nuclear-news

The week in nuclear news

Some bits of good news (hard to find this week!):

India’s Mass Tree Planting Success: Forest Cover Grows by Half-Million Acres in Two Years
Humpback whales no longer listed as endangered after major recovery.

What can I say ?–  No breakthrough at Ukraine talks as Russian assault continues. Ralph Nader: Everyone Loses in the Conflict Over Ukraine We’re in a new era. Not only is the war situation now so different, with the nuclear threat looming as never before.   But also, the media war has become so very complex and confusing. Social media plays its role –   but increasingly  – much information is crooked, devised to mislead the recipient. Bad enough from Western sources, but Russia has turned this deception into a pervasive mass art.

A rogue journalist ponders on Ukraine situation. Glenn Greenwald: war propaganda about Ukraine becoming more militaristic, authoritarian, and reckless. Blanket anti-Russian propaganda leaves no tolerance for nuanced reporting – media censorship is expanding.

As Russia Seizes Chernobyl Site, Ukraine’s 15 Nuclear Reactors Pose Unprecedented Risk in War Zone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20gVRaQdVmY

Climate impacts should be a regular part of war coverage

UN report on global increase in wildfires due to climate change change.

ANTARCTICA. Antarctica’s pristine snow besmirched with horrid black pollution, scientists say

UKRAINE. Ukraine has 0% of winning, so sending weapons is a pointless exercise, except for the money. U.N. nuclear watchdog to hold emergency meeting on Ukraine. Russian control of Chernobyl may have been aimed against alleged Ukrainian plan to produce nuclear weapons. 

Ukraine’s reactors – largest nuclear complex in Europe – IN DANGER Russian forces now control Chernobyl, inviting speculation and uncertainty. The Most Immediate Nuclear Danger in Ukraine Isn’t Chernobyl. 

Increased radiation levels around Chernobyl probably due to military’s disturbance of soil around exclusion zone.    Radiation levels increased at Chernobyl, after Russian troops seized the area.     

Why nuclear risk from war in Ukraine isn’t missiles but accidental hits on reactors. Putin says that Ukraine is a nuclear threat. Abandoned mines and old Yunkom nuclear test site in Donbas region of Ukraine pose ”singular threat” of radiation contamination.

RUSSIA. Russia President Vladimir Putin puts his nuclear forces on alert.

EUROPE. EU to purchase weapons for Ukraine — live updates, DW.

JAPAN. PM Kishida rules out Japan’s possession of nuclear weapons. Radioactive farm to be leased to wind farm without decontamination. Online Tour by Reconstruction Agency to Consider Decommissioning of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. 46% of school lunches use ingredients from Fukushima Prefecture, the highest rate since 2010. Miyagi prefectural assembly: “Don’t hand out flyers to schools about treated nuclear water.

UK. The U.K. Wanted to Extradite Assange to the U.S. From the Start. .Britain’s nuclear submarine base at risk from climate change. UK government study shows that nuclear test veterans were more likely to have cancer and die. On shaky ground? Latest EDF planning application casts doubt on suitability of Sizewell site.

USA. Activist groups to rally against plutonium disposal project at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Doubts about extending the lives of USA’s nuclear reactors as federal regulators halt 80 year extension time for 3 reactors. Vogtle delayed again — $30 billion reactors may never be completed.

FRANCE. Warning on faults in EPR nuclear reactors – Commission de Recherche et d’Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité. 12 nuclear power reactors in France shut down, 6 because of corrosion problems. 

Limitless power arriving too late: Why fusion won’t help us decarbonise.French nuclear regulator halts assembly of huge ITER nuclear fusion reactor. France’s nuclear company EDF fined a measly 300 million euros for its decades of deception and misuse of its position. France’s nuclear ”energy independence” is a fake, as it has to import all its uranium fuel. 

BELARUS. Belarus to end its non-nuclear-weapon status.

FINLAND. Finland’s Russian-backed Fennovoima nuclear power station project now coming to a halt.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. Drone and missile attacks on UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant.

SOUTH AFRICA. South Africa removes critic of nuclear power from regulatory board.

IRAN. Iran rejects deadline – wants IAEA to drop politically motivated claims in nuclear talks.

AUSTRALIA. How Australian uranium ended up in war-torn Ukraine. Meet Australian Public Affairs, the lobbying firm that pushed the Kimba nuclear waste dump for the Federal Government. 

March 1, 2022 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes