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PM Kishida rules out Japan’s possession of nuclear weapons

PM Kishida rules out Japan’s possession of nuclear weapons

February 25, 2022 (Mainichi Japan)   TOKYO — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ruled out the possibility of Japan possessing nuclear weapons as part of the “capacity to strike enemy bases” that his government is seeking to acquire.

At a House of Councillors Budget Committee session on Feb. 24, Kishida said, “The three non-nuclear principles (of not possessing, not producing and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons) are our national policy. There are no options of using or possessing nuclear arms.”……………………..   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220225/p2a/00m/0na/018000c

February 26, 2022 Posted by | Japan, politics, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Abandoned mines and old Yunkom nuclear test site in Donbas region of Ukraine pose ”singular threat” of radiation contamination

Abandoned mines in eastern Ukraine are filling up with water at
“alarming” rates, according to new research that has triggered fears of
a radioactive disaster. Satellite images show high levels of swelling in
the ground in the former coal mining region of Donbas, much of which is now
controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

The images have raised concerns
about water contaminated with heavy metals or radioactive material spilling
into rivers and the wider environment. Of particular concern is the high
swelling at the Yunkom mine, which was the site of a small Soviet
underground nuclear test in 1979.

The Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, the intergovernmental organisation, warned in 2017
that the mine posed a “singular threat”. “Any present destabilisation
of the mine via flooding could release up to 500 cubic metres of
radiation-contaminated mine waters into the ground-water table,” it said.

 Telegraph 24th Feb 2022

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/02/24/second-chernobyl-eastern-ukraine-threatened-radioactive-disaster/

February 26, 2022 Posted by | environment, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Warning on faults in EPR nuclear reactors – Commission de Recherche et d’Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité

French nuclear giants are heavily involved in the EPR in Taishan, China:
Framatome in terms of design, construction and fuel supply, EDF in terms of
operations with its participation (30%) in TNPJVC. Furthermore, the
feedback from first years of operation of Taishan 1 and 2 is obviously
essential for the safety of other EPRs.

EDF must therefore monitor incidents affecting these facilities very closely. In June 2021, the
national and international press widely reported on the affair of the
problems of ruptures of nuclear fuel cladding for the Taishan 1 EPR reactor
in China. This 1,750 MWe reactor of power is the first EPR to be put into
commercial service in the world (in December 2018).

Degradation of nuclear fuel led its operator, TNPJVC, to a shutdown “anticipated”, on July 30,
2021, i.e. around 6 months ahead of the initial duration of the cycle.
Anticipation was quite relative because the sheath rupture problems had in
fact been identified as early as October 2020 and the reactor should have
been shut down well before July, in order to limit the radiological risks
for workers and residents.

The CRIIRAD had alerted on this subject in a
press release1 published on June 14 2021. Several causes can be at the
origin of these ruptures of sheaths. Without being exhaustive, some may
implicate design flaws in the reactor, others manufacturing flaws, other
more faults involving the operation and/or maintenance of the Taishan 1
reactor. Some could turn out to be generic and also concern the other EPR
reactors under construction. CRIIRAD 22nd Feb 2022 http://criirad.org/Surete-nucleaire/220222_Courrier_CRIIRAD_EDF_Flamanville_EPR.pdf

February 26, 2022 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

Drone and missile attacks on UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant

The United Arab Emirates’ only nuclear power plant is “well protected”
against security threats, the regulator said on Wednesday, following a
series of unprecedented drone and missile attacks on the Gulf state.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said in 2017 they fired a cruise missile
towards the Barakah plant, a report which the UAE denied. The group has
repeatedly threatened to target critical infrastructure in the UAE.

 Reuters 23rd Feb 2022

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uaes-lone-nuclear-plant-well-protected-regulator-says-amid-houthi-threats-2022-02-23/

February 26, 2022 Posted by | incidents, United Arab Emirates | Leave a comment

France’s nuclear company EDF fined a measly 300 million euros for its decades of deception and misuse of its position

 The French Competition Authority imposes a fine of 300 million euros on
EDF. The organization accuses the French company of abuse of a dominant
position and illegal collection of its customers’ data.

No less than seventeen years of anti-competitive practice. EDF was fined 300 million
euros by the Competition Authority for having misused its position as a
historical player in electricity since the opening of the market to
competition for companies in 2004, until 2021. The company does not
dispute the facts and has benefited from a negotiated procedure allowing
it to reduce the pain.

According to the law, a fine for this type of
practice could have cost it up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover,
that is to say 7.6 billion, specifies in its decision the Authority of the
competition.

 Le Figaro 22nd Feb 2022

https://www.lefigaro.fr/societes/l-autorite-de-la-concurrence-inflige-une-amende-de-300-millions-d-euros-a-edf-20220222

February 26, 2022 Posted by | France, Legal, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Limitless power arriving too late: Why fusion won’t help us decarbonise — RenewEconomy

A limitless, clean source of baseload power might be within reach – without the nuclear waste of traditional fission nuclear plants. That’s good, right? Not quite. The post Limitless power arriving too late: Why fusion won’t help us decarbonise appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Limitless power arriving too late: Why fusion won’t help us decarbonise — RenewEconomy
I  first heard the standard joke about fusion as an undergraduate physics
student in the 1960s: Fusion power is 50 years away – and probably always
will be. More than 50 years later, we still don’t have fusion. That’s
because of the huge experimental challenges in recreating a miniature sun
on earth. Still, real progress is being made.

This month, UK fusion
researchers managed to double previous records of producing energy. Last
year, American scientists came close to ignition, the tantalising moment
where fusion puts more energy out than it needs to start the reaction. And
small, fast-moving fusion startups are making progress using different
techniques. A limitless, clean source of baseload power might be within
reach – without the nuclear waste of traditional fission nuclear plants.

That’s good, right? Not quite. While we’re closer than ever to making
commercial fusion viable, this new power source simply won’t get here in
time to do the heavy lifting of decarbonisation. We are racing the clock to
limit damage from climate change. Luckily, we already have the technologies
we need to decarbonise.

On the megaproject front, the next step is the
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) being built in
southern France. Far too big for any one country, this is a joint effort by
countries including USA, Russia, China, the UK and EU member countries. The
project is enormous, with a vessel ten times the size of the UK reactor and
around 5,000 technical experts, scientists and engineers working on it.
Famously, the project’s largest magnet is strong enough to lift an
aircraft carrier.

Even this enormous project is only expected to produce
slightly more power than it uses – around 500 megawatts. The first
experiments are expected by 2025. To me, this illustrates how far away
commercial fusion really is. Renew Economy 25th Feb 2022https://reneweconomy.com.au/limitless-power-arriving-too-late-why-fusion-wont-help-us-decarbonise/


February 26, 2022 Posted by | France, technology | Leave a comment

February 25 Energy News — geoharvey

Opinion:  ¶ “Red-State Voters Want Clean Energy Too. Just Ask Nebraska” • Nebraska turned more than a few heads recently when its public officials adopted net-zero carbon goals for electricity. Renewable energy enjoys support among voters regardless of their politics. While Democrats may be motivated by the climate, Republicans see economic benefits. [CleanTechnica] Nebraska (Taylor […]

February 25 Energy News — geoharvey

February 26, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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