environment « nuclear-news

Town’s drinking water, and its economy, threatened by uranium milling

“The increased presence of radionuclide particles that will contaminate our surface water bodies, currently used as our municipal drinking water source, is of critical concern to the Town of Telluride.”….it could affect the tourist population, he said, it endangers Telluride’s economy.

(USA) Town of Telluride protests uranium millTown pens letter to CDPHE Telluride Daily Planet, By Katie Klingsporn, November 21, 2010 A group of environmentalists from the Telluride region has been hustling for more than a year to protest a uranium mill proposed to go up in Paradox Valley, a lonely, windswept valley in western Montrose County.
Now, the Telluride Town Council is hopping aboard the opposition movement. Continue reading →

November 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive, uranium, water | Leave a comment

Seabed area still radioactive, after Dounreay nuclear plant closed for 60 years

An area equivalent in size to 22 football pitches is being cleaned.

Dounreay: Investigation uncovers worst radiation hotspot ever Radioactive particles located during the latest search of the seabed off Dounreay. STV News, 18 November 2010 An investigation into the seabed off the Dounreay nuclear plant has uncovered the most dangerous radioactive hotspot yet found. Continue reading →

November 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Now – a radioactive mouse at Hanford nuclear facility

Radioactive mouse hunt at Hanford, Seattle Times Newspaper, 18 Nov 10, After catching a radioactive rabbit on the Hanford nuclear reservation, cleanup workers are now hunting for a radioactive mouse.The Associated PressRelatedRICHLAND, Wash. —After catching a radioactive rabbit on the Hanford nuclear reservation, cleanup workers are now hunting for a radioactive mouse.The Tri-City Herald reports radioactive mouse droppings have been found in the same area where the radioactive rabbit droppings were found earlier this month north of Richland…. Local News | Radioactive mouse hunt at Hanford | Seattle Times Newspaper

November 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Radioactive waste sites all around town of Port Hope

Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. has begun a 10-year, $260-million project to dig up 1.2 million cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste buried in numerous sites around town and store it in a huge covered mound.

Sue government over toxic town, activist tells Port Hope – thestar.com, 17 Nov 10 “…………. Radium is leaking into Lake Ontario and uranium from the Cameco refineryPort Hope’s air, drinking water, fish, beach, soil — virtually everything in the town of 16,000 poses a health risk from radioactivity, anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott warned an overflow crowd Tuesday night. Continue reading →

November 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, environment | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Scottish beach still radioactive after 60 years

23 drums of radioactive waste have been removed. Two years ago SEPA said particles found on the beach could give a child a potentially lethal dose of radiation and suggested partially covering the “hot spot” in concrete……Experts admit the particles could kill if they found their way inside the body.

Families allowed on Fife beach awash with radiation « Deadline Press & Picture Agency, Amanda MacMillan, 15 Nov 10, THE clean-up of a Fife beach has been halted putting families at risk of potentially lethal radiation. Continue reading →

November 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | 1 Comment

Radioactive rabbit near highly radioactively contaminated Hanford

Radioactive rabbit caught near U.S. nuclear site English.news.cn 2010-11-06 SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) — The Washington State Department of Health workers have been searching for contaminated droppings after a radioactive rabbit was caught north of Richland in southeastern Washington, home to the Hanford nuclear site, local media reported Friday.
According to Tri-City Herald, the rabbit, which was highly contaminated with radioactive cesium, caught the health authorities’ attention because it was close enough to the nuclear site’s boundaries to potentially come in contact with the public…..Hanford currently is the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States and is the focus of the nation’s largest environmental cleanup. Last year, 33 contaminated animals or animal materials such as droppings were found on the site. Radioactive rabbit caught near U.S. nuclear site

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Desalination plant run by wind and solar power

U.S. based Engineering For The Earth‘s Aeolus system require minimal wind speeds and can produce drinking water for communities of up to 500 people per unit. The only additional energy input required is for telemetry, which can be supplied via small solar panels.

Wind Powered Desalination With A Twist Renewable Energy News, 22 Oct 10, Wind powered desalinationWith potable water becoming an increasingly scarce resource in some countries, governments are turning to solutions such as desalination. An energy-intensive process, desalination has been made “greener” through the use of renewable energy. Continue reading →

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA, water | climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, renewable energy, solar, water, wind | Leave a comment

Tanzania could lose precious water, and money, with uranium mining

Water is already scarce there and it would be imprudent to let one company consume huge amounts of water at the expense of area inhabitants…If global demand for uranium were to decrease, the estimated value of these deposits would also drop. Therefore, it is unclear how much revenue uranium mining would really bring to Tanzania……

….the average Tanzanian citizen has seen limited benefits from mining projects while the lion’s share of the profits go to foreign mining companies…..

Take care that uranium mining turns into blessing, not curse, for Tanzania, Daily Nation By SHAABAN FUNDI, October 20 2010 Continue reading →

October 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AFRICA, Uranium, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, uranium, water | Leave a comment

Radioactive tritium leaking from 20 USA nuclear plants

Last week brought more disturbing discoveries of radioactive tritium leaking into groundwater from Vermont Yankee, the aging nuclear plant in southern Vermont….In fact, the nuclear industry has contaminated groundwater with radioactive tritium at nuclear power plant sites all across the country.

Nuclear Power’s Threat to Clean Water | Greenpeace USA, by Jim Riccio – October 15, 2010 , Today is blog action day, an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day, and this year the topic is water. Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors, water | Leave a comment

Dangerous ionising radiation lingers at Scottish beach

Some of the particles found on the foreshore near a sailing club used by thousands of families are so highly radioactive that they could be lethal if they found their way inside the body. According to Sepa, outside the body they are “hot” enough to cause radiation burns on exposed skin.

Visitors at risk as MoD stops radiation monitoring at resort – Herald Scotland | News, Rob Edwards, 3 Oct 2010The health of visitors to one of Scotland’s most popular coastal resorts is being put at risk from radioactive contamination because the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stopped monitoring the area. Continue reading →

October 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | 1 Comment

Slow progress in cleaning up uranium groundwater contamination

State records and Denver Water testing data indicate the pumping has failed to reduce uranium levels that far exceed drinking-water standards in Ralston Creek, which flows into Denver Water’s Ralston Reservoir.

Cotter Corp. puts a price on clean By Bruce FinleyThe Denver Post, 30 Sept 10, The federal government reimbursed Cotter Corp. nearly $3 million for cleanup of its toxic uranium mill near Cañon City — and could pay $3.3 million more for work in the future. But the work mopping up tailings and contaminated groundwater that began in 1984 is not scheduled to be complete until 2027. Continue reading →

October 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uranium, USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, uranium | Leave a comment

India’s tragic uranium mining effects on communities

Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD), an affiliate of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize recipient International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, conducted a health survey in 2007 that looked at 2,118 families within 2.5 km of the mines.It found that 9.5 percent of newborns die each year due to extreme physical deformities…….

Uranium mines afecting health of workers and local communities, India Info Online, 20 Sept 10, AT BANDUHURANG, there are no prohibitory signs, no warnings about radiation, no barbed wire and no demarcation of territory. Continue reading →

September 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, India, Uranium | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Russian nuclear powered ice-breaker in the Arctic

Russians go nuclear in bid to crack pole The Australian September 20, 2010 THE Arctic icecap faces a new threat from Russian plans to build the world’s largest icebreakerThe new ship will be capable of smashing its way across the polar region even in winter.The nuclear-powered vessel would create shipping lanes across the Arctic Ocean while helping energy companies exploit the region’s gas and oil reserves.
The proposal coincides with reports last week that the Arctic icecap had shrunk to 4.66 million sq km, the third-lowest recorded since 1979. Its average winter thickness at the North Pole has also halved, to about 2.4m, since 1976.……Russians go nuclear in bid to crack pole | The Australian

September 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Russia | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Very high radiation releases from Japanese nuclear reactor

Radiation rose to 2,100 times the normal level at Niigata plant. Japan Today: 17th September, NIIGATA —Radiation at about 2,100 times the normal level was detected in gaseous waste at a nuclear reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant in Niigata Prefecture on Thursday but no harm was done to the surrounding environment, according to the company…..

.The power company said Sept 10 that it detected radiation at 27 times the normal level in gaseous waste at the reactor and was closely monitoring the situation.

In July last year, the company halted operation of the No.7 reactor after radioactive gas leaked from the capsular vessel in the fuel pin. The company replaced the fuel after the incident. Radiation rose to 2,100 times the normal level at Niigata plant › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, reactor | Leave a comment

Colorado Public Health Dept concerned about radiation from uranium mill

State regulators asserted that people at fences around Energy Fuels’ 880-acre site could be exposed to radiation approaching a 25-millirem limit. “A projected dose that approaches a regulatory limit cannot be considered trivial,” a CDPHE document said.

Uranium-mill plan near Naturita raises concerns about toxic waste – The Denver Post, Bruce Finley, 16 Sept 10, State regulators have raised concerns about toxic waste, radiation and water supply at what would be the nation’s first conventional uranium mill opened since the Cold War. Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Uranium, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment