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Worst-kept secret? In tweet, ex-PM Barak seems to confirm Israel has nuclear weapons

Says Western officials fear judicial overhaul will turn country into ‘messianic dictatorship that possesses nuclear weapons,’ thirsting for confrontation with Islam at Temple Mount.

By TOI STAFF4 April 2023  https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-tweet-ex-pm-barak-seems-to-confirm-israel-has-nuclear-weapons/
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Former prime minister Ehud Barak appeared to confirm on Twitter Tuesday that Israel has nuclear weapons — something Israeli officials have heavily implied but avoid publicly confirming as a matter of policy.

“In conversations between Israelis and Western diplomatic officials, there are deep concerns raised of the possibility that if the coup in Israel succeeds, a messianic dictatorship — that possesses nuclear weapons and fanatically wishes for a confrontation with Islam centered on the Temple Mount — will be established in the heart of the Middle East,” tweeted Barak in his latest criticism of the government’s judicial overhaul effort.

One of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s aides tweeted last week that the overhaul “will eventually lead to a freedom-protecting and God-fearing DAVIDIC MONARCHY [akin to the] UAE,”

Since the government’s unveiling of its plan to radically curb the High Court of Justice’s power three months ago, Barak has become a leading voice in the protests against the plan.

He has warned that Israel risks devolving into a dictatorship, adding that people are duty-bound to refuse orders by “an illegitimate regime.”

In February, Barak likened President Isaac Herzog’s proposal to the government for compromise on the judicial plan to former British premier Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement efforts vis-à-vis Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, in a post to social media he later deleted.

He accused the Netanyahu government of pursuing a “coup d’état” and said the overhaul plan was an “attack on the Declaration of Independence” and did not serve the interests of the public or the country.

April 7, 2023 Posted by | Israel, weapons and war | 1 Comment

Navy’s nuclear-powered super submarine ‘Trident’ fixed with super glue

The damage was done at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth during a dry dock renovation and refuel. This work, reportedly started in 2015 and is four year behind the schedule and approximately £300 million over budget

Abhishek Awasthi January 31, 2023  https://www.firstpost.com/world/uks-own-chernobyl-averted-navys-nuclear-powered-super-submarine-trident-fixed-with-super-glue-12075672.html?fbclid=IwAR0u3HB9pkg4GbjW37GnF6XxNoRo97No0AskR6qi5bPaS0umNQ7852Hpre8

London: In a bizarre incident, employees aboard the UK’s most advanced frontline submarine Trident risked the lives of millions of people by allegedly using superglue to fix broken bolts of a nuclear reactor chamber prompting navy chiefs to order an investigation.

The crucial cooling pipes’ shoddy repairs were revealed after one of the bolt fell off during a routine check of the 16,000-ton HMS Vanguard.

Reports reveal that the bolts had broken due to careless overtightening, but civilian staff of the defence contractor Babcock glued the heads back on rather than alerting the damage to the authorities so that the fractured shafts could be repaired correctly.

The staff reportedly informed authorities about a process of work difficulty, or procedural fault, but avoided talking about the bolts and glue.

The staff reportedly informed authorities about a process of work difficulty, or procedural fault, but avoided talking about the bolts and glue.

The incident came to light after a UK newspaper publisged a detailed report on the grave blunder prompting Defence
Secretary Ben Wallace to call for a meeting and set accountability of the officials once and for all.

According to a Navy source, he was enraged that Babcock, one of the largest defence contractors in the UK, kept the Navy in the dark.

It’s a disgrace, they remarked. Nuclear technology forbids cutting corners. “The rules are the rules. Standards in the nuclear industry are never waived,” he said.

The damage was done at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth during a dry dock renovation and refuel. This work, reportedly started in 2015 and is four year behind the schedule and approximately £300 million over budget.

The sailors of the three remaining Trident 2 nuclear missile subs, HMS Vengeance, HMS Victorious, and HMS Vigilance, have had to endure protracted patrols due to persistent delays.

From 2028, the Dreadnought class will take their place and carry the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

The experts said that the seven bolts that were fixed using Superglue were reportedly preventing a Chernobyl type meltdown by holding the insulated coolant pipes.

They were discovered this month, ahead of the engineers’ scheduled first firing of the reactor at maximum power.

Investigators are still combing through data to determine when it occurred and who was to blame. As part of nuclear safety protocols, employees usually work in pairs.

After the incident, the Ministry of Defence in the UK issued a statement saying: “A fault from work done when HMS Vanguard was in dry dock was detected as part of a planned examination.”

It was reported and rectified right away, ministry said while adding that the Secretary of State also engaged with Babcock’s CEO in order to secure reassurance for future works.

Navy sources however claimed there were “no nuclear safety issues and that the reactor would not have exploded if the damage hadn’t been discovered.

“This is a big trust issue for Babcock and the Royal Navy to tackle,” former sub skipper Cdr. Ryan Ramsay stated, adding that It makes one wonder what else has been done poorly.

“The time strain imposed by falling considerably behind schedule may have induced this behaviour,” he said.
Babcock has multi-billion dollar contracts to overhaul at Devonport and maintain the Astute and Vanguard sub fleets
for the Royal Navy at HMNB Clyde in Scotland.

Any quality-related issue is extremely disappointing, however our own thorough inspection procedures found the problem, said Ramsay, adding that There was no safety or operational impact from the work.

Meanwhile, Rolls Royce which manufactures and maintains the reactors asserted that it was indeed a dereliction of duty on Babcock’s part.

April 7, 2023 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Renewable energy overtakes nuclear power as the EU’s largest source of primary energy production.

Renewables were the main source of European energy production in 2021,
according to the statistical office of the EU. A Eurostat report suggests
renewable energy has overtaken nuclear power as the largest source of
primary energy production in the European Union. Data shows that in 2021,
renewables made up nearly 41% of the EU’s total energy production, with
solid fuels, natural gas, crude oil and other sources accounting for the
rest.

 Energy Live News 4th April 2023

Green power surge: Renewables take the lead in EU energy production

April 7, 2023 Posted by | EUROPE, renewable | Leave a comment

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report fails to mention military or conflict emissions.

 The IPCC’s failure to mention military or conflict emissions in its
recent synthesis report points to a deeper problem. Ellie Kinney explains
why solving it will require a concerted effort from states, researchers and
civil society. As the IPCC has made clear, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

 Conflict & Environment Observatory 3rd April 2023

The IPCC’S missing military emissions

April 7, 2023 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change, weapons and war | Leave a comment

New Images From Inside Fukushima Nuclear Plant Are Causing Big Worries

If another earthquake rocks the area, there could be trouble.

IFL SCIENCe, TOM HALE 5 Apr 23

Robotic probes have dived into the watery ruins of the Fukushima nuclear power plant and revealed that vital supporting structures appear to be damaged. While the discovery is not an immediate concern, it’s feared it could become a major issue if another earthquake rocks the area.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) uses remote-controlled probes to explore the submerged depths of the nuclear power plant and keep tabs on how the massively expensive clean-up operation is going. 

According to an update [PDF] released on Tuesday, one of their robots recently took images of the Unit 1 pedestal, a supporting structure under one of the reactor cores that experienced a meltdown during the notorious 2011 nuclear disaster.

Associated Press reports that the 120-centimeter (47-inch) thick concrete wall of the pedestal was showing signs of significant damage at its base, exposing the steel reinforcement inside. 

The concern is that three of the reactors contain an estimated total of 880 tons of highly radioactive melted fuel debris. According to The Asahi Shimbun, TEPCO managed to obtain the first visual confirmation of the melted nuclear fuel in the Unit 1 reactor for the first time just last week.

The clean-up operation is still challenged with removing the fuel debris. If these support structures break, then it threatens to cause further headaches for TEPCO. 

Reports of the damage prompted the Governor of Fukushima Prefecture, Masao Uchibori, to ask TEPCO to immediately evaluate whether the structure could survive another earthquake, just like the one that prompted the catastrophe. ……………… more https://www.iflscience.com/new-images-from-inside-fukushima-nuclear-plant-are-causing-big-worries-68316

April 7, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Busting the spin about nuclear wastes – a Letter to the editor of the Hill Times.

(Not sure whether or not the Hill Times will publish this letter)

from: Angela Bischoff Director, Ontario Clean Air Alliance, 5 Apr 23

More happy talk from nuclear advocates is not what Canadians need when it comes to understanding the issue of how to deal with the hundreds of thousands of highly radioactive bundles currently stored in pools and warehouses at Canadian nuclear plants.

In their letter of April 5, two nuclear advocates from the industry-aligned Canadian Nuclear Society trot out the usual assurances that this waste can be safely stored underground for hundreds of thousands of years. That no country has actually done this, and that the industry-owned Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization is still struggling to identify a “willing host” community for such a facility in the face of adamant community and First Nation opposition, is blithely ignored.

There have been nuclear power operations in Canada for over 60 years now, yet the industry still has not managed to execute on its preferred strategy of dump-and-run. Comparing deadly radioactive waste to materials like niobium and cadmium is like comparing the likelihood of surviving a multi-vehicle car crash with falling off your bicycle. No one ever died from standing next to a wind turbine magnet.

Trying to paper over the level of risk involved in handling, transporting, and disposing of waste that must remain completely isolated for hundreds of thousands of years, just exposes how the nuclear industry would prefer to avoid hard questions about why it has been allowed to carry on without having an implementable plan for dealing with its deadly toxic waste. What other industry is given a huge free pass like this?

April 7, 2023 Posted by | Canada, wastes | Leave a comment

Crowd turns out for town hall on plutonium pits, nuclear waste storage

BY ALAINA MENCINGER / JOURNAL STAFF WRITER, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5TH, 2023 Albuquerque Journal

“…………………………………………. a town hall meeting, where residents of Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Los Alamos and beyond asked questions and made comments about nuclear production and disposal in New Mexico. The crowd addressed a pair of officials from the National Nuclear Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.

There was hardly an empty seat in the auditorium; 150 others attended the town hall virtually.

Speakers at the town hall generally focused on three main issues: increased production of plutonium pits, ramped up disposal of transuranic waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, and nuclear proliferation.

One attendee, Erich Kuerschner, expressed concerns about health and safety regarding radiation.

“Have you ever seen any pictures of what humans looked like after Hiroshima and Nagasaki?” Kuerschner asked. “It’s horrible, because so many people haven’t — you know, they have no idea of what radiation does to a human being.”

Plutonium pits, bowling-ball-sized hollow spheres of radioactive plutonium, are essential to trigger nuclear reactions.

…………………………………………. many attendees questioned the necessity of adding to the country’s nuclear arsenal, including Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester.

“All your plans for the expanded plutonium pit stores — why is plutonium bomb core production even necessary when it is not to maintain the safety and reliability of the existing tested stockpile?” Wester asked.

He went on to call on the NNSA and DOE to prioritize cleanup at Los Alamos National Lab and beyond, denuclearize the country, and invest in “real national security threats that tangibly impact New Mexicans such as wildfires caused by climate change and preventing the next pandemic.”…………………………..

Other speakers raised concerns about transporting and storing nuclear waste in DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad. WIPP is the only repository for transuranic waste — clothes, tools, soil and other materials contaminated with radiation — in the country. The plant was expected to stop taking new waste in 2024; however, a March 2022 report by the Office of Environmental Management titled “WIPP Strategic Vision: 2022-2032”, indicated that the plant “is currently anticipated to operate beyond 2050.”

Activist Cynthia Wheeler said four years ago she bought a house along the route from LANL to WIPP, under the assumption that in 2024, the plant would be closed.

“The federal agencies changed the rules to keep WIPP open for the rest of the century,” Wheeler said. “… I was following the rules. But DOE was breaking promises after the fact.”

………………….. The plant is in the process of renewing its permit. Public comment on the renewal has been extended by the New Mexico Environment Department until April 19 at 5 p.m.

April 7, 2023 Posted by | - plutonium, USA | Leave a comment

Rethinking Paris: France braces for 4°C warming in “turning point” strategy — (wonder how France’s nuclear reactors will cope?)

Paris plans to use 2024 Olympics as a showcase for urban climate adaptation, including proposals to deal with 4°C of warming. The post Rethinking Paris: France braces for 4°C warming in “turning point” strategy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Rethinking Paris: France braces for 4°C warming in “turning point” strategy — RenewEconomy

April 7, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment