Many Fukushima labourers cheated out of correct pay
Ministry: Many Fukushima laborers deprived of danger pay
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201302090067 By
TOSHIO TADA February 09, 2013 The Environment Ministry has admitted
danger pay has not been reaching some laborers entitled to a hefty
bonus for their work on decontamination projects near the Fukushima
No. 1 nuclear plant.
Unscrupulous employers likely pocketed the missing cash, but the
ministry says it will neither penalize them nor name and shame them
because that “would have a big adverse effect,” an official in charge
of the matter said. Continue reading
Stories and pictures of abandoned nuclear power plants
iPctures: Gone Fission: 11 Unfinished Nuclear Power Plants http://weburbanist.com/2013/02/10/gone-fission-11-unfinished-nuclear-power-plants/ These 11 unfinished, abandoned, canceled, mothballed and/or suspended nuclear power plants will, for better or worse, never know the warmth of split atoms.
Lemoniz Nuclear Power Plant, Spain Construction of the Lemóniz Nuclear Power Plant, located on the Bay of Biscay on Spain’s northern coast, began in the mid-1970s but was dogged from its inception by violent opposition from ETA, the terrorist organization dedicated to the independence of Spain’s Basque country. The group managed to smuggle bombs into the facility on several occasions in 1978 and 1979 resulting in a number of fatalities and delaying the plant’s construction……
Marble Hill Nuclear Power Station, Indiana, USA (at left) From 1977 to 1984, Public Service Company of Indiana (PSI) spent approximately $2.5 billion to build the Marble Hill Nuclear Power Station near Hanover, Indiana, and by the time the financial tap ran dry it was only half-finished! The political and environmental landscape had changed quite a bit over those 7 years with the biggest speed bump being the Three Mile Island crisis in 1979. With costs spiraling out of control and the state government reluctant to provide funding, PSI abandoned the project and auctioned off most of the salvageable material for a mere pittance.
Equipment and parts from the Marble Hill Nuclear Power Station continued to be sold off in the early to mid-1990s but by the year 2000 everything of value had been sold. Since 2008, slow and steady demolition under the auspices of MCM Management Corp. has seen first the fuel-handling building and then the twin reactor containment buildings gradually reduced to mounds of scrap. The bright side, if any, is that none of the demolished material is radioactive.
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, Philippines Continue reading
Florida nuclear companies got $1 billion from customers, for non existent power plants
Time to repeal nuclear recovery lawhttp://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/fl-sccol-oped0210-20130210,0,5173814.story, By Susan Clary February 10, 2013 With the help of the Florida Legislature, two energy companies have been able to collect more than $1 billion from utility customers for the construction of nuclear power plants with no guarantee they would ever be built. Continue reading
UK’s new nuclear fleet may be simply unaffordable
UK nuclear plans flicker over cost By: Tracey Boles Express UK, February 10, 2013 ENERGY secretary Ed Davey warned yesterday that he will not do a deal to fund new reactors “at any price” as fears mount that interested utilities cannot afford to build them.French state-owned utility EDF Energy and the Government are negotiating a “strike price” for the new reactors, the unit cost of electricity which would underpin investment plans for EDF’s two reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
Keeping the price from being set high would involve taxpayer subsidy. Davey said yesterday he was seeking a “fair price for the consumer”.
Earlier this month, EDF’s partner Centrica withdrew from the UK’s planned nuclear programme because of increasing costs and delays. EDF has also been seeking Chinese state investment to little avail so far…… EDF have always argued that the price must be fair to both sides or it will not be sustainable. “It has to be high enough to encourage investors,” said a source close to negotiations.
Another senior industry source said: “EDF has a huge debt pile in France, and Paris will want to be sure the UK is a good place to put money more than their own market.” …
Japan hoping to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia
Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi‘s visit at the weekend was aimed at securing extra oil from the world’s biggest exporter in case of instability in world supply, Japanese officials had said…….. Saudi Arabia’s plan to build up to 17 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity over the next two decades has offered a possible lifeline to plant builders hit by a lack of demand since the Fukushima disaster….. http://news.yahoo.com/japan-offers-nuclear-help-saudi-free-oil-154800170.html
Exelon nuclear company blaming wind energy for decline in electricity prices
Exelon is merely “looking for a scapegoat” after power prices plummeted following the utility’s “bet on the electricity spot market” with nuclear.
Exelon chief: Wind subsidies could shut down nuclear plants,THE HILL By Zack Colman – 02/08/13
A major utility that was ousted from a wind energy trade group last fall said continued government support of wind power could shutter nuclear plants.
Exelon Corp. CEO Christopher Crane told the Chicago Tribune in comments published Friday that his company might eventually have to close nuclear facilities “if we continue to build an excessive amount of wind and subsidize wind.”
Exelon vocally opposed the extension of the wind production tax credit last year. That led the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) to kick the Chicago-based utility out of the organization.
Exelon will likely try to quash AWEA’s push this year for a phase-out of the 2.2 cent per kilowatt-hour credit for wind power production. Exelon has ties to the White House, as one of its directors is a top fundraiser for and friend of President Obama. Former strategist David Axelrod also consulted for the utility, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as Obama’s first chief of staff, helped create the firm through a merger in 2000 while working as an investment banker. Continue reading
Uranium industry in Australia – not looking good
recent steps by BHP to cuts of its uranium program — from the delay of the uranium production expansion plan at the Olympic Dam project to the selling of a large Yeelirrie deposit located in Western Australia.
Recent Ranger and Olympic Dam issues along with various problems related to notable Australian uranium projects like Angela/Pamela, Kintyre, Oban, Wiluna and Koongarra, amongst others, have also caused concerns about the future development dynamics of the local uranium industry.
Australia’s uranium industry hits turbulence Mining.com, Vladimir Basov | February 8, 2013 Recent news from Australia raises serious concerns about the future development of its domestic uranium industry. While established players are exiting the market, others are lining up to explore new areas and have made some positive moves.
Open-pit mining operations at Ranger mine were terminated at the end of November 2012. Continue reading
Cloudy future for nuclear power in USA
The Nuclear Power and Natural Gas Equation
NYT, By JON HURDLE, 7 Feb 13, Duke Energy is weighing the issue of how to replace the power generated by its troubled Crystal River nuclear plant in Florida, which the company has announced that it will permanently shut down.
One option is the construction of a new plant fired by natural gas, given the low price and abundant supply of that fuel source. Such a plant could come online as early as 2018, Duke said on Tuesday……
In a post-Fukushima world in which regulators are tasked with rigorously policing nuclear safety, ailing plants like Crystal River are less likely to survive than they once were, one analyst suggested on Wednesday. …. even if it had restarted, it would have faced the same regulatory rigor and some local opposition. Similar concerns have arisen about plants like Vermont Yankee, which the Vermont Senate voted to have shut down, a move blocked by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Indian Point in New York, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he wants closed…..
Concern about the age of many American nuclear plants is exacerbated by the fact that 72 of them have had their original 40-year operating licenses extended for another 20 years, Mr. McIntyre of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted. The oldest plant is Oyster Creek in New Jersey, which began operating in 1969; the newest is Watts Bar in Tennessee, which went online in 1996……
the future of nuclear plants is clouded by the abundance of domestic natural gas, which has led many utilities to embrace that fuel for power generators.
Oh dear! a major nuclear accident would damage France’s image!
The bulk of financial losses would come from damage to France’s image
Major nuclear accident would cost France $580 billion: study By Michel
Rose SAINT-PAUL-LES-DURANCE, France Feb 6, 2013 (Reuters) – A
nuclear accident similar to the one at Japan’s Fukushima reactor would
cost France about 430 billion euros ($580 billion), or 20 percent of
its economic output, French nuclear safety institute IRSN said in a
study on the possible financial impact of a nuclear crisis.
A major disaster damaging one of France’s 58 nuclear reactors and
contaminating the environment with radioactive material would displace
an estimated 100,000 people, destroy crops and create massive power
outages, the study said….. Continue reading
France’s nuclear power edge fades, while Germany goes ahead phasing nuclear out
Since the start of the year, France has embarked on a national debate
on energy expected to culminate in a law in October to outline the
country’s future energy mix. Environment Minister Delphine Batho has
said the outcome will reflect Hollande’s promises on nuclear
power.
Forecasts that Germany’s power imports would rise and new power plants
would be built as a result didn’t materialize, according to
Hans-Joachim Ziesing, a member of the independent commission
monitoring the energy transformation in Germany…
Hollande Draws French Industry Ire as Nuclear Edge Fades Bloomberg
News, By Tara Patel February 07, 2013 French industrial groups are
up in arms as their once-celebrated nuclear-energy edge evaporates.
After decades when their factories churned out everything from steel,
glass and chemicals with one of the cheapest power prices in Europe
thanks to the country’s 58 nuclear reactors, French companies’
competitive advantage is being whittled away as the U.S. embrace of
shale gas cuts energy prices there and as Germany gives businesses
fiscal breaks on electricity costs.
Electricite de France SA’s nuclear
reactors, which make France the most reliant on atomic power in the
world, will need billions of euros of upgrades Continue reading
Another nuclear power plant bites the dust in USA
“I believe this is going to be further fuel on the fire for the Legislature, hopefully, to begin to question the wisdom of these high-risk investments in energy,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.”
Florida Progress’ nuclear plant in Crystal River to close By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune February 06, 2013 TAMPA — Progress Energy Florida will permanently shut its damaged nuclear reactor in Crystal River, capping a very public and costly embarrassment that played out over the past three years.
Progress Energy, a subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy, said Tuesday that it will begin decommissioning the Crystal River reactor instead of making repairs, which could have cost billions. Continue reading
Greenland now up for uranium grabbing?
Thanks To Global Warming, Everyone Wants To Mine Greenland’s Uranium Deposit
Business Insider, Rob Wile | Feb. 6, 2013 “……Denmark’s Politiken via Presseurop reports that thanks to global warming, Greenland’s icy surface is melting away, and many believe it’s too poor to refuse the opportunity. The country sits on top of the fifth-largest uranium deposit in the world….. The plan has Irked some environmentalists. And technically, the Danish parliament would still have to approve a final decision.
But a majority in the Danish parliament is prepared for the first time to repeal Denmark’s nominal zero-tolerance policy on the radioactive metal, according to Euractiv.
…… http://www.businessinsider.com/race-for-greenland-uranium-deposits-2013-2#ixzz2KFWg91ok
Centrica gets out of UK’s uneconomic new nuclear power project
Centrica pulls out of project to build new UK nuclear plants and launches £500m share buy-back Centrica has scrapped plans to take part in the building of new UK nuclear reactors, blaming spiralling costs and delays, and has launched a £500m share buy-back.Telegraph UK, By Emily Gosden 04 Feb 2013
to build nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset and Sizewell in Suffolk. It capped months of speculation to announce its withdrawal on Monday morning. “Since our initial investment, the anticipated project costs in new nuclear have increased and the construction timetable has extended by a number of years,” Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw said.Uranium industry is being killed off by cold, hard, economics
For now, at least, uranium is dead. Its killer was cold, hard economics.
Virginia Uranium’s Strangely Short Half-Life, Bacon’s Rebellion, February 1, 2013 by Peter Galuszka “…….Back in 2007, uranium prices were about $140 a pound. That touched off a renewed effort to mine the Coles Hill Farm tract in Pittsylvania County, one of the country’s largest uranium deposits.
As both sides of the argument poured money into lobbyists’ pockets, something happened that was beyond their control. Uranium prices set by global demand started dropping. By 2010, they had plummeted to about $70 a pound because of the global economic slowdown. After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March 2011, they fell to the mid-$40-a-pound level, where they are now.
What that means for uranium mining in Virginia can be explained with simple arithmetic. According to Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal, “The industry needs prices to be at $75 to $80 a pound for future mine production to be profitable.” In other words, for Virginia Uranium’s project to work, prices would likely need to rebound by about $30 a pound. I have noted this in a previous blog.
The bad news for uranium continues. Continue reading
The rise and fall of Virginia Uranium
Virginia Uranium’s Strangely Short Half-Life, Bacon’s Rebellion, February 1, 2013 by Peter Galuszka After years building up to a critical mass, Virginia’s uranium controversy never quite reached fission. State Sen. John Watkins, a Republican and uranium backer from Powhatan, pulled the plug on his pro-mining bill Thursday as it faced certain death at a Senate committee. There are a couple of other legislative efforts out there, but it probably safe to say that the state’s now 31-year-old ban on mining uranium stays….
Virginia Uranium, which wants to develop the 119 million pound deposit near Chatham, had given thousands of dollars in donations, trips and gifts to many legislators. Anti-mining advocates, including the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach who feared for their drinking water sources, hired their own advocacy muscle. Ordinary folks down in the gently rolling hills of Pittsylvania County organized a strikingly tightly-disciplined and effective anti-mining campaign.
At the end of the day, however, the real reason uranium failed lurks behind the scenes far from the polished floors of the State Capitol.
The fact is that the dynamics of energy pricing are undergoing a huge change in this country. A flood of natural gas, some from controversial “fracking” drilling methods, is making other forms of electricity generation, notably nuclear, financially less attractive. http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2013/02/the-unusually-short-half-life-of-virginia-uranium.html
1 This Month
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- May 2026 (156)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 