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Tight timetable for the Rolls Royce-led conglomeration to ever get their small nuclear reactors built

The reactors themselves will be installed at existing nuclear sites in
Britain. Rolls-Royce has not yet committed to any sites but Wylfa and
Trawsfynydd in north Wales are believed to be under consideration.

The company and its partners, which include Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and
France’s wealthy Perrodo family, expect to decide on where to locate the
factory this year and to start construction soon after.

They face a tight timetable if they are to stay on track to meet their ambition to complete
the first 470MW plant by the early 2030s. Alongside the site selection, the
companies are putting their SMR design through the UK’s rigorous nuclear
regulatory regime, a process that is expected to take up to four years.

 Irish Times 23rd Jan 2022

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/rolls-royce-seeks-bids-in-england-and-wales-for-site-to-make-small-nuclear-power-plants-1.4783979

January 25, 2022 Posted by | Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, UK | Leave a comment

NB POWER seeks unprecedented 25-year licence for Point Lepreau nuclear power station

NB Power seeks unprecedented 25-year licence for Point Lepreau nuclear power station, Coast Reporter, 24 Jan 22, FREDERICTON — The licence for Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear power generating station expires in June, and the New Brunswick Crown corporation that operates the aging CANDU-6 reactor is seeking to renew it for an unprecedented 25-year term.

he Canadian Pressabout 12 hours ago
Updated about 11 hours ago   FREDERICTON — The licence for Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear power generating station expires in June, and the New Brunswick Crown corporation that operates the aging CANDU-6 reactor is seeking to renew it for an unprecedented 25-year term.

The last two licences to operate the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, located about 40 km southwest of Saint John, N.B., were for five years each.  

“We are asking for a 25-year licence, which would be a first in Canada, based on some improvements that the regulator has made, but also on the very strong safety and reliability performance that we’ve seen from all the Canadian nuclear stations,” Jason Nouwens, director of regulatory and external affairs for NB Power, told reporters in a briefing on Friday.  

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has scheduled the first phase of the application hearing on Wednesday in Ottawa.  

Gail Wylie with the Coalition for Responsible Energy Development called the request for a 25-year licence “really absurd.”

Wylie will be one of the public interveners when the safety commission holds the second phase of the application hearings in Saint John in May.  

“We are very much interested in renewable energy because we know it’s clean and we know the problems and history of nuclear energy here,” she said in a recent interview. “Nuclear inherently has got its risks and the radioactive waste.”

Wylie said she’s concerned that extending the life of the 660-megawatt nuclear generator will slow the transition to what she calls cleaner and cheaper forms of renewable energy.

Point Lepreau opened in 1983 and operated until 2008, when it closed for a major refurbishment intended to extend its lifespan by 25 years. It was reconnected to the power grid in October 2012.  

Wylie said NB Power’s request for a licence until 2047 exceeds the lifespan targets that were announced after the refurbishment. She said she plans to ask questions about how the utility is dealing with staffing levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, threats of cyberattacks, and impacts of climate change.   

Wylie also wants to know about how plans to develop advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) on the Lepreau site will impact the operation of the main reactor. Two companies, Moltex and ARC, are working with NB Power to develop the portable reactor technology.  

Nouwens, however, said the licence application doesn’t include development of SMRs.  

“The re-licensing process for Point Lepreau is completely separate from any licensing process for SMRs,” he said. “Our 25-year licence renewal covers the scope of what’s currently at Point Lepreau and what the plans would be for our current station operations.”    …………….

Like Wylie, Dalzell said he also plans to ask questions about climate change and about how Point Lepreau’s location on the shore of the Bay of Fundy could be affected by sea-level rise and extreme weather events. Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press   https://www.coastreporter.net/the-mix/nb-power-seeks-unprecedented-25-year-licence-for-point-lepreau-nuclear-power-station-4985518

January 25, 2022 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

Nuclear deal unlikely unless Iran releases US prisoners: Report

Nuclear deal unlikely unless Iran releases US prisoners: Report

US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley tells the Reuters news agency agreement ‘hard to imagine’ while four ‘innocent Americans held hostage’.  Ajjazeera, The United States is unlikely to strike a deal with Iran to save the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement unless Tehran releases four US citizens Washington says it is holding hostage, the lead US nuclear negotiator told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.

US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley repeated the long-held US position that the issue of the four people held in Iran is separate from the nuclear negotiations. He moved a step closer, however, to saying that their release was a precondition for a nuclear agreement…………….

In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on espionage and security-related charges.

Rights groups have accused Iran of taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage, while Western powers have long demanded that Tehran free their citizens, who they say are political prisoners.

Tehran denies holding people for political reasons……………………

The indirect talks between Iran and the United States on bringing both countries back into full compliance with the landmark 2015 nuclear deal are in their eighth round. Iran refuses to hold meetings with US officials, meaning others shuttle between the two sides……………………… https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/24/iran-nuclear-deal-unlikely-without-us-prisoner-release-report

January 25, 2022 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Iran ‘will consider’ direct talks with US, says foreign minister


Iran ‘will consider’ direct talks with US, says foreign minister, US administration says direct talks are ‘urgently needed’ to facilitate communication to restore the Iran nuclear deal. Aljazeera, 24 Jan 22, Tehran is willing to engage in direct talks with Washington if negotiations to revive the Iranian nuclear deal reach an advanced stage that requires such dialogue, Iran’s foreign minister has said.

Hossein Amirabdollahian’s remarks on Monday came as United States officials have been urging direct negotiations to restore the 2015 accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)……….

Iran had previously ruled out direct meetings with the US. Instead, the two sides have been negotiating indirectly in Vienna to revive the deal, which saw Iran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting international sanctions against its economy………………..

Biden has pledged to restore the deal, but several rounds of talks in the Austrian capital have failed to secure a path back into the agreement so far.

The US administration says preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon is one of its foreign policy priorities, but Tehran has denied it is seeking nuclear weapons………………….   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/24/iran-will-consider-direct-talks-with-us-says-foreign-minister

January 25, 2022 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Swedish government to decide on construction of nuclear waste dump.

Why does nobody ever suggest stopping making radioactive trash?

Swedish government to decide construction of spent nuclear fuel repository   https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/swedish-government-to-decide-construction-of-spent-nuclear-fuel-repository/

By Charles Szumski | EURACTIV.com  24 Jan 22,  The government this week will announce its decision regarding the construction in the northern Uppland region of a repository for nuclear fuel that has been removed after being used in a nuclear reactor.

Environment Minister Annika Strandhäl promised on 20 January that the government would announce its decision this week. Spent nuclear fuel has been a hot topic discussed by Swedish scientists and politicians for the last 35 years.

January 25, 2022 Posted by | Sweden, wastes | Leave a comment

Anti-radiation pills handed out in case of nuclear emergency at BAE Systems

Anti-radiation pills handed out in Barrow in case of nuclear emergency at BAE Systems

The Mail. BY Eleanor Ovens  @EOvensNews, 24 Jan 22, Reporter  NEARLY 13,000 anti-radiation pills have been handed out in Barrow in case of the ‘unlikely event’ of a nuclear emergency.Records reveal that childcare facilities and care homes situated near BAE Systems have received iodine tablets should submarine reactors go into meltdown…….

According to Declassified UK, BAE expects people 400 metres downwind of a submarine would need to take iodine in the ‘first few hours’ of a ‘radiation emergency’……

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council told The Mail BAE Systems have a contract with UKHSA (previously Public Health England) and NHS England to distribute iodine tablets to business and residents in the area around the BAE Systems site in Barrow………….  https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/19865424.anti-radiation-pills-handed-barrow-case-nuclear-emergency-bae-systems/

January 25, 2022 Posted by | health, UK | Leave a comment

Anniversary Of The Night Nuclear Bombs Fell Near Goldsboro  

Anniversary Of The Night Nuclear Bombs Fell Near Goldsboro   https://www.goldsborodailynews.com/2022/01/24/anniversary-of-the-night-nuclear-bombs-fell-near-goldsboro/January 24, 2022 Ken Conners

It’s the 61st anniversary of the big bang that, fortunately, never happened.

Around midnight on January 24th, 1961, a B-52G aircraft based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base experienced a fuel leak and broke up in midair over Wayne County.

Five crewmen were able to successfully eject or bail out of the aircraft, but three did not survive the crash.

Two Mark 39 nuclear bombs being carried on the bomber plummeted to the earth, landing with the wreckage in the farmlands of Faro, about 12 miles north of Goldsboro.

Declassified information eventually showed one of the bombs came very close to detonating with 3 of 4 arming mechanisms being tripped in the crash.    One of the bombs was recovered while portions of the second sank into a muddy field never to be seen again.

January 25, 2022 Posted by | history, incidents, Reference | Leave a comment

Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons 

Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons   
Nominations are open for the Third Annual Gorbachev/Shultz, Voices Youth Award 2022, NEWS PROVIDED BY Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons 

   SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons Third Annual Voices Youth Award will be given to a youth who, or organization which, has pioneered or been part of exemplary programs and actions to engage youth in the local, regional or global movement to abolish nuclear weapons. The award honors the legacy of former U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev and former U.S.A. Secretary of State George Shultz in their efforts for nuclear disarmament

This past year, Sahil Shah was selected winner of the second Voices Youth Award 2021 in recognition of his outstanding efforts to help abolish nuclear weapons. Sahil is a Policy Fellow at the European Leadership Network (ELN) and leads the organization’s efforts to stabilize and strengthen nuclear and regional security diplomacy with Iran and its neighbors.  To learn more about Sahil’s work visit www.voices-uri.org/youth-award…………………………..

Submissions for nominations must be received by June 30, 2022, 5:00 PM, PST. The winner will be announced on August 6, 2022, in coordination with the yearly commemoration of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons is part of United Religions Initiative (URI) the largest grassroots interfaith network in the world: building bridges through working together on practical projects that enhance civil communities and understanding between people of different religious and cultural traditions. URI has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. At present URI has 1,091 Cooperation Circles in 111 countries with over one million members and yearly impacts over 50 million people globally.

Contact: Julie Schelling
P: 347.719.1518
Email: 328187@email4pr.com  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voices-for-a-world-free-of-nuclear-weapons-301466013.html

January 25, 2022 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Cleared by U.S., Estonia to deliver “dozens and dozens and dozens” of Javelin missiles to Ukraine, howitzers could follow — Anti-bellum

“I just authorized, myself, the provision of American-origin military equipment that’s with third countries – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – to get to Ukraine.” Blinken, January 23. Estonia’s Ambassador: Dozens of Javelin missiles ready for dispatch to Ukraine Estonia will hand over American Javelin anti-tank missile systems to Ukraine as soon as possible after receiving […]

Cleared by U.S., Estonia to deliver “dozens and dozens and dozens” of Javelin missiles to Ukraine, howitzers could follow — Anti-bellum

January 25, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Daily Mail: Biden poised to deploy 50,000 U.S. troops, warplanes, warships to Eastern Europe — Anti-bellum

https://youtube.com/watch?v=o1wK_wOLsHM%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

Daily MailJanuary 24, 2022 Excerpts. Full story here. (The NATO Response Force has recently been tripled in size to 40,000 rapidly-deployable, combat-ready troops and its Very High Readiness Joint Task Force consists of 20,000, as stated by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby in the video below.) Biden is poised to deploy US forces: President is in […]

Daily Mail: Biden poised to deploy 50,000 U.S. troops, warplanes, warships to Eastern Europe — Anti-bellum

January 25, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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