Earthlife South Africa to march against nuclear at Eskom’s Braamfontein offices
JOHANNESBURG – NGO Earthlife Africa is expected to march to Eskom’s Braamfontein offices today to highlight the dangers of nuclear and appeal to the government not to go ahead with any plans.
The march is also to highlight the unaffordable electricity hike proposal of more than 19% which could result in consumers paying 27% more for power next year.
The NGO says marchers will hold a picket outside the Eksom office expressing their views that nuclear is not safe for the country and will only create more debt.
Earthlife Africa’s Thabo Sibeko said, “It’s dangerous for people’s health and for the environment. It will cripple our budget.”
It’s being reported that President Jacob Zuma appointed David Mahlobo to energy minister during his latest cabinet reshuffle in hope to fast-track the nuclear plan before he leaves office in December.
(Edited by Refilwe Pitjeng)
India Should Halt Further Expansion of its Nuclear Power Program
To summarise the state of nuclear safety in India and suggest possible corrective actions, an article in a journal will not suffice, it will require one whole book to be devoted to it. But, the sad commentary of that approach is that such a book will have very limited readership, and therefore may not have the desired effect in changing public opinion.
Concluding Remarks: I wish to close this article merely with the citing of two important references. The first is an article I wrote in March 1999 in the Frontline magazine, which brings out several safety issues which existed at that time. Though 18 years have lapsed since that date, problems have only further accumulated and safety concerns have only increased.
A. GOPALAKRISHNAN | 13 NOVEMBER, 2017
Nuclear safety is in jeopardy
An overall evaluation of the status of the Indian civilian nuclear power sector, and the government’s uncertain future plans, do cause a great deal of concern for the welfare of the country and the safety of our people. Therefore, it is best to freeze all plans for the further expansion of this sector until Parliament and the public are provided full details of the government’s intentions and rationale and a national consensus is reached.
Background: The Indian civilian nuclear power program is ultimately administered by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) which reports to the Prime Minister.
The detailed policies, programs, and projects of both the civilian and military aspects of atomic energy are overseen and approved by a supra-powerful body called the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The AEC currently has fourteen members, including its Chairman and a non-Member as Secretary. Members include the Principal Secretary to the PM, National Security Adviser, Cabinet Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Secretary (Finance & Dept. of Expenditure). Few of the past AEC Chairman and a couple of other former government scientists are also Members.
Once this group approves a program or gives a decision, no other entity like the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG), who should be overseeing financial propriety in the Central Government expenditure or the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) which is responsible for project & public safety, will usually dare to question the AEC decision. This top-heavy administration of the nuclear program and the fear that it exudes is at the heart of most of the ailments of the nuclear sector.
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Jordan agrees to buy little nuclear reactors from Rolls-Royce
British engineer Rolls-Royce is to begin a feasibility study for the production of small modular reactors (SMRs) for the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC). The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding at the British embassy in Paris on Thursday.
Harry Holt, the president of Rolls-Royce’s nuclear division, said: “With demand for global energy set to rise due to new technologies such as electric cars and increasing requirements for water desalination and district cooling, international interest in Rolls-Royce’s SMR technology is growing. It represents an important British export opportunity.”
Rolls-Royce estimates that the global SMR market will be worth between £250bn and £400bn by 2035.
Khaled Toukan, the chairman of the JAEC, said: “SMRs offer unique opportunities to address many of the challenges confronting Jordan, in particular water scarcity and small grid size, through the introduction of nuclear in the country as part of the energy mix.”
Jordan depends on foreign oil and gas for 96% of its energy. This dependence, which consumes a significant amount of its national income, has led it to plan investments of $15bn in renewable and nuclear energy.
The two sides will now work together to define the technical, safety, economic and financial requirements for constructing a Rolls-Royce SMR power station in Jordan for generation and desalination, after which the JAEC will decide if and when it will move to the project delivery phase…. more PR drivel on link; http://www.globalconstructionreview.com/trends/jordan-agrees-buy-little-nuclear-reactors-rolls-ro/
Activists to appeal new South African nuclear plant decision
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Greenpeace Africa and other NGOs intend to appeal against South Africa’s decision to grant an environmental permit for a new 4,000 megawatt nuclear plant close to Cape Town, the activists said on Monday.
Last month South Africa’s department of environmental affairs granted authorization to state-owned power utility Eskom to build the new plant at Duynefontein, close to the continent’s only existing nuclear site Koeberg.
South Africa’s nuclear regulator said in October that an installation site license for the plant would likely be granted in June, despite the finance minister saying construction of a new plant was unaffordable in a stagnant economy facing further credit downgrades.
“If this project goes ahead, it will infringe the environmental rights of both present and future generations. This authorization can and must be challenged,” Penny-Jane Cooke, climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Africa, said in a statement.
South Africa’s nuclear plans are shrouded in controversy and uncertainty, with local activists and the media raising concerns about transparency and costs as well as safety and environmental risks at a time when Pretoria is trying to reduce the economy’s heavy reliance on coal power.
Nuclear reactor makers including Rosatom, South Korea’s Kepco, France’s EDF and Areva, Toshiba-owned Westinghouse and China’s CGN are eyeing the South African project, which could be worth tens of billions of dollars.
Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Ed Stoddard and David Evans
Australian aborigines challenge Scottish nuclear waste transfers
Aborigines challenging proposals to dump nuclear waste from northern Scotland to a sacred Australian site have won a breakthrough meeting with government officials about their concerns.
Wallerberdina, 280 miles north of Adelaide, has been identified as a potential location for Australia’s first nuclear waste dump as part of a deal that returns spent fuel processed at the nuclear facility currently being decommissioned in Dounreay, Caithness, to its country of origin.
This is despite claims that it is a priceless heritage site rich in archaeological treasures including burial mounds, fossilized bones and stone tools.
Some have claimed the impact would be similar to “building a waste dump at the heart of the Vatican.”
Campaigners who have appealed to the Scottish government to halt the plans to ship nuclear waste processed at Dounreay in Caithness to Australia, have now been told that their concerns should be addressed before any final decision is taken.
The Dounreay Waste Substitution Policy, agreed in 2012, sees waste from Australia, Belgium, Germany and Italy processed at the Scottish facility to make it safe for storage after being returned to its country of origin.
Campaigners have complained that the intended South Australian destination forms part of an Aboriginal heritage site.
While the waste will be initially stored at a facility near Sydney, concern is growing that it could end up at Wallerberdina, one of two areas under consideration as a nuclear waste dump site.
The proposed dump site is next to an indigenous protected area where Aborigines are still allowed to hunt, and is part of the traditional home of the Adnyamathanha people, one of several hundred indigenous groups in Australia.
The U.K. government has previously confirmed that “a very small quantity of Australian-owned radioactive waste” is currently stored in the country.
Scottish government policy allows for the substitution of nuclear waste with a “radiologically equivalent” amount of materials from Sellafield in Cumbria, northern England.
It is understood that a shipment of such material is due to take place by 2020.
Regina McKenzie, an indigenous woman from the Adnyamathanah community who lives on land adjacent to Wallerberdina, was among those who have objected.
And Gary Cushway, a dual Australian/British citizen living in Glasgow, wrote to Scotland’s leader Nicola Sturgeon asking that the Scottish government review the agreement to transfer the material “until a satisfactory final destination for the waste is finalized by the Australian Government.”
Martin Macdonald, the Scottish government radioactive waste and nuclear decommissioning policy adviser, responded, telling Cushway that developing an understanding of the issues will “help the Scottish Government as we seek assurances from the U.K. government that human rights of indigenous peoples are understood by all parties and addressed before any final decision is taken to transport the Australian produced radioactive waste to Australia”.
He said: “Your correspondence to the Scottish Government highlighted important human rights concerns and international obligations in relation to the rights of indigenous peoples. My colleagues and I would like to offer you a meeting to discuss the human rights issues in more detail to ensure we fully understand your concerns as well as those expressed by Ms McKenzie and other indigenous peoples groups in Australia.
“A meeting would be an opportunity to discuss Scotland’s devolved responsibilities in relation to both human rights and radioactive waste management.”
He added that managing the radioactive waste safely is a responsibility of both the Scottish Government and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Mr Cushway welcomed the move saying: “In terms of how important this is, on a recent visit to one of the proposed sites I met with local Adnyamathanha people opposed to the dump who expressed enormous gratitude that a international government had acknowledged traditional owners concerns and hoped that their ongoing stewardship of their country would be fully recognised and respected as a key part of these proposals.”
French minister turns up heat on EDF over shift to renewables
Snip
Mr Hulot last week said France would aim to reduce the share of nuclear power from 75 to 50 per cent of total energy consumption by 2035, from 2025 previously. He said the decision was “pragmatic” because it took into account France’s CO2 emission reduction targets and the nuclear industry’s 200,000 jobs.
But Mr Hulot said on Monday that he now expected the utility to lay out concrete steps to cut nuclear production in absolute terms. EDF has spearheaded France’s postwar bet on nuclear power, which has provided cheap, low-carbon power for decades.
But the company is struggling under heavy debt and cost overruns on nuclear reactor projects in France, Finland and the UK. “EDF can revitalise itself through renewables . . . Its interest is not to bury its head in the sand like an ostrich, but to be like a giraffe, to look far,” Mr Hulot said. “Tomorrow the norm must no longer be nuclear power but renewable energy. It’s a complete overhaul of our model.”
End snip
Full article here https://www.ft.com/content/132f512a-c89f-11e7-ab18-7a9fb7d6163e
Taiwan seeking to secure sufficient electricity after phasing out nuclear power
The Taiwan government has promised to make efforts to secure stable and sufficient power supply to achieve its goal of completely phasing out nuclear power by 2025.
To meet increasing power demand along with economic growth and offset the decrease in power supply arising from decommissioning nuclear power plants, the government said it will increase natural gas-fueled and coal-fueled thermal power generation capacity by 8,896MW and 1,000MW respectively during 2017-2025.
The government is boosting development of renewable energy, focusing on PV and offshore wind power generation. It has set 2025 target cumulative total installation of 3GWp for rooftop PV systems and 17GWp for ground-mounted PV stations. As of the end of August 2017, the cumulative capacity totaled 1.319GWp for rooftop PV systems and 69.7MWp for ground-mounted PV stations.
For offshore wind power, cumulative total installation capacity for 2025 is set at 3GW and stood at 8MW as of August 2017.
The government aims to maintain reserve power-generating capacity at over 15% and stand-by power-generating capacity at 10% beginning 2019 as well as attain peak power supply of 46,910MW and peak power load of 40,320MW in 2025.
Amid Sea Level Rise & Devastating Storm, Island Nations Call for “Real Climate Leadership” at COP23
As the second week of the U.N. climate conference gets underway in Bonn, Germany, we speak with two activists about the impact of climate change on their countries, and their goals for this year’s talks. “It was devastating to see thousands of homes damaged, and about 40 people lost their lives,” says George Nacewa, Fiji islander and 350.org Pacific Climate Warrior. “This is something we’ve never experienced before.” Meanwhile, Tetet Lauron, a former member of the Philippines delegation, says negotiators must increase their sense of urgency “to avoid runaway climate change.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/11/13/amid_sea_level_rise_devastating_storm
China urges IAEA to strive for universality of NPT, promote peaceful use of nuclear energy
UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) — A Chinese envoy has asked the UN nuclear watchdog to strive for universality of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
“The agency should continue to enhance the universality and effectiveness of its safeguards system on the basis of ensuring impartiality and objectiveness and conducting full consultation with member states,” Wu Haitao told the UN General Assembly after Yukiya Amano, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), briefed the assembly on the agency’s work.
The international nuclear non-proliferation regime faces daunting challenges as some states still haven’t acceded to the NPT, said Wu, the charges d’affaires of China’s permanent mission to the United Nations.
“We hope that the IAEA Secretariat continues its dialogue and communication with member states on the implementation of safeguards at the state level,” he said.
He asked the IAEA to promote the application of nuclear energy and nuclear technology, and increase assistance to developing countries. “China encourages the agency to advance and coordinate nuclear technical exchanges and cooperation by increasing its investment of resources and taking full account of the demand of the developing countries, in order to help member states achieve the sustainable development goals and share the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.”
Wu asked the IAEA to play the core role in strengthening global nuclear safety and nuclear security. “China supports the agency to continue promoting the implementation of its Nuclear Safety Standards and Nuclear Security Guidelines, strengthening peer review service, facilitating the capacity building of member states, so as to enhance international nuclear safety and nuclear security.”
He said China appreciates the efforts made by the agency in facilitating the implementation of the international nuclear deal with Iran, and supports the fulfillment of its monitoring and verification mandate. China also supports the agency to play its due role of monitoring the nuclear activities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea according to its mandate, said Wu.
Japanese Anti-nuke group to call for probe into US bases
14 November 2017 An anti-nuclear group will demand Japan’s government to inspect US bases in Okinawa, following a report that a large number of nuclear weapons were once stored there.
An NHK documentary broadcast in September revealed that 1,300 nuclear weapons were kept in Okinawa during the height of the Cold War.
They were reportedly stored there before Okinawa was returned to Japanese rule.
The civic group, founded after the airing of the program, held a meeting in Okinawa’s Kadena Town on Monday.
Members agreed to call on the Japanese government to inspect US bases in Okinawa, as well as to seek the release of information relating to weapons stored at these bases.
A member expressed hope that this would start a large movement seeking to find out what really happened. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20171114_06/
William J. Perry at Nuclear Weapons Policy in a Time of Crisis 10/26/2017
Nuclear Weapons Policy in a Time of Crisis was a conference held by Ploughshares Fund on October 26, 2017. It featured inspiring discussion and remarks from leading policymakers, nuclear security analysts, a senior Trump administration official, seven members of Congress, eight top experts, two leading security journalists, a former Secretary of Defense, and the newest Nobel Peace Laureate. Learn more about the event and watch other speeches here: https://www.ploughshares.org/issues-analysis/article/videos-nuclear-weapons-policy-time-crisis
CRIIRAD and the real dangers of recent radiation found in Europe! Nov 2017
It was therefore essential, as requested by CRIIRAD on 5 October 2017, to identify
the installation at the origin of the ruthenium 106 pollution and to implement
protection for the nearby population. And all the more because, as CRIIRAD has denounced several [times?]
Once again, the criteria for intervention 7 adopted by the French authorities to implement protective measures are excessively high.
However, the documents analyzed by CRIIRAD show that, as a first step, the official services in Europe have simply insisted on the absence of health consequences on the European territory.
This situation raises many questions about the effectiveness of the IAEA (International Energy AgencyAtomic) and official radiation protection agencies of European countries.
CRIiRAD press release (Roughly translated from French to English) Image source; http://www.irsn.fr/EN/newsroom/News/Pages/20171109_Detection-of-Ruthenium-106-in-France-and-in-Europe-Results-of-IRSN-investigations.aspx
Valencia, November 10, 2017 (11H)
Commission of Research and Information
Independent on Radioactivity
29 courses Manuel de Falla / 26000 Valence / France
. 33 (0) 4 75 41 82 50 / bruno.chareyron@criirad.org
RUTHENIUM 106
Contamination with ruthenium 106
Radioactive releases are considerable and would come from Russia or from nearby countries!
Officials are finally concerned about the importance of the ruthenium 106 discharges
from September 2017, and the risks incurred as close as possible to the source term! At first, the Official releases have simply emphasized the absence of risk in France and Europe.
The CRIIRAD had alerted as early as October 5, but to no avail, about the risks incurred by local populations. However, we know since Chernobyl that we must act very quickly because the exposure is major in the first days and the first…
View original post 1,431 more words
High voltage power lines in Europe and recent radioactive particles causing cancer?
This articles asks the question.. Even at low densities could this plume have injured anyone? And the links point to 2 sources of possible harm.
1/ The local population downwind from the plume
2/ People further away but living under or near High Voltage Power Lines.
Reblogged for any who missed it earlier this weekend (busy nuclear and climate news weekend) ..
“We do not believe that ions are dangerous – the danger comes from the pollutants. The ions merely assist the particles to stick to the lungs. If there are no dangerous particles in the air to attach to the ions, there is no risk of ill health.” Source 2015 Charged particle concentrations near busy roads can exceed that under power lines.
Posted by Shaun McGee
Posted to nuclear-news.net
Nuclear-news just published two stories to note that go with the above link to the Charged particle paper and article.
The first is the new findings from Prof. Chris Busby and the second is the report of a plume of Ruthenium 106 Beta particles in the air throughout Europe. Why is it that no actual plume chart videos were released to explain the way that the plume got to Europe from the Urals region? (
View original post 369 more words
A day out by the pond in Fukushima at 2.14 mcSv/h #safecast #unscear #criirad
Measurement date November 10, 2017 ③ Namie-cho, Futaba-gun, Fukushima-ken
source https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl4moVqyL6jWrFrCHl2LqKg
Measurement point
Fukushima Prefecture Futaba-gun Namie Town Onohono
https://goo.gl/maps/4bUivbUYhm12
Nuclear subs for sale to keep you safe and secure, come all buyers!!
There is currently no explicit ban on the sale of naval propulsion reactors between the P5 nations and non-nuclear weapon states, but this has not been done so far. France is currently helping Brazil manufacture four Scorpene class conventional submarines under a 2009 contract. Interestingly, France’s Naval Group will also manufacture ‘non-nuclear portions’ (the reactor section), of Brazil’s first nuclear submarine.
idrw.org .Read more at India No 1 Defence News Website http://idrw.org/why-admiral-sunil-lanbas-visit-to-a-french-nuclear-shipyard-is-significant/ .
1 This Month
19 February – VIRTUAL EVENT-Decision Time: AI and Our Nuclear Arsenal
12:45 p.m. Central / 1:45 p.m. Eastern
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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