2024 May 28 « nuclear-news

Counteracting the spin: nuclear and associated news this week

Some bits of good news– People power: seven grassroots conservationists who are ‘saving the world’ Air pollution is falling again in China. Planting Trees and Equity in the Arizona Desert.

TOP STORIES The Slow-Motion Execution of Julian Assange Continues. Assange Wins Right to Appeal on 1st Amendment Issue. Julian Assange’s five-year battle against extradition to the US continues as he WINS last-ditch legal battle to lodge appeal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwHt70oJJ4

38 Years After Chernobyl Disaster, 12% of Belarus’s Territory Is Still Contaminated

From the archives. The longer-term consequences of a nuclear war.

Climate. Isle of Wight-size iceberg breaks from Antarctica. We’ve underestimated the ‘Doomsday’ glacier – and the consequences could be devastating. 2024 looks like producing a sizzling summer in the North of this planet.:

AccuWeather Summer 2024 U.S. Forecast: Sizzling Summer Temperatures.
Periods of abnormally high temperatures will become more common and intense in Russia.
Canada risks more ‘catastrophic’ wildfires with hot weather forecast

It’s so hot in Mexico that monkeys are dropping dead from trees.

Noel’s notes. UK’s political omnishambles – a damper on the nuclear lobby. Turning Point, The Cold War and the Bomb. Episode 3- Institutional Insanity. The insanity of DEFENSE: with climate change, Defense becomes our real enemy.

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NUCLEAR ISSUES

CLIMATE. Sites with radioactive material more vulnerable as climate change increases wildfire, flood risks. Nuclear sites, including Hanford, feeling the heat as climate change stokes wildfires drought.

Wildfire closes 20+ miles of highway across Hanford nuclear site Saturday night.

ECONOMICS. Militarism will inevitably lead America to bankruptcy ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/05/21/3b1-militarism-will-inevitably-lead-america-to-bankruptcy/

European Investment Bank’s (EIB) financing for nuclear reactor construction remains off the agenda.

UK Nuclear Plant Sizewell Continues Fundraising Before Election. Soaring costs are likely for planned Wylfa nuclear station, but EDF, Westinghouse, Kepco clamour to build it. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/05/23/2-b1-soaring-costs-are-likely-for-planned-wylfa-nuclear-station-but-edf-westinghouse-kepco-clamour-to-build-it/ Wylfa nuclear power plan- a financial basket case- and no developer will take on the risks. Hinkley C – don’t say I didn’t warn you

EDUCATION. University of Sheffield gets into the nuclear debt web, partnering with Rolls Royce to make “small” nuclear reactors.

Yet another university co-opted by the nuclear industry.

Follow the Money: How Israel-Linked Billionaires Silenced US Campus Protests.

ENERGY. Solar and wind generation will soon pass nuclear, hydro.Electricity grids creak as AI demands soar.Huge nuclear ship spotted docked off Welsh coast. Q&A – Germany’s nuclear exit: One year after.

HEALTH. Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) set to expire soon, while many nuclear test victims await justice .

HISTORY. In 1939 the Soviet Union ‘planned to send a million troops to stop Hitler if Britain and France agreed pact’.

MEDIA.Antony Blinken orders crack down on Gaza-related nuclear leaks – Politico.Endless Trump reporting in USA media, but very little reporting of genocide in Gaza.Israel blocks Associated Press from livestreaming of Gaza under new censorship law, US urges it to reverse decision. Israel says it will return video equipment seized from AP.“Nuclear War: A Scenario”: An Absolute Must-Read. ALSO AT https://wordpress.com/post/nuclear-news.net/273842

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Nuclear-free councils hit out at ‘mad delusion’ of new reactor. Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLAs) join Stop Sizewell in urging 120 local authorities not to back Sizewell C.
Protest continues against Japan’s further discharge of nuke-contaminated water.

POLITICS. Uncertainty in UK: Will a Labour government really tread that troubled nuclear power path? UK Election! And no Final Investment Decision project. Sizewell C nuclear: Uncertainty surrounds final investment decision as parliamentary session shortened. SNPs Stephen Flynn claims Labour ‘will divert £20bn of Scotland’s oil cash’ to build nuclear power plants in England.
Joe Biden’s Deceptive Declarations on Gaza are contradicted by his actions.
Crisis of radioactive waste mismanagement in the Ottawa River watershed”
Renewables and storage still cheapest option, nuclear too slow and costly in Australia – CSIRO. Opposition Coalition’s brave nuke world a much harder sell after new CSIRO report. Lidia Thorpe warns new laws will turn Australia into “the world’s nuclear waste dump“.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.Iran’s new leaders stand at a nuclear precipice. Iran appoints nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri as interim foreign minister.Moscow to ‘mirror’ West, NATO approaches, including nuclear weapons: Russia.US-Saudi officials meet for security and nuclear deal.North Korea vows to boost nuclear posture after US subcritical nuke test.In Nuclear Crosshairs, Guam Still Doesn’t Control Its Own Affairs.Asian neighbors wary of China’s plans to deploy floating nuclear plants.Who was to blame for the failure to properly survey the geology at Hinkley?

SAFETY. UN watchdog warns on nuclear trafficking.
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s main power line down for hours, no safety threat.
Officials set up road closures around Sunnyside Community Hospital for radiation concerns.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Why US Opposes Efforts to Keep Space Weapons-Free.

TECHNOLOGY. Altman-Backed Oklo Sees Data Centers Boosting Nuclear Demand, (though OKLO SMR design not yet approved)

URANIUM. Russian uranium ban reopens threat of uranium mining escalation in US.

WASTES. No nuke waste down under: NFLAs spokesperson seeks reassurance British nuclear subs will still be decommissioned at Rosyth.

WAR and CONFLICT. Ukrainian missiles hit Crimea as Russia launches nuclear drills in area.
Ukraine war briefing: France flies nuclear-capable missile as Russia holds drills.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.

North Korea says it forced to take measures to increase nuclear deterrence.
US military aid to Ukraine is ‘grift’ – Blackwater founder to Tucker Carlson.
In a letter to President Joe Biden and top members of his administration, Veterans For Peace asserts that U.S. law requires the cutoff of all weapons shipments to Israel. Blinken Pushing To Let Ukraine Hit Russian Territory With US Weapons.
Ukraine: Stoltenberg calls for lifting restrictions on the use of NATO weapons to strike in Russia. Let Ukraine freely strike Russia with Western arms – NATO chief.
Senators Quiz Navy Leaders on Proposed Sea-Launched Nuclear Cruise Missile

May 28, 2024 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Gaza: After ICJ order to halt attacks on Rafah, Israel launches over 60 air raids on the city in 48 hours

Israel is continuing its crimes in defiance of the highest international justice body, which issued precautionary measures to prevent genocide on 26 January 2024 and additional precautionary measures on 28 March 2024, plus its latest precautionary measures, issued last Friday. Israel has been carrying out the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip continuously since 7 October 2023, with no real accountability for its crimes, amid the ongoing failure of the international community to protect the Palestinian people from this blatant genocide.

https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6348 26 May 24

Palestinian Territory – Israel continues to ignore orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), including the Court’s most recent ruling. This ruling requires Israel to halt its military assault on the Rafah Governorate in the southern Gaza Strip and reopen the Rafah border crossing to facilitate the movement of people and humanitarian aid. In the 48 hours that followed the ICJ’s ruling on Friday 24 May, however, Israel conducted more than 60 air raids on Rafah.

Furthermore, dozens of artillery shells and constant gunfire were fired in areas of Rafah where the Israeli military was encroaching. Israel’s ground incursion began at dawn on 7 May and has since spread to the west and central parts of the city, mostly along the border strip. It has already impacted a significant portion of the city.

Thirteen Palestinians were killed in the 48 hours following the Court’s ruling, including six members of the Qishta family, an elderly mother and three of her children—two girls and one boy —and an adult son and his two children. The victims were killed when Israeli planes bombed their home on Saturday 25 May in Khirbet Al-Adas, north of Rafah, an area not included in the Israeli evacuation orders.

Three distinct air raids were also carried out on the same day (25 May) targeting the city’s Al-Shaboura Camp and Awni Dhair Street, resulting in the killing of five civilians.

A Palestinian was also killed and others were injured on Sunday afternoon when Israeli aircraft bombed the Rasras family’s house in the centre of Rafah city, while another Palestinian was killed and others were injured on the day of the Court session.

During the Court session to decide on South Africa’s request, the Israeli army increased its intense bombing of central Rafah, including the Shaboura camp. It destroyed numerous homes and streets, and later claimed that the incident was connected to an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate a leader in a Palestinian faction. As a result, civilians continue pay a heavy price for Israeli military attacks that flagrantly transgress international humanitarian law, particularly the principles of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity, i.e. taking appropriate precautions to avoid civilian deaths. It is important to note that these attacks are classified as war crimes under the Rome Statute.

Israel did not hold back in publicly rejecting the Court’s ruling. The bombing, killing, and destruction intensified immediately after the session ended. The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, swiftly denounced the Court’s decision and attacked it, citing religious statements that denigrate non-Jews. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir responded, “Our future does not depend on what the gentiles say, but rather on what we Jews do.”

According to Israeli Channel 12, Netanyahu stated that “occupying Rafah and increasing military pressure on Hamas” is the proper response to the Court’s decision, which he called “antisemitic”.

The victims of the Israeli army’s bombing are still lying in the streets and under the debris of destroyed homes, particularly in the eastern and central parts of the city, as rescue workers and medical teams are unable to remove them from those areas, according to the Euro-Med Monitor field team.

In addition to the hundreds of housing units destroyed since the beginning of the most recent attack on Rafah, during which entire neighbourhoods were destroyed and reduced to rubble, the Euro-Med Monitor team had also previously received information about the destruction of approximately 170 housing units.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme warehouse and the UNRWA distribution centre in Rafah remain inaccessible due to the ongoing Israeli military attack.

Since taking control of the Rafah border crossing on 7 May, Israeli forces have prevented the entry of humanitarian aid through it (beginning the day before, on 6 May) and have continued to keep it closed to sick and injured people seeking to receive medical treatment abroad.

Discussions about reaching a deal to allow aid trucks to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which Israel closed on 5 May, do not address the root causes of the issue, nor do they provide for the 2.3 million people living in the Strip. These individuals are victims of ethnic cleansing and genocide and once more face the threat of starvation, as eight months have passed since the start of the Israeli aggression.

According to UNRWA, the current Israeli military operation in Rafah is directly impacting the ability of aid agencies to bring critical humanitarian supplies into the Strip, as well as the ability to rotate critical humanitarian staff. From 1–20 May, according to OCHA, 14 missions which were heading to Kerem Shalom to collect aid supplies encountered delays due to traffic congestions blocking the road and delayed clearance by Israeli authorities, resulting in six missions being aborted. During this reporting period (20–22 May), the border crossings were only opened for one day, and only 39 trucks entered the Strip via the Kerem Shalom and Rafah land crossings. Only 143 trucks have entered the Gaza strip via the Karem Abu Salem crossing since 6–20 May.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reiterates its call on all nations to fulfil their international obligations and halt all military, political, and financial support for Israel’s military assault on the Gaza Strip. In particular, all arms transfers to Israel, including export permits and military assistance, must end immediately; otherwise, these nations will be considered complicit in Israeli crimes committed in the Strip, including genocide.

Furthermore, Euro-Med Monitor urges the International Criminal Court (ICC) to acknowledge and handle Israel’s crimes in the Gaza Strip as international crimes, as they fall under the Court’s jurisdiction. Additionally, Euro-Med Monitor asks the Court to expand its lists of arrest warrants to include more Israeli officials.

The United Nations must send fact-finding and investigative committees to the Gaza Strip, defy Israel’s decision to forbid such committees from entering the Strip, and make clear, public declarations whenever Israel denies these committees entry or refuses to work with them in any manner.

International investigations must be conducted into the widespread violations that have been documented since Israel started its military attacks on the Gaza Strip, all evidence must be preserved, and all international institutions must unite in their efforts to end Israel’s impunity. Those who have committed crimes in the Strip, whether by issuing orders or carrying them out, must be held accountable and brought to justice.

Euro-Med Monitor warns that, should the Security Council be approached to pass a resolution requiring Israel to cease operations in the Rafah Governorate in the event that Israel does not abide by the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice, any use of the veto to prevent this resolution from being passed and enforced would mean that the objecting state—which has previously been the United States in multiple similar situations—will be complicit in the genocide committed by Israel throughout the Gaza Strip. This complicity in Israeli crimes includes crimes in Rafah Governorate, where the Court confirmed that Israel’s US-backed military operation poses a serious and additional threat to the Palestinian people’s right to be protected from the crime of genocide.

May 28, 2024 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Atrocities | Leave a comment

The announcement of Wylfa as the favoured site for a new nuclear plant is nothing more than blatant electioneering

27 May 2024, Dylan Morgan, People Against Wylfa B (Pawb) https://nation.cymru/opinion/the-announcement-of-wylfa-as-the-favoured-site-for-a-new-nuclear-plant-is-nothing-more-than-blatant-electioneering/

The morning of May 22 certainly had a feeling of April Fool’s Day about it with the announcement by the energy minister, Claire Coutihno that Wylfa is in the government’s view, a favoured site for building large nuclear reactors.

In case you haven’t been following the planned renaissance of nuclear power in the British State over the past 20 years, Wylfa was included by Tony Blair’s government as one of eight possible new build nuclear sites in 2006.

It is well documented how the German consortium of REW and E.ON set up Horizon Nuclear Power in 2007 with a view to build new reactors at Wylfa.

Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and how that strengthened already strong anti-nuclear views in Germany, the consortium were lucky some months after announcing they would not proceed with Wylfa B in March 2012, to sell Horizon at a profit for £750 million to Hitachi in October 2012.

Hitachi then spent another £1.25 billion on the Wylfa B project until January 2019, before deciding to suspend any more investment.

The project was finally scrapped completely in September 2020.

So Wylfa has been in the government plans for the past 20 years. To pretend that this was somehow a new step was nonsense.

It was nothing more than blatant electioneering on behalf of Virginia Crosbie in her attempt to keep Ynys Môn in the Conservative fold.

Planning Inspectorate

Under Hitachi’s ownership, Horizon presented a full planning application for new nuclear reactors at Wylfa to the Planning Inspectorate who are responsible for evaluating all major infrastructure planning applications.

Independent inspectors were appointed to scrutinise the proposals at public sessions in October 2018 and early spring 2019 and in private group discussions among the inspectors.

Their final report was not published until Hitachi had announced a suspension of investment in the project. Their conclusions were striking to say the least.

“Expert planning officers felt that the proposals failed to meet some of the United Nations’ biological diversity standards and also listed concerns over the project’s impact on the local economy, housing stock and the Welsh language.

“The planning inspectors’ report said there was a lack of scientific evidence put forward by developers to demonstrate that the Arctic and Sandwich tern (seabird) populations around the Cemlyn Bay area would not be disturbed by construction.

There were fears that these birds would abandon the Bay as a result. It also raised wider concerns over the general impact on Cemlyn Bay, the Cae Gwyn site of special scientific interest and Tre’r Gof…

“… it found the influx up to 7500 workers during construction “could even with the proposed mitigation, adversely affect tourism, the local economy, health and wellbeing and Welsh language and culture”.

“It concluded: “Having regard to all the matters referred in this report, the ExA’s conclusion is that, on balance, the matters weighing against the proposed development outweigh the matters weighing in favour of it. The ExA therefore finds the case for development is not made and it recommends accordingly.”

‘Drop in the ocean’

It was reported in Jeremy Hunt’s final budget this spring that the government were going to pay Hitachi £160 million for the Horizon sites at Wylfa and Olbury, a loss of around £600 million for Hitachi.

Even if this payment is made, it is still only a drop in the ocean in the wider context of the cost of nuclear power stations.

When construction started on the only new nuclear project in England at Hinkley Point C in Somerset in 2015 led by the French nuclear developer EdF, the original cost estimate was £18 billion.

That sum has now rocketed to £46 billion with 2031 as the nearest possible completion date. EdF then want to turn their attention to Sizewell C to replicate the work carried out at Hinkley.

If the Hinkley project is completed by sometime in the 2030’s and work is started on Sizewell, that follow-up nuclear build would take another 15 to 20 years taking us to around 2050.

Nuclear skills

Nuclear industry insiders have publicly admitted that the British State only has enough nuclear skills to build one nuclear development in a given period. Indeed, Simon Bowen, the Chairman of Great British Nuclear stated clearly in that body’s blog on 9 September, 2023 that there is a “lack of skills to meet the coming nuclear challenge”.

In another interview on January 29, 2024 to World Nuclear News he underlines what we have always argued, that the civil and military nuclear sectors are intrinsically linked:“…unless we share skills and we find mechanisms for sharing skills across the nuclear sector, both in defence and civil and across the boundaries, then it is going to be very, very difficult to succeed”

Nuclear power is dangerous, dirty, outdated, a huge threat to environmental and human health as the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters have shown, and extortionately expensive.

It goes totally against the flow of smart money investment in electricity generating projects world wide.

Net loss

The International Energy Agency Annual Report for 2023 published early this year showed another net loss of nuclear power generation leaving it with a 9.2% share of electricity generation worldwide.

For the same year, electricity from the various renewable technologies had increased to 30.2% of the global market. That figure is anticipated to increase to 42% by 2028.

That is just four years away and is a remarkable figure. At that rate of growth, within another decade, renewables can realistically expect to supply over 50% of global electricity.

The world is waking up despite the big oil and nuclear corporations desperately trying to hang on and be relevant.

Future generations will not forgive us if we plough huge amounts of money as taxpayers and through a nuclear tax on our electricity bills into new nuclear reactors in the next twenty years, thereby adding to the huge headache of the legacy radioactive waste of the past 60 to 70 years stored at the decaying Sellafield complex.

All hot radioactive waste produced from high burn up uranium which will be used at Hinkley Point and any other possible new nuclear reactors, will have to be stored on site for at least 150 years.

These are the brutal facts of nuclear power and politicians from all parties contesting the General Election should be challenged, especially if they blindly support nuclear technology which is limping towards irrelevance and oblivion.

May 28, 2024 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | Leave a comment

WEBINAR 16 June. Gaza and Ukraine to WWIII: The NATO Problem

Start: Sunday, June 16, 2024 at 2:00 AM GMT+10

End: Sunday, June 16, 2024 at 3:30 AM GMT+10

Virtual event

Host Contact Info: david@worldbeyondwar.org

his webinar is free and open to the public. Participants all need to register on this page.

What does NATO have to do with current and looming wars? How does NATO work and what is it working on? How does an alliance whose members and partners make up 69.4% of the world’s military spending shape international relations? What alternatives exist? What is being planned by advocates for peace and demilitarization?

There will be a 24-hour peacewave on June 22:
https://24hourpeacewave.org

A counter-summit and rally will unwelcome NATO to Washington, D.C., in July:
https://nonatoyespeace.org

Click “Register” to sign up and get the Zoom link for this webinar!
NOTE: Be sure to click “yes, opt in…” in order to receive follow up emails about this event (including reminders, zoom links, follow up emails with recordings and notes, etc).

SPEAKERS:……………………………………………………………….more https://actionnetwork.org/events/gaza-and-ukraine-to-wwiii-the-nato-problem?source=direct_link&
—

May 28, 2024 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Iran’s Near Bomb-Grade Uranium Stock Grows Ahead of Election

International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors verified on Monday that
Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium rose 17% over the last three
months, according to a nine-page, restricted report circulated among
diplomats and seen by Bloomberg. That’s enough uranium to fuel several
warheads, should Iran make a political decision to pursue weapons.

Bloomberg 27th May 2024

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/iran-near-bomb-grade-uranium-154724858.html

May 28, 2024 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, Uranium | Leave a comment

Pledge sought that laid-up Rosyth subs won’t go to Australia

By Clare Buchanan 27 May 24, https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/24344727.pledge-sought-laid-up-rosyth-subs-wont-go-australia/

A ROSYTH councillor has called for assurances that rotting nuclear submarines will not be sent to Australia for disposal.

Brian Goodall, who is UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authority’s spokesperson on nuclear submarine decommissioning, said he has written to the UK’s foreign and defence secretaries.

He’s asked for confirmation that vessels will not go overseas if a new Australian law passes without amendments.

Seven old subs have been laid up at Rosyth Dockyard for decades with Dreadnought being there for the longest – more than 40 years – waiting to be scrapped.

The UK and USA signed a pact with Australia to build and operate a new fleet of nuclear submarines which includes the provision of new conventionally armed, but nuclear powered, vessels for the Australian Navy.

To support the pact, legislators down under have proposed a new Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2024.

This appears to allow the disposal of high level radioactive waste from British and American submarines on Australian soil, and also for the storage of such materials in Australia from “a submarine that is not complete”.

In his letter to Lord Cameron and Grant Shapps, Cllr Goodall expressed concern that this could theoretically mean permitting “the towing of redundant UK boats from Rosyth and Devonport down under for disposal”.

He said he fears that this could result in the loss of local expertise and jobs if it comes into practice.

He adds: “Surely as the operators of our own submarines, the UK Government should remain responsible for the storage of the resultant high-level waste and for their safe decommissioning in home ports?

“Not only will this preserve the expertise in these matters that has developed after many years of trial and error, but, as a ward member for the Rosyth Dockyard, it will also preserve the jobs in my local community.”

Back in 2022, the Press reported pledges from the UK Government that all laid-up submarines would be gone as part of plans to “de-nuclearise Rosyth” by 2035.

Councillors were given an update on the programme to remove radioactive waste and turn the seven boats that have been parked at the dockyard for decades into “tin cans and razor blades”.

The Ministry of Defence have previously faced heavy criticism for the delays and sky-high costs in dealing with the nuclear legacy, with 27 Royal Navy subs to be scrapped in total.

May 28, 2024 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

US-NATO attack 3 Russian space early warning facilities

South Front 27 May 24

On May 24, the Ukrainian military launched drone strikes on the Voronezh-DM strategic over-the-horizon long-range radar in Armavir in the Krasnodar region. The radar antennas were reportedly damaged.

This facility has nothing to do with the ongoing military operations in Ukraine. Over-the-horizon long-range radar stations of the Voronezh-type are part of the Missile Attack Warning System aimed to detect the launch of ballistic nuclear missiles. This is an element of Russian strategic security, space defense at great distances. It operates in a range of up to 6,000 km and up to 8,000 km in near space, simultaneously monitoring up to 500 different objects.

The Voronezh-DM in Armavir partially controls the territory towards the Indian Ocean, Southern and Central Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa and the Middle East.

On May 26, there was another attack on the Russian missile warning system that ended in failure. An unidentified drone crashed in the Orenburg region. The incident occurred near the city of Orsk, where another Voronezh-M type radar station is located nearby, it controls the sector from the Taklamakan desert to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

It was also revealed that the target of the attack on Crimea on May 23 was the Center for Deep Space Communications, involved in the management of the GLONASS satellite system. The facility located near the city of Alushta was reportedly damaged by 4 US-made ATACMS missiles.

Against this background, it is worth expecting attempts to disable another Russian Voronezh-M type radar station in the Leningrad region. In addition, by the end of 2024, the upgraded Voronezh-type radar station near Sevastopol should be put into operation.

Despite attempts by some European leaders to hide their involvement in the escalation, such attacks are not an independent initiative of Kiev. They were launched by NATO military with NATO missiles, with the reconnaissance support of NATO aircraft………………………………………. https://southfront.press/nato-try-to-inflict-strategic-defeat-on-russia/

May 28, 2024 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Wildfire closes 20+ miles of highway across Hanford nuclear site Saturday night

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article288752490.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR08rMIiSJAlQPd4CfpPLrSOT8wTvfKpMh2iCBTCBbTWsZrZBoyB3FYq 24 May 24

ICHLAND, WA More than 20 miles of Highway 240 across the Hanford nuclear site and part of Highway 24 was closed by a wildfire for a few hours starting at 6 p.m. Saturday. Wind gusts of up to 26 mph in the area fanning the flames Saturday night.

The Hanford site alerted its employees that Highway 240, sometimes called the Hanford highway, was closed from Highway 225 north of Benton City to the intersection with Highway 24. The highway runs between the section of the nuclear reservation closed to the public and Hanford Reach National Monument land, including Rattlesnake Mountain, also closed to the public. Highway 24 was closed from the Vernita Bridge across the Columbia River to the Silver Dollar cafe, according to Hanford officials.

About 7 p.m. the Washington state Department of Transportation announced the Highway 24 closure but both roadways reopened a few hours later. No information about the specific location of the size of the fire was immediately available.

May 28, 2024 Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents | 1 Comment