https://globalvoices.org/2021/07/23/maohi-lives-matter-tahiti-protesters-condemn-french-nuclear-testing-legacy/
France conducted 193 nuclear tests in the South Pacific by Mong Palatino 23 July 20217

More than 1,000 people gathered in the Tahiti capital of Papeete to condemn the failure of the French government to take full accountability for its nuclear testing program in the South Pacific.

France conducted 193 nuclear tests from 1966–1996 in Mā’ohi Nui (French Polynesia). France’s 41st nuclear experiment in the Pacific led to catastrophe on July 17, 1974, when France tested a nuclear bomb codenamed “Centaure.” Because of weather conditions that day, the test caused an atmospheric radioactive fallout which affected all of French Polynesia. Inhabitants of Tahiti and the surrounding islands of the Windward group were reportedly subjected to significant amounts of ionizing radiation 42 hours after the test, which can cause significant long-term health problems.

The July 17, 2021 protest was organized under the banner of #MaohiLivesMatter to highlight the continuing fight for nuclear justice. Campaigners said that despite the statement of former French President François Hollande in 2016 recognizing the negative environmental and health impact of the nuclear tests, the French government has done little to provide compensation or rehabilitation to French Polynesia.

After analyzing 2,000 pages of declassified French military documents about the nuclear tests, in March 2021 a group of researchers and investigative journalists from INTERPRT and Disclose released their findings on the health implications of the experiments.

According to our calculations, based on a scientific reassessment of the doses received, approximately 110,000 people were infected, almost the entire Polynesian population at the time.

The report has revived public awareness in France about the impact of their nuclear testing program. The French government held a roundtable discussion about the issue in Paris in early July. Though some criticized the French government for their alleged lack of transparency around the clean-up efforts in French Polynesia, officials denied these claims.

Protesters in Tahiti insisted that the French government should do more to address the demands of French Polynesian residents. Some noted that if French President Emmanuel Macron was able to seek forgiveness for the role of France in enabling the Rwanda genocide in 1994, he should at least make a similar apology for the harmful legacy of the nuclear tests in the Pacific.

The #MaohiLivesMatter protest has inspired solidarity in the Pacific.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN) Australia issued this statement of support:

As you gather in Maohi Nui on the 17th July we offer our deep respects to your leaders and community members who have long spoken out against the harms imposed by these weapons. We have heard your calls for nuclear justice. We continue to listen closely when you speak of the lived experience of the testing years and the on–going harms.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to tackle the legacy of nuclear testing during his visit to Tahiti this month.

July 24, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | OCEANIA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Racism and the misguided efforts to expand nuclear energy around the world

Early efforts to expand nuclear energy were rife with racism and peril,
reminds a historian. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to
repeat it,” wrote the philosopher George Santayana in 1905. Heeding this
aphorism, in The Wretched Atom, historian Jacob Darwin Hamblin seeks to
remind readers of the misguided 20th-century effort launched by the United
States, its allies, and international agencies to expand nuclear energy
around the world. The compelling narrative should lead readers to realize
the importance of preventing a repeat of the follies that marked the early
decades of the atomic age.

Science 21st July 2021

https://blogs.sciencemag.org/books/2021/07/21/the-wretched-atom/

July 24, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | history, USA | Leave a comment

“Don’t you know there’s a war on?” by Patrick Lawrence — Rise Up Times

https://youtube.com/watch?v=jpJDnyZqfLw%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

“The sooner we recognize these and many similar events as disparate dimensions of a concerted war waged against us, the better we will understand the air we breathe and the water we drink.”
“Don’t you know there’s a war on?” by Patrick Lawrence — Rise Up Times

July 24, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The people have spoken: they want a fairer, greener country — Inside track

This post is by Joshua Emden, research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). If you put people at the heart of efforts to solve the climate and nature crises, then opportunity abounds. This is the core message presented by the final report of IPPR’s Environmental Justice Commission, Fairness and Opportunity. But this […]
The people have spoken: they want a fairer, greener country — Inside track

July 24, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Next Entries »